The upper Valais above the Morge of Conthey is the bishop of Sion's county (Church map).
Its lay power lies with his vassals, of whom the La Tour lords of the Gestelnburg and the Raron family are the chief. Savoy holds the Chablais below Saint-Maurice and family lands at Conthey, Ayent and Mörel (France map). The Zähringen held the regalia of Sion only on paper from 1156 and have been shut out since 1189; Berthold V's attempt of 1211 will fail at Ulrichen.
Who he is
- Name
- The lords of La Tour (Turn), seated at the Gestelnburg (Niedergesteln), and the lords of Raron; names for 1200 not pinned
- Title
- Vassal lords of the bishop of Sion
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- Amadeus of Turn, who probably built the Gestelnburg (about 1100-1150), was himself bishop of Sion.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Geschichte des Kantons Wallis.
Overlord
The bishop of Sion, count of the Valais (since 999) and, since 1189, invested with his regalia directly by the king.
What it holds
- The Gestelnburg at Niedergesteln (La Tour)
- Raron (the Raron family, probably 12th century)
How it was acquired
Episcopal fiefs.
Allies and rivals
The bishop of Sion; Savoy; the Zähringen as the threat from the north.
How things stand that morning
Serve the bishop (on the bishop's side in the throne war see the Church map). Allegiance not pinned.
Wealth
Simplon and Grimsel traffic; no figures.
Military
Gestelnburg; no numbers.
Threats
- A Zähringen invasion over the Grimsel (it comes in 1211).
Places of note
- Gestelnburg: La Tour seat (approximate place)
Where the sources disagree
- The bishop of Sion on 1 January 1200 is not named in the sources read here (the usual lists give Nantelme of Écublens, 1196-1203); the Church map is canon.
Evidence: Names not pinned.
On the map: The bishop's own ground is left to anchors.
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.