Two castles stand on neighbouring crags at Manderscheid in the Eifel: the Niederburg, seat of the lords of Manderscheid (named from 1133), and the Oberburg, which passed to the archbishops of Trier in the mid-12th century.
The lords are vassals of Luxembourg and advocates of Echternach; the head of the house on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.
Who he is
- Title
- Lord of Manderscheid
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Free lords named from the Niederburg at Manderscheid (named from 1133); vassals of the counts of Luxembourg and advocates of the abbey of Echternach.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Manderscheid (Adelsgeschlecht)
Overlord
The count of Luxembourg (in 1200 Theobald of Bar for Ermesinde)
What it holds
- The Niederburg at Manderscheid and the lordship round it
- The advocacy of the abbey of Echternach (date not pinned)
Allies and rivals
Luxembourg, their overlord; the archbishop of Trier, whose Oberburg faces their castle.
How things stand that morning
The lords hold the Niederburg as Luxembourg's men beside Trier's Oberburg. Side in the throne war not pinned; their overlord Theobald of Bar holds Luxembourg with Philip's approval (France map).
Wealth
Eifel farms and forest; the advocacy dues of Echternach.
Military
The Niederburg.
Threats
- The archbishop of Trier next door
Places of note
- Niederburg and Oberburg: The lords' castle and Trier's castle side by side
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Castle dates and later fief lists only; no name for 1200.
On the map: Rough district; Trier's Oberburg is a point inside it.
Primary sources for Empire
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Marbach (compiled to 1238, the section on 1198 to 1210 written in the early 13th century). Alsatian annals on the Staufen side of the Upper Rhine. Read online
- Annals of Reiner of Saint James, Liège, Reiner of Liège (1197 to 1230, kept year by year). Contemporary annals kept inside Liège. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. Read online
- Chronicle of Reinhardsbrunn; Chronicle of St Peter's, Erfurt (Erfurt chronicle in the 13th century; Reinhardsbrunn compilation about 1340 to 1349 from older annals). The two Thuringian chronicles. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- Royal Chronicle of Cologne (in stages from about 1175 to about 1250; the section on 1198 to 1220 written soon after the events). The fullest German narrative of the throne war from the Welf and Cologne side. Read online
- Chronicle of Hainaut, Gislebert of Mons (about 1195 to 1196). Ends in 1195, so it has no 1200 entries, but it is the indispensable background for Flanders and Hainaut: the career of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut (VIII of Flanders), his union of the two counties, the settlement with Philip over Artois, the rights, castles, fiefs and vassals of Hainaut listed by a man who ran its chancery, and the youth of Baldwin IX, who held both counties in 1200. Read online
8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.