A Hessian comital house whose power rests on the hereditary advocacy of the great abbey of Fulda, on allods round Ziegenhain and Treysa and on fiefs from Mainz, Fulda and Hersfeld.
Gottfried II and Ludwig witness together from 1195; in 1200 Ludwig and his mother Mechthild issue a charter without Gottfried, who probably died in 1200 or shortly before, so who is count on the morning of 1 January 1200 is a genuine 'about 1200' case. The family is at odds with the landgrave's brother Frederick, who married Lukardis, daughter of the late Count Gozmar III, in 1185 and claims Ziegenhain, Treysa, Staufenberg, Reichenbach and Wildungen through her (settled only in 1233). Ludwig is a reliable Staufen follower, often in Philip's company after 1198.
Through their mother the brothers are the heirs of Nidda (Ludwig inherits in 1205, not yet).
Who he is
- Name
- Gottfried II, or his younger brother Ludwig I if Gottfried had already died (not pinned)
- Title
- Count of Ziegenhain and advocate (Vogt) of Fulda abbey
- Since
- Gottfried after his father Rudolf II (last named 1188); Ludwig succeeds 'in 1200 or shortly before'
- Born
- Gottfried 1156; Ludwig about 1167
- Family
- Sons of Count Rudolf II of Ziegenhain and Mechthild, only sister and heir of Count Berthold II of Nidda; brothers Giso, Rudolf III and Gozmar V. The house descends from the counts of Reichenbach.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Ludwig I. (Ziegenhain), Grafschaft Ziegenhain, Ziegenhain (Adelsgeschlecht)
Overlord
Fulda abbey (advocacy and fiefs), Mainz and Hersfeld (fiefs), the king.
What it holds
- Ziegenhain water castle (built 1144) in the Schwalm
- Treysa (claimed by Frederick of Thuringia)
- Wegebach, the early seat
- The advocacy of Fulda abbey and its lands (partly pledged: Ludwig later redeemed pawned advocacies)
- Fiefs of Mainz, Fulda and Hersfeld; royal land
How it was acquired
Gottfried I built Ziegenhain in 1144; the Fulda advocacy hereditary in the family since Gozmar I.
Allies and rivals
Rivals: Frederick of Thuringia (count of Wildungen) and behind him the landgrave. Kin: Count Berthold II of Nidda (their mother's brother).
How things stand that morning
Ziegenhain held by the Rudolfine line (Gottfried II or Ludwig I); Frederick of Thuringia holds Wildungen, Staufenberg and Reichenbach against them. Backs Philip (Ludwig is attested in Philip's entourage after 1198, and their lord the abbot of Fulda signed the Speyer declaration for Philip on 28 May 1199; medium confidence).
Wealth
Fulda's advocacy dues and court profits; Schwalm grain land; the road from Frankfurt to Hersfeld and Thuringia.
Military
Ziegenhain castle; the advocacy's men. No numbers.
Threats
- Frederick of Thuringia's claims
- Pledged advocacy rights in other hands
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.
- 1200 (month not pinned)If Gottfried II is still alive on 1 January he dies during 1200 and Ludwig I becomes count and advocate of Fulda.Depends on: Gottfried's death, which the sources place in 1200 or shortly before Stopped by: Nothing in play unless the campaign rules he is already dead
Places of note
- Ziegenhain castle: Water castle of 1144
Where the sources disagree
- de.wikipedia's Grafschaft Ziegenhain says Lukardis was Gozmar III's daughter and that Gozmar's brother and successor Rudolf II resisted Frederick's claims; the article on the family names Gozmar III's death as 1184 and says nothing of Rudolf. FMG names Frederick's wife Liutgard. We follow the Ludwig I article for the 1200 succession.
Evidence: The comital succession around 1200 is genuinely unclear; based on a single Wikipedia biography citing charters.
On the map: The Fulda part shows an advocacy, not ownership.
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
- de.wikipedia: Ludwig I. (Ziegenhain)
- de.wikipedia: Grafschaft Ziegenhain
- de.wikipedia: Ziegenhain (Adelsgeschlecht)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.