Wildgraves

Who he is

Name

Gerhard I or his son Conrad II: which of them heads the house on 1 January 1200 is not pinned (Conrad II is attested only from 1221 to his death in 1263; a genealogy puts Gerhard's death about 1198, unconfirmed)

Title

Wildgrave (comes silvestris)

Since

not pinned

Born

not pinned

Family

Emichones of the Nahegau. Conrad I (in documents 1140-1158) married Mathilde of Bar; his son Gerhard I married Agnes of Wittelsbach; Gerhard's son Conrad II married Gisela of Saarbruecken, called himself count of Dhaun and Wildgrave in 1221, and died in 1263. If Gerhard is dead by 1200, the house is held by a young heir. Cousins of the Raugraves and of the counts of Veldenz.

Confidence

low

de.wikipedia Wildgrafen, Kyrburg, Schmidtburg; Residenzen-Kommission (Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Goettingen), article 'Wild- und Rheingrafen'

Overlord

Allods, fiefs of the Empire and of the counts palatine (de.wikipedia)

What it holds

• The Kyrburg above Kirn (first named 1128)
• The Schmidtburg in the Hahnenbach valley (first named 1084)
• Flonheim in Rheinhessen (since 1129)
• Grumbach: possibly a Wildgrave foundation (de.wikipedia credits Conrad II), date not pinned
• Dhaun: held around 1200 as a fief of the abbey of St Maximin, according to St Maximin's fief list of about 1200
• The advocacy over St Maximin's estates in the Hunsrueck and on the Nahe, which brings them Muensterappel, the advocacy of Simmern, Kempfeld, Mandel and the Mark of Thalfang
• The Schmidtburg is an allod (it becomes a Cologne fief only in 1216-1225); the Kyrburg is forced into Mainz's fief only in 1242

How it was acquired

Inheritance of the Nahegau counts; Flonheim in 1129.

Allies and rivals

Cousins and neighbours of the Raugraves, Veldenz and Sponheim; vassals of the count palatine for part of their fiefs.

How things stand that morning

The Wildgraves hold Kyrburg, Schmidtburg and Flonheim. Their side in the throne war is not pinned; their palatine fiefs tie them to Otto's brother, their imperial fiefs to Philip.

Wealth

The Nahe valley at Kirn, Hunsrueck forest, vineyards at Flonheim.

Military

Kyrburg and Schmidtburg; no numbers known.

Threats

• Division among the heirs
• The count palatine's weakness, which leaves their palatine fiefs exposed

Places of note

• Kyrburg: Castle above Kirn
• Schmidtburg: Castle in the Hahnenbach valley

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Genealogy without dates for the generation of 1200; castles dated only by first mention.

On the map: Castle districts and the Thalfang mark only; the Wildgraves' other rights between the Nahe and the Hunsrueck are not placed.

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.