Prince-bishopric of Brixen, 1 January 1200

The bishop of Brixen holds the Eisack valley stretch of the Brenner road, with comital rights over the Norital (the Eisack, Wipp and middle Inn valleys, granted 1027) and the Puster valley (granted 1091), and the lordship of Bled in Carniola.

Like Trent he has handed most of it out in fief. The Andechs, now dukes of Merania, are his advocates and hold the counties in the Inn valley and the Puster valley; they govern the Inn valley round Innsbruck as their own. What the bishop runs himself is the city of Brixen and its basin, Klausen below the old see of Säben with its toll, the courts of Kastelruth and Rodeneck, his ministeriales' castles along the road, and Bled.

The see is held by a young Swabian, Eberhard of Regensberg, a Staufen loyalist who signed the Speyer declaration for Philip in person on 28 May 1199 as bishop-elect, and who is often away at the schools. Within weeks of Adalbert III's death on 8 April 1200 he will be elected archbishop of Salzburg, and Brixen will pass to one of its own ministerial families, Conrad of Rodank.

Who rules

Name: Eberhard of Regensberg (Eberhard von Regensberg)
Title: Bishop (elect in May 1199) of Brixen, prince of the Empire
Since: Summer 1196, after Bishop Henry died on 19 July 1196; still styled bishop-elect at Speyer on 28 May 1199, so whether he is consecrated by 1 January 1200 is not pinned
Born: about 1170
Family: A Swabian of the free lords of Regensberg north-west of Zürich (Alt-Regensberg castle by Regensdorf). His father is debated: the Neue Deutsche Biographie makes him a son of Lütold III; the Rhineland sheet makes him probably a son of Lütold IV, the present head of the house. His mother was of the Krenkingen, so Bishop Diethelm of Konstanz, one of Philip's chief counsellors, is his uncle, and so is Walter, whom he will make bishop of Gurk. Canon of Konstanz by 1190.
Confidence: high

Church map record Brixen (NDB, ADB); de.wikipedia Speyerer Fürstenerklärung; Rhineland sheet record Regensberg.

Overlord

The German king; Eberhard is Philip's man. In church matters his metropolitan is the archbishop of Salzburg.

What the realm holds

Brixen: the city, cathedral and bishop's court (the town burned in 1174)
Klausen below the rock of Säben, the old episcopal seat, with the bishop's toll on the Brenner road
The courts of Kastelruth and Rodeneck, kept by the bishops until the counts of Tyrol took them in 1272 and 1269 (Tirol Atlas, via the Church map)
Overlordship of the county of the Norital (1027): the Eisack and Wipp valleys and the middle Inn valley between the Melach and the Ziller, held in fief by the Andechs
Overlordship of the county of the Puster valley (1091), from the Mühlbach gorge to the Kristeinbach between Anras and Assling, held in fief by the Andechs
The church's advocacy, held by the Andechs since 1157 (the Wolfratshausen inheritance)
Bled (Veldes) in Upper Carniola, castle and lordship (Henry II, 1011): fri's ground
Ministeriales along the road: the lords of Säben, Rodank (Rodeneck), Velthurns and Voitsberg; free lords in the side valleys such as the Taufers (see their records)

How it was acquired

Brixen was a royal estate given to the bishop of Säben in 901, and the see moved there about 1000. Conrad II granted the Norital in 1027; Henry IV added the Puster valley in 1091 after removing its count in the Investiture quarrel. The Andechs inherited the advocacy, the Norital county and the county on the lower Inn from the Wolfratshausen line in 1157.

Allies and rivals

Allies: King Philip; his uncle Diethelm of Konstanz; his metropolitan Adalbert of Salzburg; the Staufen princes of Speyer, among them his own advocate, Duke Berthold of Merania, and Bishop Conrad of Trent. Rivals: lay counts stronger than the bishop inside his own counties; the counts of Tyrol, who want the advocacy (they get it in 1210); the bishop of Freising, who holds Innichen in the Puster valley; the counts of Gorizia beyond the Kristeinbach.

The realm that morning

Eberhard holds the city and basin of Brixen, Klausen and its toll, Kastelruth and Rodeneck through his ministeriales, and is often absent; the pope has criticised him for it. The Andechs govern the Inn valley and hold the Puster valley county and the advocacy. The see is Staufen under a Staufen metropolitan. The chapter, the ministerial families and the Andechs will all want a say when Eberhard goes to Salzburg.

Wealth

The Brenner road and its traffic; the Klausen toll; vineyards and orchards of the Brixen basin; alpine pasture and timber; rents of the church's estates in the Eisack and Puster valleys; a share in regulating the Bolzano fairs with the bishop of Trent (1202).

Military

The bishop's ministeriales and their castles (Säben, Rodeneck, Velthurns); the advocate's host. No figures.

Threats

Lay counts stronger than the bishop inside his own counties
The succession when Eberhard leaves for Salzburg
Papal displeasure at an absentee bishop

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.

8 April 1200Archbishop Adalbert III of Salzburg dies (campaign notes Part 10).Depends on: Nature. Stopped by: Play that changes his circumstances.
about 20 April 1200The Salzburg chapter elects Eberhard archbishop. Innocent III objects that he left Brixen without papal leave (and that he named his uncle Walter to Gurk after Bishop Ekkehard's death on 23 April 1200 without approval), and lets him take Salzburg and the pallium only at the start of 1201, after Eberhard comes to Rome.Depends on: Adalbert's death and a Staufen-minded Salzburg chapter. Stopped by: Adalbert living, another candidate winning the chapter, or the pope refusing the translation.
end of 1200 (de.wikipedia)Conrad of Rodank, provost of Gurk and of a Brixen ministerial family, is elected bishop of Brixen; he holds the see until his death on 14 October 1216 (de.wikipedia; 1217 in the Church map record).Depends on: Eberhard's move to Salzburg. Stopped by: Eberhard staying at Brixen, or another candidate.
1201 (beyond 1200)The bishops of Brixen and Trent agree on tolls; the Bolzano fairs are regulated by the two bishops (first recorded 1202).Depends on: Peace on the road. Stopped by: War.
1209-1210 (beyond 1200)After Philip's murder (1208) the Andechs are banned; Bishop Conrad gives the advocacy and their rights in the Norital to Count Albert of Tyrol.Depends on: Philip's murder. Stopped by: No murder, or the Andechs keeping their fiefs.

Places of note

Brixen cathedral: Seat of the bishop
Säben: The rock of Säben above Klausen, the old episcopal seat
Rodeneck castle: Castle of the Rodank, Brixen ministeriales

Where the sources disagree

Eberhard's father: the NDB (via the Church map) says Lütold III; the Rhineland sheet (Regensberg) calls him probably a son of Lütold IV. Not settled here.
The Church map record Brixen says the counts of Tyrol hold rights in the Eisack valley in 1200. The Tirol Atlas and the NDB/ADB on Albert of Tyrol date Tyrolean lordship in the Eisack valley to the advocacy of 1210 and the county grant before 1225; on 1 January 1200 the Andechs hold the Norital rights. Treated here as Andechs.

Evidence: The grants of 1027 and 1091, the Andechs advocacy and Eberhard's career are well attested. The bishop's immediate district in 1200 is drawn from later evidence.

On the map: The bishop's district and the Eisack valley are drawn from later evidence; the Andechs' Inn valley county is drawn only as the bishop's claim, since the Andechs govern it. The Fassa and Buchenstein valleys, later Brixen territory, are not drawn as attested for 1200.

Primary sources for this realm

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.

Charter book of the bishops of Trent (compiled 1207 to 1218; documents from the 11th century onward; edited 1852). The cartulary of the prince-bishops of Trent. Read online

Sources and studies

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.