Counts · Other imperial lands · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Nassau

The rising house of the lower Lahn and the Westerwald.

Two young brothers, Henry and Rupert, have held their father Walram's lands jointly since February 1198: the castles of Nassau and Laurenburg on the Lahn, the Herborn Mark and the Dill, the advocacy of the Siegerland, the advocacy of Weilburg, the lordship in the Westerwald, advocacies for Trier at Koblenz, Pfaffendorf, Niederlahnstein and Humbach (Montabaur), the advocacy of Ems, and the royal court of Wiesbaden as a fief. About 1200 they begin Sonnenberg castle above Wiesbaden as a bulwark against Mainz and the lords of Eppstein.

Who he is

Name
Henry II 'the Rich' (born about 1180) and his brother Rupert IV, ruling jointly
Title
Counts of Nassau (still also called of Laurenburg)
Since
1 February 1198, the death of their father Walram I
Born
Henry about 1180; Rupert not pinned (both of age by 20 March 1198)
Family
Sons of Walram I (born about 1146, died 1 February 1198, buried at Arnstein) and Kunigunde (possibly of Sponheim or of Ziegenhain), who appears with them in a charter of 20 March 1198 and died on 8 November 1198 or later (alive on 1 January 1200 not pinned). Sister Beatrix, a nun at Affolderbach. Henry is unmarried that winter (he marries Mathilde of Guelders before 1215). Walram had shared the county with his cousin Rupert III (died 1191) and then Rupert's son Hermann, whom he succeeded.
Confidence
high

de.wikipedia Walram I. (Nassau) and Heinrich II. (Nassau).

Overlord

Nassau castle is held of the archbishop of Trier (granted in 1159); the counts hold the royal court of Wiesbaden from the king, the advocacy of Weilburg from the bishop of Worms, advocacies from Trier, and allods.

What it holds

  • Nassau castle (a Trier fief since 1159) and Laurenburg, the old seat, on the lower Lahn
  • The advocacy of Ems
  • The Herborn Mark and the courts of the Dill valley (Herborn, Haiger)
  • The Kalenberg Zent and the court of Heimau
  • The advocacy of Weilburg (the bishop of Worms's town)
  • The advocacy in the Siegerland (Siegen)
  • The lordship in the Westerwald
  • Trier advocacies at Koblenz, Pfaffendorf, Niederlahnstein and Humbach (Montabaur) (Trier ground: mrw)
  • The royal court of Wiesbaden, held in fief (Henry gets the advocacy of Wiesbaden and the Königssondergau about 1214)
  • Sonnenberg castle, begun about 1200 (whether by 1 January 1200 not pinned)
  • Idstein, inherited by the Laurenburgers from Udalrich of Idstein-Eppstein in the 12th century
  • Coinage at Siegen (Rupert III struck coins there about 1170)
  • Dillenburg castle (the Residenzen handbook says first half of the 12th century; de.wikipedia says about 1240)

How it was acquired

The Laurenburg counts built Nassau on Worms land; the 1159 settlement made it a Trier fief, witnessed by Siegfried I of Runkel. Walram I gathered the advocacies and the Wiesbaden fief; the brothers inherited on 1 February 1198.

Allies and rivals

Rivals: Mainz and the lords of Eppstein (hence Sonnenberg), the counts of Diez and Katzenelnbogen, later Cologne over Siegen. Trier is their lord for Nassau castle.

How things stand that morning

The brothers hold their inheritance jointly and undisputed as far as is known. Which king they back on 1 January 1200 is not pinned: de.wikipedia says Henry sided largely with the Staufen, except for supporting Otto IV in 1209-1211.

Wealth

Advocacy dues, the Siegerland and Dill iron country, Lahn tolls and ferries (not pinned), the Wiesbaden royal court with its hot springs.

Military

Castles of Nassau and Laurenburg; Sonnenberg under construction about 1200; vassals and ministeriales not pinned.

Threats

  • Mainz and Eppstein pressure on the Wiesbaden lands
  • Diez rivalry on the Lahn
  • Cologne's ambitions in the Siegerland (the shared town of Siegen comes in 1224)

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.

  1. about 1200Work on Sonnenberg castle above Wiesbaden, guarding against Mainz and Eppstein.Depends on: The brothers' means and Mainz not objecting. Stopped by: A Mainz or Eppstein challenge.

Places of note

  • Nassau castle: Trier fief since 1159.
  • Sonnenberg castle: Begun about 1200.
  • Humbach (Montabaur): Trier's, Nassau advocates.

Where the sources disagree

  • Dillenburg: the Residenzen handbook dates the castle to the first half of the 12th century, de.wikipedia (Heinrich II) to about 1240.

Evidence: The succession and joint rule are well attested (charter of 20 March 1198); the list of holdings is from de.wikipedia's account of Walram I and is not dated piece by piece to 1200.

On the map: Blocks are drawn around the castles and advocacies named in the sources; the Westerwald lordship and the Kalenberg and Heimau courts are not drawn because their extent in 1200 is not pinned; the Trier advocacies lie on Trier ground.

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.

8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.

Sources and studies

  1. Walram I. (Nassau), de.wikipedia
  2. Heinrich II. (Nassau), de.wikipedia
  3. Nassau, Residenzen-Kommission handbook (Grafen und Herren)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.