Kings and their demesnes · Philip of Swabia: Staufen and royal lands · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Trifels

Trifels on its sandstone crag above Annweiler has been a royal castle since 1113.

It is where the Salian and Staufen kings kept the imperial regalia (crown, orb and sceptre, guarded by the Cistercians of Eusserthal) many times between 1125 and 1298, and where Henry VI held Richard of England in the spring of 1193. Philip of Swabia had the genuine regalia at his coronation in Mainz on 8 September 1198, which is why Otto had to be crowned at Aachen with new ones. Where they were kept that winter is not pinned: Trifels, their usual keeping place, or the palace chapel at Haguenau in Alsace (the France map's).

Either way they are in Philip's hands. Annweiler below the castle, first securely named in 1176, is a royal village; it becomes a town only on 14 September 1219.

Who he is

Name
Philip of Swabia
Title
King of the Romans (disputed), through his castellans
Since
1198
Born
about 1177
Family
Barbarossa's youngest son
Confidence
high

de.wikipedia Burg Trifels, Annweiler am Trifels, Reichskleinodien, Philipp von Schwaben, Otto IV.

Overlord

None: an imperial castle (Reichsburg) since 1113

What it holds

  • Trifels castle, royal since 1113, with its chapel
  • The imperial regalia, if kept here that winter (not pinned; Philip has them in any case)
  • Annweiler, the royal village below the castle (town only from 1219)
  • The neighbouring castle rocks of the Trifels group (Anebos and Scharfenberg) and royal forest of the Wasgau: holders in 1200 not pinned

How it was acquired

Handed to Henry V by Archbishop Adalbert of Mainz in 1113.

Allies and rivals

Bishop Otto of Speyer and Conrad of Scharfenberg, dean of the Speyer chapter, who succeeds Otto later in 1200 and is named chancellor only in 1208 (the Scharfenberg is one of the Trifels rocks); the abbey of Eusserthal, guardians of the regalia.

How things stand that morning

Philip's: the castle is royal and the regalia are with him. Philip will use Trifels as a prison for Archbishop Bruno of Cologne in 1206-1207. The castellan that winter is not pinned.

Wealth

Royal forest; the castle's estates.

Military

One of the strongest castles of the Upper Rhine; royal ministeriales as castle-men.

Threats

  • None close: the region is solidly Staufen

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.

  1. 3 March 1200Death of Bishop Otto of Speyer; Conrad of Scharfenberg, of the ministerial family named from the Trifels rock, follows him later in 1200 (the day is not pinned) and becomes one of Philip's chief counsellors.Depends on: Otto's natural death Stopped by: Play that changes Otto's circumstances

Places of note

  • Trifels: Royal castle of the regalia
  • Eusserthal Abbey: Cistercian guardians of the regalia

Where the sources disagree

  • The France map's Alsace record says the regalia were kept at Haguenau. The sources consulted here list both Trifels and the Haguenau palace chapel as 12th- and 13th-century keeping places 'with interruptions' and do not pin where they were in the winter of 1199-1200. They were in Philip's hands either way (he was crowned with them on 8 September 1198).

Evidence: The castle's royal status and the regalia's use of it are well attested; the keeping place in the winter of 1199-1200 and the castellan are not.

On the map: The royal forest of the Wasgau round Trifels is only roughly represented.

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.

23 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.

Sources and studies

  1. Burg Trifels (de.wikipedia)
  2. Annweiler am Trifels (de.wikipedia)
  3. Reichskleinodien (de.wikipedia)
  4. Otto IV. (HRR) (de.wikipedia), on Otto's new regalia
  5. Philipp von Schwaben (de.wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.