Wildeshausen

Who he is

Name

Henry (III), later 'of Bruchhausen', and Burchard

Title

counts of (Oldenburg-)Wildeshausen

Since

1198, when their father Henry II's rule ended (de.wikipedia Wildeshausen)

Born

not pinned

Family

sons of Count Henry II (died 1198); nephews of Gerhard, bishop of Osnabrück. Burchard falls against the Stedingers in 1233.

Confidence

medium

de.wikipedia Wildeshausen; FMG Oldenburg

Overlord

none resident; the castle and advocacy of Wildeshausen were later handed to Bremen by these brothers (date not given)

What it holds

• Wildeshausen castle and the advocacy of the Alexander collegiate church
• the Bruchhausen lands (Altbruchhausen, Vilsen)
• lands on the Hunte (Dötlingen, Harpstedt: not pinned)

How it was acquired

Inherited from Henry I (died 1167) and Henry II (to 1198).

Allies and rivals

Kin and rivals of the Oldenburg counts over property; their uncle Gerhard of Osnabrück is named among Philip's princes in May 1199.

How things stand that morning

The brothers hold Wildeshausen and Bruchhausen. Allegiance not pinned (their uncle the bishop of Osnabrück is on Philip's Speyer list).

Wealth

The Hunte crossing on the road from Bremen to Westphalia, the advocacy of the Alexander church.

Military

Wildeshausen castle; Altbruchhausen castle (date not checked).

Threats

• the Oldenburg cousins
• the archbishop of Bremen

Places of note

• Wildeshausen castle: seat of the line

Where the sources disagree

• Henry II's death year (1198) comes from de.wikipedia ('ruled until 1198'); FMG's entries for this generation were not reached. Whether he died on crusade is not pinned.

Evidence: Only de.wikipedia's short account; no dated charter checked for 1199-1200.

On the map: Rough blocks; the line's lands were scattered.

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.