The king's town of the Harz: the great palace, the Rammelsberg silver mine above it, a rich merchant and ministerial town.
Henry the Lion had held its advocacy from 1152 and besieged it in 1167 and 1180; Barbarossa refused him the town in 1173. Otto besieged it in the winter of 1198-99 and withdrew before Philip, who garrisoned it on 5 January 1199. Mining had stopped after Henry the Lion's men wrecked the works after 1180 and resumed only in 1209 (de.wikipedia).
Who holds it
- Name
- The king: Philip of Swabia, through his garrison and the royal advocate
- Title
- Town lord
- Since
- Philip's garrison since 5 January 1199
- Confidence
- high
de.wikipedia (Goslar); ADB on Philip.
Lord in 1200
Philip's garrison and the royal advocate (Reichsvogt); names not pinned.
How things stand that morning
Staufen-held since January 1199; backs Philip.
Charter
Merchants' rights from 1025; Barbarossa granted the burghers forest rights in 1158. The council is first mentioned in 1219 and Frederick II's great charter is later.
Council
Not attested for 1200 (first mentioned 1219); ministeriales and merchants lead the town.
Communities
The royal ministeriales of the palace; the merchants (the Worth gild is attested from 1235); the canons of Sts Simon and Jude; the nuns of the Neuwerk.
Walls and castle
The palace; town walls (extent in 1200 not pinned).
Trade and crafts
In good times silver and copper from the Rammelsberg and metalwork; in 1200 the mine is idle. Long-distance merchants; the royal forest.
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.
- 1206 (not yet)Stormed and plundered by Gunzelin of Wolfenbüttel for Otto (allegedly betrayed by the abbess of the Neuwerk).Depends on: Philip's hold weakening. Stopped by: A strong garrison.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Siege and garrison attested; officers not.
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.