King and his house · The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Otto IV: Welf and royal lands

One of two crowned kings of Germany.

Otto was raised up in 1198 by Archbishop Adolf of Cologne and the Lower Rhine princes, paid for by his uncle Richard of England, and crowned at Aachen with new-made regalia because Philip held the old ones. His real strength is twofold: the Lower Rhine around Cologne, and his family's own lands in Saxony around Brunswick and Lüneburg, which his father kept as allods after losing the duchies in 1180. On 1 January 1200 he is on the defensive.

Richard, his paymaster, died on 6 April 1199; John is cool towards him; Hermann of Thuringia went over to Philip in summer 1199; and Philip of Swabia is keeping Christmas with a crowd of Saxon princes at Magdeburg, a day or two's ride east of Brunswick, with Duke Bernhard of Saxony carrying the sword before him. Goslar, the royal town of the Harz, has had a Staufen garrison since January 1199. Otto still holds the Welf heartland intact, a loyal brother in the field, the Archbishop of Cologne, and the pope's growing goodwill.

Who rules

Name
Otto IV of Brunswick
Title
King of the Romans (elected at Cologne 9 June 1198, crowned at Aachen 12 July 1198); head of the Welf house
Since
June 1198
Born
1175 or 1176 (place not pinned); about 24 years old
Family
Welf. Third surviving son of Henry the Lion (died 6 August 1195) and Matilda of England (died 1189); grandson of Henry II of England, nephew of Richard I and of John. Raised largely at the Angevin court; Richard made him count of Poitou (1196).
Confidence
high

Election, coronation and betrothal from de.wikipedia (Otto IV.); January 1199 at Brunswick and the summer 1200 attack on Brunswick from the ADB article on Philip (Winkelmann); residences from the Residenzen-Kommission handbook. His whereabouts on 1 January 1200 are not pinned: the Regesta Imperii could not be reached.

Overlord

None in his own eyes. He has asked Innocent III to confirm him and to crown him emperor; on 20 May 1199 the pope wrote that he would support Otto if Otto submitted to the Church, but he has made no decision (that comes in 1201).

What the realm holds

  • The undivided Welf allods in Saxony (see the three Welf lord records): Brunswick and the Brunswick land, the Harz lands round Osterode and Herzberg, Lüneburg and its salt, Hanover, Celle, Göttingen, Northeim and Einbeck, with overlordship of the counts of Blankenburg, Dannenberg, Lüchow and Roden
  • The Lower Rhine party: Cologne, Aachen and their allies (lrh sheet)
  • None of the king's own places in Saxony: Goslar is in Philip's hands since 5 January 1199

Allies and rivals

Allies: Archbishop Adolf of Cologne (who crowned him), the bishops of Paderborn and Minden, the duke of Brabant (betrothal), his brothers, the Welf ministeriales and vassal counts in Saxony (Blankenburg, Dannenberg, Lüchow, Roden). Rivals: Philip of Swabia and his Saxon backers: Archbishop Ludolf of Magdeburg, Bishop Gardolf of Halberstadt, Duke Bernhard of Saxony, Margrave Otto II of Brandenburg, Landgrave Hermann of Thuringia (since summer 1199), the burgrave Gebhard of Querfurt and the Staufen counts of the Weser hills (Everstein).

The realm that morning

Otto holds Brunswick and the Welf lands of Saxony and the Lower Rhine around Cologne. Where he himself spends the winter is not pinned. In January 1199 he was at Brunswick; later in 1199 his attempt to help his Alsatian supporters got no further than Boppard, and Philip's advance to the Lower Rhine (September 1199) forced him back to Cologne (ADB). The last attested position is therefore Cologne in the autumn of 1199; his long stays were at Brunswick and Cologne.

The Saxon war is a war of raids. Otto besieged Goslar in the winter of 1198-99 and withdrew when Philip arrived on 5 January 1199; Henry the count palatine raided Philip's partisans from Brunswick early in 1199. While Philip kept Christmas 1199 at Magdeburg, Henry rode into the archbishopric and burned Calbe on the Saale; in retaliation the troops of Philip and Archbishop Ludolf destroyed the Welf-side town of Helmstedt almost completely, and the castle of Warberg, 'at the turn of 1199/1200'.

Whether that reprisal falls just before or just after first light on 1 January is not pinned (GM ruling). At Philip's Magdeburg court were most of the great men and bishops of Saxony, among them Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen (ADB). Otto backs himself; the question is who still backs him.

Wealth

The Welf allods: tolls and the market of Brunswick (Otto's toll privilege for the burghers of 1199 is the town's oldest charter), the salt of Lüneburg, the Welf forests and castles of the Harz, rents and advocacies over abbeys (Königslutter, St Blasius, St Michael at Lüneburg). English money dried up with Richard's death. The Rammelsberg silver at Goslar is not his (and mining there had stopped after the damage of 1180, according to de.wikipedia).

Military

The Welf ministeriales and vassal counts of eastern Saxony; Henry the count palatine is his best captain and holds Brunswick. Brunswick itself is not yet walled all round: after the Staufen attack of 1200 the five quarters were enclosed by one wall with twelve gates. Castles in Welf hands include Dankwarderode in Brunswick, Wolfenbüttel (ministerial), the Kalkberg castle at Lüneburg, Altencelle, Osterode and Herzberg in the Harz.

The status of Lichtenberg near Salzgitter (besieged by Otto's men in 1206) and of the Harzburg that winter is not pinned. No figures.

Threats

  • Philip's Saxon coalition on three sides: Magdeburg and Brandenburg to the east, Halberstadt and Bernhard of Anhalt to the south-east, Goslar's Staufen garrison to the south
  • Loss of English money after Richard's death, and John's treaty with France
  • Hermann of Thuringia's defection in summer 1199 opened the south
  • Wavering Saxon churches: Hildesheim's new bishop Hartbert's side is not pinned
  • A direct Staufen assault on Brunswick, which is not fully walled

Court and officers

Otto's usual residences were his father's palace at Brunswick (Dankwarderode, by St Blasius) and, at Cologne, probably the archbishop's palace. His steward (Truchsess) was Gunzelin of Wolfenbüttel, a Welf ministerial born about 1170, son of Ekbert I of Wolfenbüttel (date he took the office not pinned). The Rhenish imperial ministerial Conrad of Wijlre served him as seneschal on the English model (date not pinned). The Brunswick ministeriales (Wolfenbüttel, Blankenburg, Heimburg and others) form his Saxon household.

His chancery and its head that winter are not pinned.

Family and heirs

Unmarried and childless. Betrothed at Aachen in 1198 to Maria of Brabant, then about 7 to 9 years old, daughter of Duke Henry I of Brabant (the marriage comes only in 1214). Brothers: Henry the Elder (born about 1173), count palatine of the Rhine since 1195 by his marriage (1193) to Agnes of Staufen, Philip's own first cousin; Henry's son Henry was born in 1197 (a daughter, Irmgard, is dated only '1200' and may not yet be born).

William (born at Winchester 11 April 1184), aged 15, unmarried, a hostage for Richard in 1193-1195 and back in Germany since 1195/96; he acted for Henry at Brunswick in 1197-1198 while Henry was on crusade. Sister Matilda (Richenza) is married to Count Geoffrey III of Perche (France map). The heir presumptive to the Welf claims is Henry.

Division of the inheritance

Not yet made. Since Henry the Lion's death in 1195 the brothers have held the allods jointly; Henry as eldest led at first, William deputised at Brunswick in 1197-1198, and from 1199 Otto exercises lordship in Brunswick himself. The formal division is the treaty of Paderborn, 1 May 1202: Otto takes Brunswick with most of the Harz; Henry takes Hanover, Celle and Göttingen (with the Stade claims); William takes Lüneburg, Dannenberg, Lüchow and Blankenburg.

Before 1202 any line between the brothers' shares is projection.

English ties

Otto grew up at the courts of Henry II and Richard I. Richard backed his election with money and diplomacy to set a Welf against Philip Augustus's Staufen ally. Richard's death on 6 April 1199 cut that off. Richard's will left Otto a large share of his treasure according to Roger of Howden; whether John has paid any of it by January 1200 is not pinned, and Otto's later complaints suggest he had not. John is negotiating with Philip Augustus, and the peace he will make (Le Goulet) binds him not to help Otto.

Relations with rome

Good and improving. Innocent III leans to Otto (letter of 20 May 1199) because Otto is willing to leave Sicily and the papal lands alone, while Philip has been excommunicated since 1196-97 and the Staufen princes told the pope at Speyer (28 May 1199) to keep out.

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.

  1. Turn of 1199/1200 (if not already done)Philip's and Ludolf's men destroy Helmstedt and Warberg in reprisal for Henry's burning of Calbe.Depends on: The Staufen army at Magdeburg striking west before it disperses. Stopped by: The court dispersing first, or a Welf force covering Helmstedt.
  2. January-spring 1200Raids continue between the Welf lands and Philip's Saxon partisans; Philip's own movements after the Magdeburg Christmas court are not pinned.Depends on: No truce being arranged; Archbishop Conrad of Mainz tried to broker one in 1199 and Otto refused. Stopped by: A truce brokered by Mainz or the pope.
  3. 22 May 1200Treaty of Le Goulet: John undertakes not to help his nephew Otto with men or money without Philip Augustus's consent.Depends on: John and Philip Augustus both willing to settle (see the France map). Stopped by: A breakdown of the Angevin-Capetian talks; then English help to Otto stays possible.
  4. 28 July 1200 (planned)Archbishop Conrad of Mainz plans a court of arbitration with eight princes from each side; the ADB says Otto accepted. It comes to nothing.Depends on: Both parties agreeing and Conrad alive. Stopped by: Philip's princes refusing (the ADB ties this to their Speyer declaration, which modern accounts date to 28 May 1199).
  5. 21 August 1200Philip's attack on Brunswick fails completely; Henry the count palatine defends it. Afterwards Brunswick's five quarters are walled with twelve gates.Depends on: Philip mustering the Saxon and Thuringian princes; Henry being in Brunswick. Stopped by: Philip being called away (Rhine, Italy), or Brunswick being taken by surprise before the walls are built.
  6. 25 or 27 October 1200Archbishop Conrad of Mainz dies; the split election (Lupold of Worms for Philip, Siegfried of Eppstein at Bingen) gives Otto a Mainz claimant. At Christmas 1200 Otto takes Mainz with Siegfried's party and pushes south to Weissenburg before Philip forces him back.Depends on: Conrad's natural death. Stopped by: Conrad's survival or an agreed election.
  7. Turn of 1200-1201Innocent III weighs the candidates (the Deliberatio, drafted in 1200) and recognises Otto on 1 March 1201; his legate proclaims Otto at Cologne on 3 July 1201 (ADB).Depends on: Otto keeping his promises to the Church. Stopped by: Otto defeated or reconciled with Philip first.

Places of note

  • Dankwarderode and St Blasius, Brunswick: The Welf palace and collegiate church, Otto's Saxon residence

Where the sources disagree

  • The campaign notes put Philip's Christmas court at Magdeburg (confirmed). They do not say where Otto spent the winter; this research could not pin it either (Regesta Imperii unreachable).
  • The NDB article on Archbishop Ludolf puts Philip's Magdeburg Christmas in 1198; the ADB, de.wikipedia and Walther's poem put it in 1199, as do the campaign notes. 1199 is followed here.
  • Timing rule needed: the burning of Calbe (during the Christmas court) has happened by 1 January; the reprisal on Helmstedt and Warberg is dated only 'the turn of 1199/1200'.
  • The ADB on Otto IV dates the Staufen princes' Speyer declaration to 28 May 1200; de.wikipedia and the campaign notes date it to 28 May 1199. 1199 is followed.
  • The ADB on Otto names Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen among the prelates at Philip's Magdeburg Christmas of 1199; the campaign notes give Bremen no allegiance (nsw sheet).

Evidence: Election, coronation, betrothal, the 1202 division and the summer 1200 attack on Brunswick are well attested. Otto's whereabouts on 1 January 1200, his officers that winter and the payment of Richard's legacy are not pinned.

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.

14 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.

Sources and studies

  1. Otto IV.: NDB (B. U. Hucker, 1999) and ADB (1887), via Deutsche Biographie
  2. Otto IV. (HRR), de.wikipedia
  3. E. Winkelmann, Philipp von Schwaben, ADB 26 (1887), via Deutsche Biographie
  4. Höfe und Residenzen im spätmittelalterlichen Reich: Otto IV.
  5. Wilhelm von Lüneburg, de.wikipedia
  6. Deutscher Thronstreit, de.wikipedia
  7. Ludolf, Erzbischof von Magdeburg: NDB and ADB, via Deutsche Biographie
  8. Helmstedt, de.wikipedia

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