The great castle on the Our and the county round it in the north of modern Luxembourg and the edge of the Eifel, held by a comital house that once held the advocacy of Prüm (Frederick I, 1124-1152) and now has one of its own as abbot of both Prüm and Stavelot.
Frederick III's marriage ties him to Neuerburg in the Eifel.
Who he is
- Name
- Frederick III (Friedrich III.)
- Title
- Count of Vianden
- Since
- Attested 1187-1217
- Born
- Not pinned
- Family
- Counts of Vianden. Wife Mechthild of Neuerburg. Predecessor Frederick II (attested 1163-1184), married to Elisabeth of Salm. Gerhard of Vianden (1184-1212) is abbot of Prüm and of Stavelot-Malmedy; his parents are not named in the source. Later sons: Henry I (1214-1252) and Siegfried II (1215-1242).
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia Grafschaft Vianden
Overlord
Not pinned for 1200 (Vianden becomes a fief of Luxembourg only in 1264)
What it holds
- Vianden castle and the county on the Our
- Rights at Neuerburg through his wife (terms not pinned)
- Family influence over Prüm and Stavelot through Abbot Gerhard
How it was acquired
Inherited.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours: Theobald of Bar and Luxembourg to the south, the archbishop of Trier and the abbey of Echternach to the east and south-east, the Eifel lords (mrw).
How things stand that morning
Frederick III holds Vianden as a count answering to no prince of the region. His side in the throne war is not pinned (his Trier and Luxembourg neighbours are Philip's).
Wealth
Forest, the Our valley, and the abbeys' patronage.
Military
Vianden castle, one of the largest in the region.
Threats
- Luxembourg's ambition (fulfilled only in 1264)
Places of note
- Vianden castle: Comital castle
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The holder's dates come from de.wikipedia's genealogy; the county's 1200 extent is not mapped in the source.
On the map: Approximate core.
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.