The Staufen town above the Tauber: Conrad III built the castle in 1142, and the settlement beside it grew into a town at the end of the 12th century.
It was the seat of Barbarossa's son Conrad 'of Rothenburg' (died 1196), and its castle heads the list of Staufen property in the marriage pact of 1188. The leading families come from the ministeriales and the castle's men.
Who holds it
- Name
- King Philip as Staufen heir, through his castle bailiffs and Schultheiss (by 1227 the Küchenmeister of Nortenberg; the holder in 1200 not pinned)
- Title
- Lord of the town
- Confidence
- medium
Town history and the 1188 pact.
Lord in 1200
King Philip as Staufen heir, through his castle bailiffs and Schultheiss (by 1227 the Küchenmeister of Nortenberg; the holder in 1200 not pinned)
Allies and rivals
None recorded for 1200.
How things stand that morning
Held for Philip (STAUFEN, firm).
Charter
Town rights from Barbarossa in 1172 according to the town's history; the first wall was begun soon after. A second, larger wall ring follows from 1204.
Council
No council recorded by 1200; the patriciate of ministerial origin later forms it.
Communities
A Jewish community is recorded later in the 13th century; not pinned for 1200.
Fairs and markets
Market square by the time of the first wall; no fair dates found.
Militia
Not recorded.
Walls and castle
Staufen castle (1142) on the spur; first town wall (about 1,400 m) after 1172.
Trade and crafts
Roads from Würzburg to Augsburg and from the Rhine to Nuremberg; grain and cattle of the Tauber plateau.
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.
- 1204 (beyond 1200)The town grows and a second wall ring is built.Depends on: peace and Staufen favour Stopped by: war in the Tauber country
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Town history and the 1188 pact.
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
- Rothenburg ob der Tauber, de.wikipedia
- Wanner, Der Ehepakt von 1188 (Stadtarchiv Heilbronn, Quellen und Forschungen 22)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.