A small county on the eastern edge of the Wetterau, between the Vogelsberg and the Nidda, held by its last count, Berthold II.
Its substance is Fulda's advocacy over the abbey's lands round Nidda (the Fuldische Mark) with the water castle of Nidda. On his death in 1205 it passes to his nephew Ludwig I of Ziegenhain.
Who he is
- Name
- Berthold II
- Title
- Count of Nidda
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Last count of Nidda; his only sister Mechthild married Count Rudolf II of Ziegenhain. Dies without male heirs in 1205.
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia Ludwig I. (Ziegenhain), Grafschaft Ziegenhain
Overlord
Fulda abbey (the advocacy of Fulda's Mark round Nidda) and the king.
What it holds
- Nidda castle and its district
- Advocacy over Fulda's Mark round Nidda
How it was acquired
Inherited.
Allies and rivals
Kin of the Ziegenhain counts; neighbours: the Münzenberg and Büdingen lords of the Wetterau (mre).
How things stand that morning
Held by Berthold II. His side in the throne war is not pinned; his Ziegenhain nephews are Staufen.
Wealth
Advocacy dues; the Nidda valley.
Military
Nidda castle. No numbers.
Threats
- No son: the county will pass to Ziegenhain
Places of note
- Nidda castle: Water castle
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Known chiefly from the Ziegenhain succession of 1205.
On the map: Castle district only.
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.