The king's town below the castle rock, first named in 1050.
Conrad III retook it in 1138, gave the burgraviate to the Raabs and began the castle that Barbarossa made a palace; the Lorenz 'new town' was laid out across the Pegnitz and the Sebald settlement probably walled. Henry III gave it the market, mint and toll rights once held by Fürth. Since the Zollern took the burgraviate in 1191-92, the town's government and courts lie with the royal Schultheiss, not the burgrave.
The cult of St Sebald draws pilgrims.
Who holds it
- Name
- King Philip, through the royal Schultheiss (office attested from 1163); Burgrave Frederick (I) of Zollern holds the burgrave's castle
- Title
- Lord of the town
- Confidence
- high
Town history (de.wikipedia); the 1200 officers not named.
Lord in 1200
King Philip, through the royal Schultheiss (office attested from 1163); Burgrave Frederick (I) of Zollern holds the burgrave's castle
Allies and rivals
Burgrave against Schultheiss and townsmen over the town's government; Fürth and Bamberg over the old market.
How things stand that morning
Held for Philip (STAUFEN, firm).
Charter
No charter yet: the Great Charter of Liberties of Frederick II is dated 8 November 1219. Barbarossa freed the townsmen from escort money and the pound and market tolls (undated); market, mint and toll rights date from Henry III.
Council
No council recorded by 1200 in what we read.
Communities
A Jewish community is not recorded in what we read before 1298.
Fairs and markets
Weekly market; no fair dates found for 1200.
Militia
Not recorded.
Walls and castle
The imperial castle and the burgrave's castle on the rock; the Sebald town walled probably from Conrad III's time; the Lorenz town across the Pegnitz.
Trade and crafts
The crossroads of the routes from Frankfurt and the Rhine to Regensburg, Bohemia and the Danube; toll freedoms; the royal forest's timber, charcoal and honey.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Town history (de.wikipedia); the 1200 officers not named.
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.