Otto VIII (count palatine)

Who he is

Name

Otto VIII of Wittelsbach

Title

Count palatine of Bavaria

Since

1189, on the death of his father, the count palatine Otto VII (18 August 1189)

Born

Before 1180 (not pinned)

Family

Son of Otto VII, the duke's uncle; first cousin of Duke Louis; nephew of Archbishop Conrad of Mainz. Unmarried. In 1203 Philip will betroth him to an infant daughter, and break the betrothal in 1207.

Confidence

high

de.wikipedia (Otto VIII. von Wittelsbach), via the Rhineland record Wittelsbach; de.wikipedia (Burglengenfeld)

Overlord

The king; within Bavaria the duke is head of the house.

What it holds

• The palatine dignity of Bavaria and the palatine court (its working in 1200 not pinned)
• The castle of Wittelsbach near Aichach (Rhineland map)
• Lengenfeld (Burglengenfeld) and Kallmünz on the lower Naab, and Pettendorf near Regensburg: the Lengenfeld inheritance (probable; not pinned to this line)
• The advocacy of Ensdorf on the Vils, founded by the count palatine Otto and Heilika in 1121 (probable)
• Hopfenohe on the edge of the Bamberg lands (named with the inheritance; not pinned for 1200)

How it was acquired

By inheritance from his father in 1189; the Lengenfeld lands came to the house by marriage about 1119.

Allies and rivals

His cousin the duke; his uncle the archbishop of Mainz; King Philip.

How things stand that morning

Holds the palatine office on 1 January 1200 and backs Philip: he is named among the princes of the Speyer declaration of 28 May 1199 (in the list of those not present in person who joined it). Not recorded in the Bavarian feuds of 1199.

Wealth

Family lands on the Naab and the Vils (not pinned in detail).

Military

His castles and the house ministeriales; no record of war before 1208.

Threats

• None recorded for 1200

Places of note

• Lengenfeld castle: Castle on the Naab, 'castrum Lengenvelt' in 1205.
• Ensdorf abbey: Benedictine house founded 1121 by the count palatine Otto and Heilika of Lengenfeld.

Where the sources disagree

• The Rhineland record Wittelsbach gives him only the castle of Wittelsbach and lands about Aichach; the Lengenfeld inheritance is placed here as the palatine line's because the palatine couple founded Ensdorf, but the duke may hold it.
• The Rhineland record Wittelsbach says his side is not separately attested for 1199-1200; the Speyer declaration of 28 May 1199 names him (among the absent princes who joined it).

Evidence: Otto VIII is rarely named before 1203 and the division of lands between the two Wittelsbach lines in 1200 is not documented in what we read.

On the map: Both parts are drawn as probable; the castle of Wittelsbach is on the Rhineland map.

Primary sources for Bavaria

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 Schäftlarn and the Bavarian annals (12th and 13th centuries). Brief Bavarian annals. Read online
• The Austrian and Salzburg annals (kept in the 12th and 13th centuries, with continuations to the late 13th century). A family of monastic annals from Austria, Styria and Salzburg, printed together. 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
• Regesta Imperii V: calendar of the acts of Philip, Otto IV and Frederick II, 1198 to 1272 (calendar of documents of 1198 to 1272, published 1881 to 1901). A dated calendar of every known act of King Philip and King Otto IV, with the acts of popes and princes that bear on the Empire. Read online
• Bavarian monuments: the charters of the Bavarian monasteries and bishoprics (charters from the 8th century onward, published 1763 to 1916). The great charter series of Bavaria, arranged by monastery and bishopric. Read online
• Charter book of the bishops of Trent (compiled 1207 to 1218; documents from the 11th century onward; edited 1852). The cartulary of the prince-bishops of Trent. Read online