Free lords of the upper Lahn between Weilburg and Gießen.
Since 1163 they hold the castle and county of Gleiberg (the western half by inheritance, the eastern half acquired later, date not pinned), the old Luxembourg stronghold above the Lahn north-west of Gießen, and they claim an advocacy over Wetzlar going back to 1135. Gleiberg is their base for gains between Wetzlar and Marburg.
Who he is
- Name
- Hartrad IV of Merenberg (attested 1182-1215)
- Title
- Lord of Merenberg, styled count of Gleiberg
- Since
- by 1182 (not pinned)
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Descendant of Hartrad II (attested 1135-1163), who married Irmgard of Gleiberg of the Luxembourg house and so brought half of Gleiberg and the Gleiberg county to Merenberg in 1163; Hartrad II's brother Giso helped Arnstein abbey found Hachborn (1186). Family members join the Teutonic Order later.
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia Merenberg (Adelsgeschlecht).
Overlord
Allods and the king's advocacy at Wetzlar; detail not pinned.
What it holds
- Merenberg castle (Hartrad I named there in 1129)
- Gleiberg castle and county (from 1163)
- An advocacy at Wetzlar (de.wikipedia's Merenberg article dates it from 1135; how it stands beside Frederick I's royal advocacy of 1180 is not pinned)
- Rights in the Oberlahngau; perhaps the advocacy of St George's at Limburg over Camberg (de.wikipedia: 'probably')
How it was acquired
Merenberg by descent; Gleiberg by Hartrad II's marriage to Irmgard of Gleiberg.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours of Solms, Nassau and the counts palatine of Tübingen at Gießen (heirs of the other Gleiberg line).
How things stand that morning
Hartrad IV holds Merenberg and Gleiberg. His side in the throne war is not pinned; a member of the Kalsmunt castle family is married to a Merenberg about 1200.
Wealth
Upper Lahn farmland, Gleiberg's county rights, the Wetzlar advocacy.
Military
Merenberg and Gleiberg castles.
Threats
- Royal officers at Wetzlar and Kalsmunt
- Solms and Nassau
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1200No dated event found.
Places of note
- Gleiberg castle: Luxembourg stronghold, Merenberg's since 1163.
Where the sources disagree
- de.wikipedia's Merenberg article gives the Merenbergers the imperial advocacy over Wetzlar from 1135, while its Wetzlar article has Frederick I create the imperial advocacy in 1180; who exercised it on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.
Evidence: Attestation ranges only; holdings in 1200 inferred from a family outline.
On the map: Small blocks round the two castles.
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.