The king's town at the Main crossing, grown from the palace on the cathedral hill.
Frederick I was raised on the shield here in 1152, which made Frankfurt the usual place of royal elections, though neither election of 1198 was held here. About 1180 the Staufen wall greatly enlarged the town. In 1200 it is a royal market and court town in Philip's hands, with a mint, a Jewish quarter, a bridge to Sachsenhausen and a fair that will soon overtake Mainz's trade.
Who holds it
- Name
- The king (Philip of Swabia)
- Title
- Lord of the town
- Since
- 1198 (Staufen since 1138)
- Confidence
- high
Lord in 1200
The king: Frankfurt is royal land (a fisc) under the king's advocate (Reichsvogt), later called Schultheiss; names on 1 January 1200 not pinned. Kuno of Münzenberg holds half the mint since 1194.
How things stand that morning
Philip's; Philip stays here four times in his reign.
Charter
No town charter survives from before 1200. The fair's first surviving privilege is of 1240; Frankfurt becomes an imperial town in its own right in 1245 and its Schöffen court the high court of the Wetterau later: not to be back-projected.
Council
A court of Schöffen under the royal officer (first mention not pinned); a burgomaster and council come later.
Communities
Jews among the earliest residents, living between St Bartholomew's and the Main (dates not pinned). The Sachsenhausen hospital founded by Kuno of Münzenberg in 1190.
Fairs and markets
The autumn fair grew out of a farm market; its earliest surviving privilege is Frederick II's of 1240. How large it already was in 1200 is not pinned.
Walls and castle
The Staufen wall of about 1180 round the old town; the palace area on the cathedral hill; the Saalhof on the Main, possibly the Staufen residence (date not pinned); the Main bridge (Staufen era).
Trade and crafts
The Main crossing on the roads from the Rhine to Franconia, Thuringia and Saxony; the royal mint (first documented 1194); Main shipping; wine, grain and cattle (general).
Quarrels
None recorded for 1200.
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.
- about Christmas 1200If Otto holds Mainz, Frankfurt is Philip's bulwark on the Main.Depends on: The Mainz schism. Stopped by: A Staufen hold on Mainz.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The general history of the Staufen town is clear; officers and fair in 1200 not pinned.
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.