A Swabian count of the Jura with his castle at Urach, married to Berthold V's sister Agnes and so one of the two heirs in waiting of the Zähringen.
In 1198 Berthold offered his nephews, presumably Egino's sons, as hostages to the archbishops of Cologne and Trier during his bid for the crown. After 1218 Egino and his son took the Zähringen allods of the Breisgau, the Black Forest and the Baar and fought Frederick II for Freiburg. On 1 January 1200 the Urachs hold nothing in the Breisgau.
Who he is
- Name
- Egino IV 'the Bearded'
- Title
- Count of Urach
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- about 1160
- Family
- Wife Agnes of Zähringen, daughter of Berthold IV, married before 1181. Children born by 1 January 1200: Conrad (about 1180, canon of Liège turned Cistercian at Villers, later cardinal), Egino V (about 1185, later first count of Freiburg), Jolanthe (1188, later wife of Ulrich III of Neuchâtel-Nidau); Agnes and Heilwig (later wife of Count Frederick of Ferrette) not dated. Rudolf (1205) and Berthold (later abbot of Tennenbach and Salem) are born after 1200. Died 12 January 1230 at Tennenbach.
- Confidence
- high
de.wikipedia Egino IV. (Urach); en.wikipedia Berthold V.
Overlord
The king.
What it holds
- Urach castle and the Erms valley in the Swabian Jura
- Claims as heir presumptive of half the Zähringen allods
How it was acquired
Inheritance.
Allies and rivals
Berthold V (brother-in-law); Ulrich III of Kyburg (co-heir and rival heir).
How things stand that morning
Holds Urach. Allegiance not pinned; his ties all run through his Staufen brother-in-law.
Wealth
No figures.
Military
Urach castle. No numbers.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Family dates good; lands in 1200 only in outline.
On the map: Core only.
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.