Royal town and estate on the middle Rhine with a market (1050) and a royal toll (Henry IV); Barbarossa stayed here in the spring of 1180.
Otto IV reached Boppard in July 1199 and waited in vain for allies before turning back. Its self-government with two benches, one of resident nobles and one of elected burghers, is attested later (undated).
Who holds it
- Name
- Philip of Swabia, through his Schultheiss (contested by Otto IV in 1199)
- Title
- The king
- Since
- 1198
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
The king's Schultheiss of the Bopparder Reich; the royal ministeriales (Beyer, Schoeneck, Bickenbach) are the local knighthood.
How things stand that morning
Royal; control that winter not pinned after Otto's halt here in July 1199.
Charter
Market 1050; royal toll; called a free city of the Empire on its seal of 1236 (later).
Council
Later two benches (nobles and burghers); not attested for 1200.
Communities
Royal ministerial families; a Jewish community is recorded later.
Fairs and markets
Market since 1050.
Militia
Not attested.
Walls and castle
A 12th-century wall nearer the Rhine replacing the Roman fort wall; the royal residence by the river.
Trade and crafts
Rhine toll, wine, river trade.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Institutions attested without dates for 1200.
Primary sources for Staufen
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
- Annals of Jarloch (Gerlach), abbot of Milevsko, Jarloch of Milevsko (about 1200 to 1220). The last Bohemian narrative before 1200, continuing Vincentius of Prague. Read online
23 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.