Wildungen

Who he is

Name

Frederick (Friedrich) of Thuringia

Title

Count of Wildungen; nominal count of Ziegenhain and Wegebach; advocate of Staufenberg and Reichenbach

Since

1185-86 (married Lukardis or Liutgard of Ziegenhain in 1185; confirmed in these titles in 1186)

Born

about 1155

Family

Ludowingian: younger brother of Landgrave Hermann. Provost of St Stephen's at Mainz 1171-78, then released from his orders. Named 'comes Fridericus frater landgravii' in charters of 1189, 1199 and 1205. Children: Ludwig, Sophia, Judith.

Confidence

medium

de.wikipedia Friedrich von Ziegenhain; FMG Thuringia

Overlord

The king and the churches whose fiefs he holds; in practice his brother's man.

What it holds

• Wildungen (county)
• Advocacy of Staufenberg (near Giessen)
• Advocacy of Reichenbach (near Hessisch Lichtenau), with the Reichenbach monastery
• Claims to Ziegenhain and Treysa
• Friedrichstein castle at Alt-Wildungen, built 'in 1200' (not pinned as standing on 1 January)

How it was acquired

By marriage, 1185.

Allies and rivals

His brother the landgrave; rival of the Ziegenhain counts; neighbour of the counts of Waldeck and of Mainz's Fritzlar.

How things stand that morning

Holds Wildungen and the advocacies; follows his brother (Staufen since August 1199).

Wealth

Eder valley lands, the springs and copper of Wildungen (later famous; not pinned for 1200), advocacy dues.

Military

Castle at Wildungen. No numbers.

Threats

• The Ziegenhain counts
• Waldeck to the north

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.

1. during 1200Friedrichstein castle is built above Alt-Wildungen.Depends on: Peace in the Eder valley Stopped by: War with the Ziegenhain counts or Waldeck

Places of note

• Wildungen: Seat
• Staufenberg: Advocacy

Where the sources disagree

• FMG has him die after 5 September 1213; de.wikipedia says 1229 (and that he inherited the Fulda cathedral advocacy in September 1229).

Evidence: Titles from de.wikipedia; charters of 1189 and 1199 in FMG.

On the map: Approximate.

Primary sources for Thuringia

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.

• 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
• 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 Pegau; Annals of Magdeburg (12th and 13th centuries; Pegau continued to 1227). The annals of the Wettin lands and of Magdeburg. Read online
• Chronicle of the Lauterberg (Petersberg near Halle), Konrad of Lauterberg (about 1225). The house chronicle of the Wettin foundation on the Lauterberg, sharp-tongued and well informed on Saxony, Meissen and Magdeburg. Read online
• Regesta Imperii V: calendar of the acts of Philip, Otto IV and Frederick II, 1198 to 1272 (calendar of documents of 1198 to 1272, published 1881 to 1901). A dated calendar of every known act of King Philip and King Otto IV, with the acts of popes and princes that bear on the Empire. Read online
• The political songs of Walther von der Vogelweide, 1198 to 1201, Walther von der Vogelweide (about 1198 to 1201). Three stanzas of the Reichston, composed between 1198 and 1201 after Walther left Vienna, lament the disorder of the double election and call on Philip to take the crown. Read online