Old Welf property in the Adige valley outlasted the Welfs.
At Kastelbell and in the Schnals valley the Montalban lords, vassals of the Welfs and then of the Staufen, keep their ground out of the counts of Tyrol's Vinschgau. At Lana, at the mouth of the Ulten valley, the lords of Lana (first named 1140-1153) are Welf ministeriales; a Berthold of Lana left his estates to the Welf abbey of Weingarten in 1082, and the family built Brandis and Leonburg in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century (both first named in 1236). Since Welf VI's death in 1191 these men answer to the Staufen.
Who he is
- Name
- The lords of Montalban (Kastelbell and the Schnals valley) and the lords of Lana; their heads on 1 January 1200 are not pinned. Their lord is Philip of Swabia, heir of Duke Welf VI (died 15 December 1191).
- Title
- Ministeriales and vassals of the Welf inheritance, now the Staufen's
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
Tirol Atlas (Kastelbell and Schnals held by the Montalban, vassals of the Welfs and Staufen); de.wikipedia Lana (the lords of Lana as Welf ministeriales); Rhineland sheet Welf inheritance.
Overlord
King Philip of Swabia as heir of the Welf lands.
What it holds
- Kastelbell and the Schnals valley (the Montalban)
- Lana with the lords of Lana's castles (Brandis and Leonburg, building dates not pinned)
How it was acquired
Welf property passing to the Staufen in 1191.
Allies and rivals
Rivals: the counts of Tyrol in the Vinschgau, the Eppan and Ulten counts at Lana.
How things stand that morning
Held by Welf ministeriales for the Staufen; little is known that morning.
Wealth
Vineyards and the valley road. No figures.
Military
Castles of the ministeriales. No figures.
Threats
- The counts of Tyrol
Places of note
- Lana: The lords of Lana's seat
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Two general statements; no dated act around 1200.
On the map: Small blocks drawn as modern comuni; the Lana lords' rights were mixed with the Eppan counts'.
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.
- 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
- Annals of Jarloch (Gerlach), abbot of Milevsko, Jarloch of Milevsko (about 1200 to 1220). The last Bohemian narrative before 1200, continuing Vincentius of Prague. Read online
23 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.