A family of free lords on the Lahn west of Wetzlar, seated at the water castle of Burgsolms since about 1100.
They grew out of an advocacy for the bishop of Worms into lordship of their own, with allods round Königsberg and Hohensolms to the north and at Solmsbach to the south and influence in the Erdagau. Braunfels, their later seat, is first named only in 1246.
Who he is
- Name
- Not pinned for 1 January 1200 (Marquard of Solms is the first named, in 1129; a Count Heinrich appears in 1212; the brothers Heinrich and Marquard in 1226)
- Title
- Free lords (Edelherren) of Solms; the comital title is first attested in 1223
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- The line descends from Otto, a co-heir of the Gleiberg county who married the Solms heiress (date not pinned). Kin by marriage of the Merenbergers.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Solms (Adelsgeschlecht).
Overlord
Advocates of a church in the Solms and Iserbach valleys (de.wikipedia says the bishopric of Worms; the Residenzen handbook speaks of Speyer holdings north of the Lahn); allods south of the Lahn.
What it holds
- Burgsolms, a fortified court on the Lahn, later a water castle
- The Worms advocacy in the Solms and Iserbach valleys
- Allods round Königsberg, Hohensolms and Frankenbach (north) and at Solmsbach (south)
- Rights in the Erdagau round Oberweidbach (attested 1212)
- The advocacy over Möttau, a Fulda manor
- Holdings of the bishopric of Speyer north of the Lahn round Altenkirchen and Lorsch property round Oberndorf (Residenzen handbook)
How it was acquired
Advocacy turned into lordship; the Gleiberg co-heirship by Otto's marriage.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours of Wetzlar, Merenberg and Nassau; later rivals of Nassau and of Wetzlar over the Cologne-Frankfurt road.
How things stand that morning
Hold their castle and lands; the head of the house and his side in the throne war are not pinned.
Wealth
Lahn valley farms; interest in the high road from Cologne to Frankfurt.
Military
Burgsolms; Königsberg possibly older than 1225.
Threats
- Nassau and the Wetzlar advocates
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1200No dated event found.
Places of note
- Burgsolms: Seat of the lords.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: No holder is named between 1129 and 1212 in the sources reached.
On the map: Rough block; the scattered allods are not drawn.
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.