Vaz

Who he is

Name

Rudolf (II) and Walter (III) of Vaz, sons of Rudolf (I); which of them led the house on 1 January 1200 is not pinned

Title

Free lords (Edelfreie) of Vaz

Since

Rudolf I died 'before 1200' (date not pinned); he was at Henry VI's court at Hagenau in 1192

Born

not pinned

Family

Rudolf I married Willibirg, daughter of Count Manegold of Veringen. Walter III (died 26 November 1254) married Adelheid of Rapperswil. The family also held church rights at Seefelden in the Linzgau north of Lake Constance (Walter I was its advocate in 1158).

Confidence

low

de.wikipedia Freiherren von Vaz; HLS Graubünden.

Overlord

The king (Obervaz is an imperial fief); the bishop of Chur for other fiefs.

What it holds

• Nivagl castle at Obervaz; Obervaz an imperial fief
• Lenzerheide (dues of the Sanapans alp) and Alvaschein
• Churwalden abbey (burial church; advocacy)
• Seefelden church rights in the Linzgau (sold off in the 13th century)

How it was acquired

Inheritance.

Allies and rivals

Veringen and Rapperswil in-laws; the bishop of Chur as lord and rival.

How things stand that morning

Hold the Albula side of the Chur passes; allegiance not pinned (Rudolf I had been at Henry VI's court in 1192). The bishop of Chur (Reinher della Torre) is Staufen (Speyer 1199).

Wealth

Alps, the Lenzerheide road towards the Julier and Septimer. No figures.

Military

Nivagl and other castles. No numbers.

Places of note

• Churwalden abbey: Burial church of the Vaz

Where the sources disagree

• de.wikipedia lists Rudolf II and Walter III as sons of Walter I, which does not fit the dates; read as sons of Rudolf I.

Evidence: Genealogy around 1200 confused in the source read.

On the map: Approximate.

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.