The fortress on the volcanic plug of the Hohentwiel above the Hegau, once a seat of the dukes of Swabia and still one of the strongest places in the south, held in 1200 by the lords of Singen, who took it over from the Zähringen in the twelfth century.
It overlooks the road from the Rhine at Schaffhausen to Lake Constance.
Who he is
- Title
- Lords of Singen
- Since
- the twelfth century (date not given)
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- The Twiel came into the hands of the Zähringen in the eleventh century; in the twelfth century the lords of Singen took it over, and in the thirteenth it passed to the lords of Klingen (the Klingenberg follow early in the fourteenth). No lord of Singen is named for 1200.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Hohentwiel
What it holds
- The Hohentwiel fortress
- Singen at the foot of the mountain (extent of the lordship not pinned)
How it was acquired
Taken over from the Zähringen in the twelfth century.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours the abbey of Reichenau, the Veringen heirs at Nellenburg, the lords of Hewen at Engen.
How things stand that morning
Held by the lords of Singen on the only account found; no part in the throne war recorded.
Wealth
The Hegau farms below the mountain and the road.
Military
One of the strongest natural fortresses in Swabia; no numbers.
Threats
- Greater neighbours' interest in so strong a place
Places of note
- Hohentwiel: fortress on the volcanic plug
Where the sources disagree
- The OMNIA board puts the Hohentwiel in the imperial demesne; de.wikipedia names the lords of Singen as its holders from the twelfth century and mentions no Staufen or imperial tenure.
Evidence: One general account of the castle's holders; no names or dates for 1200.
On the map: A small castle district.
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.