An old comital house named from its castle at Peilstein in the hills south of Melk (St.
Leonhard am Forst). The counts are chief advocates of the see of Salzburg and advocates of Michaelbeuern, Reichersberg and St. Zeno at Reichenhall, which sal writes; their Austrian county lies between the Melk and the Erlauf. The line ends in 1218 and its lands then fall to the duke.
Who he is
- Name
- Count Frederick (V) of Peilstein, with Frederick (VI) (relationship not pinned)
- Title
- Counts of Peilstein (also of Mörle and Kleeberg)
- Since
- After Count Conrad II died on 12 November 1195
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- A cadet branch of the Sighardinger (from Frederick of Tengling), cousins of the extinct counts of Burghausen-Schala. Conrad II (died 12 November 1195) married Sophia of Vohburg. Frederick V dies on 14 July 1207; Frederick VI, last of the line, in 1218.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Grafen von Peilstein (genealogy list, parentage not always clear).
Overlord
Duke Leopold VI for the Austrian lands; the house's advocacies lie in the Salzburg country (sal)
What it holds
- Peilstein castle and the county round it south of Melk
- Possessions near Vienna, at Leoben in Styria and in Friuli (inferred in the literature, not confirmed)
How it was acquired
Inheritance within the Sighardinger family from the 11th century.
Allies and rivals
Kin of the Bavarian and Salzburg comital houses.
How things stand that morning
Held by the Peilstein counts on 1 January 1200.
Wealth
Rural rents; advocacy dues.
Military
Peilstein castle.
Places of note
- Peilstein: The counts' name castle
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Genealogy uncertain; the county's extent not pinned.
On the map: Approximate.
Primary sources for Austria
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 Jarloch (Gerlach), abbot of Milevsko, Jarloch of Milevsko (about 1200 to 1220). The last Bohemian narrative before 1200, continuing Vincentius of Prague. Read online
- 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
- 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
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. 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
- The political songs of Walther von der Vogelweide, 1198 to 1201, Walther von der Vogelweide (about 1198 to 1201). Three stanzas of the Reichston, composed between 1198 and 1201 after Walther left Vienna, lament the disorder of the double election and call on Philip to take the crown. Read online
- Constitutions and public acts of the emperors and kings, volume 2, 1198 to 1272 (documents of 1198 to 1272, edited 1896). The public documents of the throne war in full text: the election notices of 1198, the princes' declaration of Speyer of 28 May 1199 to Innocent III, the pope's replies, Philip's and Otto's letters and promises, and the imperial acts of 1200 and 1201 including Otto's promises at Neuss in June 1201. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.