The counts of Wertheim hold the castle where the Tauber meets the Main, with a settlement below it recorded as the 'suburb of the castle of Wertheim' in 1192 and as an 'oppidum' about 1200.
They also had an early residence at Schweinberg near Hardheim, and about 1200 founded a house of the Knights Hospitaller at Mosbach in the Bachgau. Their lands lie along the Main bend, on the lower Tauber and in the eastern Spessart.
Who he is
- Name
- Count Poppo (Boppo) of Wertheim, a leading man at Henry VI's court (whether the Poppo who seals from 1212 to 1238 is the same man or his son is not pinned)
- Title
- Count of Wertheim
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- A branch of the Reginbodonen, counts of Wertheim from 1132. Later the hereditary chamberlains (Erbkämmerer) of the see of Würzburg.
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia Wertheim (Adelsgeschlecht) and Wertheim (town); Residenzen-Kommission handbook on Philip's court (Poppo of Wertheim prominent under Henry VI, ties loosening under Philip).
Overlord
The king for the county; the see of Würzburg and the abbey of Fulda for fiefs.
What it holds
- Wertheim castle and the settlement below it at the Tauber mouth (suburbium 1192)
- Lands on the Main bend and the lower Tauber, and in the eastern Spessart
- Schweinberg near Hardheim (an early residence)
- Fiefs of Würzburg and Fulda
How it was acquired
Counts of Wertheim from 1132.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours: the counts of Rieneck (north), the see of Würzburg (east), Mainz's Tauber lands (south), the lords of Dürn and the Odenwald (west, mre's ground).
How things stand that morning
Poppo holds Wertheim. Which king he backs is not pinned: he played a major role at Henry VI's court, but the court handbook notes that Philip's ties to him loosened; no 1199 act seen. Staufen-leaning but distant from the court.
Wealth
The Main and Tauber traffic below the castle, wine, the Spessart forest.
Military
Wertheim castle; vassals. No figures survive.
Threats
- Würzburg's expansion down the Main
- The Rieneck counts
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- about 1200 (not pinned)Foundation of the Hospitallers' house at Mosbach in the Bachgau by the counts.Depends on: the counts' piety and money Stopped by: war or debt
Places of note
- Wertheim castle: On the spur above the Tauber mouth
- Schweinberg: Early residence near Hardheim
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The castle and settlement are dated; the count himself is not pinned for 1200.
On the map: The county's 1200 extent is not pinned; Only the castle and the two banks are drawn.
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
- Wertheim (Adelsgeschlecht), de.wikipedia
- Wertheim, de.wikipedia
- Höfe und Residenzen im spätmittelalterlichen Reich, B 1 Philipp (Residenzen-Kommission, Göttingen Academy)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.