Toggenburg

Who he is

Name

Diethelm of Toggenburg (mentioned about 1176 to 1205/07)

Title

Free lord (Edelfreier) of Toggenburg; counts only from 1209

Since

not pinned

Born

not pinned

Family

A second Diethelm (mentioned about 1210 to 1230), perhaps his son, married Guta, possibly of Rapperswil; the brothers Diethelm and Friedrich of the next generation (Friedrich killed by Diethelm in 1226). HLS calls the early genealogy unclear.

Confidence

medium

HLS Toggenburg; de.wikipedia Toggenburger.

Overlord

The king; the abbey of St Gall and the bishop of Constance for fiefs.

What it holds

• Alt-Toggenburg castle (the later St Iddaburg) above Fischingen
• The Thur valley (Toggenburg) round Lütisburg, Bütschwil and Wattwil; Neu-Toggenburg castle, built late in the 12th century
• Wil, a Toggenburg place (lost to St Gall in 1226); whether a town by 1200 is not pinned
• Advocacies of St Johann im Thurtal, Fischingen and Embrach (lost 1228-1299)
• Estates in the Zürcher Oberland; a share of the Alt-Rapperswil inheritance

How it was acquired

Inheritance; the Rapperswil share about 1200.

Allies and rivals

Kin of Rapperswil. Rivals: the abbey of St Gall, the bishop of Constance, the Kyburgs.

How things stand that morning

Holds the Toggenburg; allegiance in the throne war not pinned.

Wealth

Upland farms and cattle of the Thur valley; advocacy dues. No figures.

Military

Alt-Toggenburg, Neu-Toggenburg. No numbers.

Threats

• St Gall's claims on Wil and the lower valley.
• Kyburg pressure in the Thurgau.

Places of note

• Alt-Toggenburg castle: Seat

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: HLS marks the dates of the first Diethelm as uncertain.

On the map: The upper valley above Wattwil belonged largely to St Johann abbey, under their advocacy; drawn with the rest.

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.