The Staufen share of the Sulzbach inheritance and the king's other lands in the Nordgau.
When Count Gebhard of Sulzbach died on 28 October 1188, the last of his line, much of his inheritance had been sold to Frederick Barbarossa; the rest went through his daughters to the counts of Ortenburg (Murach) and of Grögling-Hirschberg (the castle and town of Sulzbach). The Staufen also hold the market of Neumarkt on the road from Nuremberg to Regensburg (first named in 1135 and 1160) and the imperial castle of Parkstein above the Naab, with the trading place of Weiden below it (first named only in 1241, in an inheritance dispute between King Conrad IV and the Vohburg margraves). Amberg, the bishop of Bamberg's market on the Vils since 1034, shipping iron down to Regensburg and bringing salt back, falls under the king's lordship too: the town's history says the Nordgau passed from Barbarossa's heirs to the Wittelsbach in 1269.
These lands join the king's Egerland to the north-east (boh) and Nuremberg to the west (Rhineland map).
Who he is
- Name
- Philip of Swabia
- Title
- King of the Romans (crowned at Mainz, 8 September 1198) and duke of Swabia, as heir of the Staufen house lands
- Since
- 1197-98 (heir of his brother Henry VI)
- Born
- 1177
- Family
- See the Rhineland record Staufen.
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia (Grafen von Sulzbach; Amberg; Parkstein; Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz; Weiden in der Oberpfalz)
Overlord
None (the king's own lands).
What it holds
- Neumarkt: the market and the king's castle on the Nuremberg-Regensburg road
- Parkstein: the imperial castle on its basalt cone above the Naab, and the lands round Weiden
- The lordship (advocacy) over Amberg, the bishop of Bamberg's market on the Vils (probable)
- The Sulzbach lands bought by Barbarossa (which castles and advocacies is not pinned in the sources read)
How it was acquired
Barbarossa's purchases from the Sulzbach inheritance (before 1188) and older royal land in the Nordgau.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours: the Wittelsbach duke, the Diepolding margraves (who disputed Weiden with Conrad IV in 1241), the Leuchtenbergs, the bishop of Bamberg.
How things stand that morning
Held by the king's officers and ministeriales on 1 January 1200 (who commands at Neumarkt and Parkstein is not pinned).
Wealth
The Nuremberg-Regensburg and Bohemian roads; the Amberg iron and the Vils shipping; tolls at Neumarkt.
Military
The imperial castles of Neumarkt and Parkstein with their ministeriales.
Threats
- The Diepoldings' old march rights in the northern Nordgau
Places of note
- Neumarkt: The king's market and castle.
- Parkstein castle: Imperial castle above the Naab.
- Amberg: Bamberg's market on the Vils.
Where the sources disagree
- de.wikipedia (Grafen von Sulzbach) says only that much of the inheritance was sold to Barbarossa, without listing it; Amberg, Parkstein and Weiden are placed here from the towns' later histories and are not pinned for 1200.
- de.wikipedia (Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz) dates the Wittelsbach acquisition to the house treaty of Pavia in 1329, rather than 1269; both are later than 1200.
Evidence: The Staufen hold on the Nordgau is clear in outline but the list of castles in 1200 is reconstructed.
On the map: The Staufen Nordgau lands were scattered among Bamberg, Wittelsbach and noble estates; three centres are drawn.
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
- Grafen von Sulzbach (de.wikipedia)
- Amberg (de.wikipedia)
- Parkstein (de.wikipedia)
- Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz (de.wikipedia)
- Weiden in der Oberpfalz (de.wikipedia)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.