The cupbearers of the Staufen court are the ministeriales of Schüpf.
The name Limpurg belongs to the future: Walter Schenk of Limpurg built Limpurg castle above Hall before 1230, and the family's long quarrel with Hall over lordship of the town runs to 1280. In 1200 they hold Schüpf and castles on the Main (Clingenburg, built about 1160-1170; the Henneburg), which are Franconian ground.
Who he is
- Name
- Walter of Schüpf (de Colbo)
- Title
- Imperial cupbearer (Reichsschenk)
- Since
- Attested 1200-1218 (not pinned whether before 1 January 1200)
- Born
- Not pinned
- Family
- Royal ministeriales of Schüpf on the Umpfer near the Tauber, cupbearers to the Staufen since Conrad III (Walter Colbo 1144-1157, Conrad Colbo under Barbarossa).
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia (Schenken von Limpurg).
Overlord
The king.
What it holds
- Schüpf castle
- Clingenburg and the Henneburg on the Main (fra and mre ground)
- The cupbearer's office
How it was acquired
Office and fiefs as royal ministeriales.
Allies and rivals
The other court ministeriales; later the town of Hall.
How things stand that morning
Cupbearers to Philip; Walter of Schüpf served Philip, then Otto IV and Frederick II.
Wealth
Service fiefs.
Military
Their castles on the Tauber and Main.
Places of note
- Schüpf castle: Family seat.
Where the sources disagree
- The assignment's 'Schenken of Limpurg (Hall)' is a back-projection for 1200: Limpurg castle dates from before 1230 and the family's hold on Hall from later.
Evidence: Office tenure documented; first attestation of Walter is 1200.
On the map: Only the seat is drawn; the Main castles are left to the Franconian records.
Primary sources for Staufen
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
- 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
23 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.