List of nobles and magnates within the Holy Roman Empire in the 13th century

The Holy Roman Empire was a claimed “successor state” to Charlemagne's Carolingian empire along with France and several other realms. The empire was a lot larger than modern day Germany and included the modern day countries Austria, the low countries, large parts of Eastern France, Northern Italy, Slovenia, parts of the northern Baltic, and Switzerland. Although the main culture was Germanic, this was not necessarily a single cultural identity and there were large differences in local dialect. Additionally many foreign cultures had influence on the culture and language of the border territories (France, Italy, Poland, Denmark, Hungary). The structure of the nobility is complicated in that many different titles were used across the empire and do not necessarily mean the same thing in different contexts. It is also complicated because the number of lords holding land directly from the Emperor is so high and each of these lordships functioned as a semi-independent state pursuing their own interests. The vassals of the Emperor would generally have vassals of their own such as Knights, Castellans, and Ministerialis. Occasionally they would have lords as their vassals if they were powerful enough. Sometimes a knight or lord would act as a vogt (an advocate) for a prelate or prince-bishop (a bishop who owns a large fief and has secular rights). These vogts would be responsible for leading the bishops troops and administering justice by the sword (giving them quite a bit of power). Many of the German nobles did not practice primogeniture and had their estates split between their male heirs, though often they worked together in their common interests.

The 13th century was a particularly fragmented time in the history of the Holy Roman Empire due to the great interregnum (1245-1275). Even with one Emperor who had enough land and power to wield kingly power the Holy Roman Empire was split into hundreds of fiefdoms whose holders were often at war with each-other. Although the Empire started off as probably the greatest power in Europe, at the time under Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor who ruled the duchy of Swabia, the kingdom of Sicily, and the kingdom of Jerusalem, Imperial power slowly disintegrated as the pope encouraged anti-kings to curb Frederick's power due to his invasions into northern Italy. When Frederick died in 1250 there were two claimants to the throne: his son Conrad IV, and William II of Holland supported by the pope. Both of these kings died before 1257 and left a massive power vacuum which foreign royalty sought to use to become Emperor (Richard of Cornwall, Alfonso X). Richard of Cornwall was very rich and was able to gain four votes using bribes. He was crowned King of the Romans in Aachen by the Archbishop of Cologne in 1257 while Alfonso never even set foot in Germany. After Richards death in 1272 the powerful Swabian expansionist Count Rudolf I of Germany was elected emperor and reigned until 1291. Following his death the count of Nassau Adolf, King of the Romans took over as king of the Romans. However he was deposed in 1298 by a coalition of powerful nobles spearheaded by the King of Bohemia, the Archbishop of Cologne, and the Margrave of Brandenburg for his aggressive policy in Thuringia. The previous King Rudolf's son Albert I of Germany was elected and the Interregnum finally ended.

Emperors and emperor claimants The rulers of the Holy Roman Empire were crowned in the city of Aachen as King of the Romans (or King of Germany) by the archbishops of Cologne. Under normal circumstances they would also be crowned as Emperor by the Pope but throughout most of the thirteenth century this was not the case. +House of HohenstaufenHouse of WelfHouse of ThuringiaHouse of PlantaganetHouse of HollandHouse of IvreaHouse of HabsburgHouse of NassauPhilip of Swabia (1198–1208)Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor (1198–1215)Henry Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia (1246–1247)Richard of Cornwall (1257–1272)William II of Holland (1247–1256)Alfonso X of Castile (1257–1275)Rudolf I of Germany (1272–1291)Adolf, King of the Romans (1292–1298)Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (1212–1250)Albert I of Germany (1298–1308)Henry (VII) of Germany (1220–1235)Conrad IV of Germany (1237–1254)

Lords with imperial immediacy The Holy Roman empire was essentially a confederacy of rulers who theoretically owed allegiance to the Emperor who was elected from the 7 prince-electors. From the start of the 13th century there was a dispute between the House of Welf and the House of Hohenstaufen over who was the rightful ruler of the empire which resulted in a fractured empire for most of the 13th century. The main political players within the Holy Roman Empire were the prince-electors, anointed kings, princes, and other palatine lords who wielded large amounts of influence on their vassals and also their smaller neighbors. They were also direct vassals of the emperor himself and possessed palatine powers. The regions listed are purely for contextualization and do not reflect exactly how the medieval world would have necessarily made their provincial divisions. The regions are alphabetically ordered and the princes are listed in order of precedence. +Within Bavaria1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8thDukes of BavariaLouis I, Duke of Bavaria (1183–1231)Otto II, Duke of Bavaria (1231–1253) [From here split to]Dukes of Upper BavariaLouis II, Duke of Bavaria (1253–1294)Rudolf I, Duke of Bavaria (1294–1319)Dukes of Lower Bavaria –Henry XIII, Duke of Bavaria (1253–1290)Otto III, Duke of Bavaria (1290–1312)Counts of RheussHeinrich II 1217–1231Prince-Provosts of BerchtesgadenHugo II 1201–1210Konrad Garrer 1210–1211Friedrich II Ellinger 1211–1217Friedrich III of Ortenburg 1231–1239Bernhard II 1239–1252Heinrich III 1252–1257Konrad III von Medling 1257–1283Johann I Sachs von Sachsenau 1283–1303Prince-Archbishops of SalzburgEberhard II of Regensburg (1200–1246)Philip of SpanheimUlrich of Sekau (1256–1265)Ladislaus of Salzburg (1265–1270)Frederick II of Walchen (1270–1284)Rudolf of Hoheneck (1284–1290)Conrad IV of Breitenfurt (1291–1312)Prince-Bishops of EichstattHartwich I von Hirschberg 1195–1223Heinrich I von Ziplingen 1225–1229Heinrich II von Tischlingen 1229-1234Friedrich II von Parsberg 1237–1246Heinrich IV von Württemberg, 1246–1259Hildebrand von Morn 1261–1279Reimbrecht von Mulenhard 1279–1297Konrad II von Pfaffenhausen 1297–1305Prince-Bishops of RegensbergKonrad III of Laichling (1196–1204)Konrad IV of Frontenhausen (1204–1227), Siegfried (1227–1246)Albert I of Pietengau (1247–1260)Albertus Magnus (1260–1262)Leo Thundorfer (1262–1277)Heinrich II von Rotteneck (1277–1296)Konrad V von Luppurg (1296–1313)Abbots of Ursberg Abbots of Waldsassen

Within Bohemia

Kings of Bohemia – Ottokar I of Bohemia (1292-1230), Wenceslaus I of Bohemia (1230–1253), Ottokar II of Bohemia (1253–1278), Wenceslaus II of Bohemia (1278–1305)

Within Burgundy

Counts of Burgundy – Otto I, Duke of Merania (1208–1231), Otto III, Count of Burgundy (1231–1248), Adelaide, Countess of Burgundy (1248–1279), Hugh, Count of Burgundy (1248–1266 by right of his wife), Philip I, Count of Savoy (1267–1279), Otto IV, Count of Burgundy (1279–1303)

Counts of Albon & Dauphins of Viennois – Beatrice of Albon (1162–1228), Guigues VI of Viennois (1228–1237), Guigues VII of Viennois (1237–1269), John I of Viennois (1269–1282), Humbert I of Viennois (1282–1307)

Principality of Orange – William I of Baux (1180–1218), William II of Baux (1180–1239), William III of Baux (1239–1257), Raymond I of Baux (1218–1282), Bertrand IV of Baux (1282–1314)

Counts of Provence – Alfonso II, Count of Provence (1185–1209),

Counts of Geneva – Humbert I of Geneva (1195–1220), William II of Geneva (1220–1252), Rudolf of Geneva (1252–1265), Aymon II of Geneva (1265–1280), Amadeus II of Geneva (1280–1308)

Counts of Savoy – Thomas, Count of Savoy (1189–1233), Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy (1233–1253), Boniface, Count of Savoy (1253–1263), Peter II, Count of Savoy (1263–1268), Philip I, Count of Savoy (1268–1285), Amadeus V, Count of Savoy (1285–1323)

Counts of Montbeliard – Richard III of Montfaucon (1195–1227), Theodoric III of Montbéliard (1227–1283), Guillemette of Neufchâtel (1283–1317)

Prince-Bishops of Besançon – Amadeus de Tramelay (1197–1220), Gerard I. de Rougemont 1221–1225, John Halgren of Abbeville (1225–1227), Nicolas de Flavigny 1227–1235, Gottfried II. 1236–1241, Jean II. 1242–1244, Guillaume II. de la Tour 1245–1268, Odo de Rougemont 1269–1301

Within Carinthia

Dukes of Carinthia – Bernhard von Spanheim (1202–1256), Ulrich III, Duke of Carinthia (1256–1269), Ottokar II of Bohemia (1269–1276), Rudolf I of Germany (1276–1286), Meinhard, Duke of Carinthia (1286–1295), Henry of Bohemia (1295–1335)

Patriarchs of Aquileia – Pellegrino II of Aquileia (1195–1204), Wolfger von Erla (1204–1218), Berthold (patriarch of Aquileia) (1218–1251), Gregorio di Montelongo (1251–1269), Philip of Spanheim (1269–1273), Raimondo della Torre (1273–1299)

Dukes of Austria – Leopold VI, Duke of Austria (1198–1230), Frederick II, Duke of Austria (1230–1246), (Interregnum (1246–1278), Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (1278–1282), Albert I of Germany (1282–1308)

Margraves of Verona – Herman V, Margrave of Baden-Baden (1190–1243), Ezzelino III da Romano (1223–1233), Herman VI, Margrave of Baden (1243–1250), Frederick I, Margrave of Baden (1250–1268)

Dukes of Merania & Margraves of Istria – Berthold, Duke of Merania (1188–1204), Henry II, Margrave of Istria (1204–1228), Otto I, Duke of Merania (1228–1234), Otto III, Count of Burgundy (1234–1248)

Within Frisia

Counts of Flanders – Baldwin I, Latin Emperor (1194–1205), Joan, Countess of Flanders (1205–1244), Margaret II, Countess of Flanders (1244–1278), Guy, Count of Flanders (1278–1305)

Counts of Holland – Dirk VII, Count of Holland (1190–1203), Ada, Countess of Holland (1203–1207), William I, Count of Holland (1203–1222), Floris IV, Count of Holland (1222–1234), William II of Holland (1239–1256), Floris V, Count of Holland (1246–1296), John I, Count of Holland (1296–1299)

Prince-Bishops of Utrecht – Dirk van Are (1197–1212), Otto I (bishop of Utrecht) (1212–1215), Otto II van Lippe (1216–1227), Wilbrand van Oldenburg (1227–1233), Otto III van Holland (1233–1249), Gozewijn van Amstel (van Randerath) (1249–1250), Henry I van Vianden (1250–1267), John I, Bishop-Elect of Utrecht (1267–1290), John II van Sierck (1290–1296), Willem II Berthout (1296–1301)

Counts of Guelders – Otto I, Count of Guelders (1182–1207), Gerard III, Count of Guelders (1207–1229), Otto II, Count of Guelders (1229–1271), Reginald I, Count of Guelders (1271–1318)

Duchy of Limburg – Henry III, Duke of Limburg (1165–1221), Waleran III, Duke of Limburg (1221–1226), Henry IV, Duke of Limburg (1226–1247), Waleran IV, Duke of Limburg (1247–1279), Reginald I of Guelders (1280–1288), John I, Duke of Brabant (1288–1294), John II, Duke of Brabant (1294–1312)

Within Franconia

Counts-Palatine of the Rhine – Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (1195–1213), Henry VI, Count Palatine of the Rhine (1213–1214), Louis I, Duke of Bavaria (1214–1231), Otto II, Duke of Bavaria (1228–1253), Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (1255–1271), Rudolf I, Duke of Bavaria (1294–1317)

Archbishops of Mainz – Siegfried II (archbishop of Mainz) (1200–1230), Siegfried III (archbishop of Mainz) (1230–1249), Christian II (archbishop of Mainz) (1249–1251), Gerhard I von Daun-Kirberg 1251–1259, Werner II von Eppstein 1260–1284, Heinrich II von Isny 1286–1288, Gerhard II von Eppstein 1286–1305

Burgraves of Nuremberg – Frederick I, Burgrave of Nuremberg (1192–1204), Frederick IV, Count of Zollern (1204–1218), Conrad I, Burgrave of Nuremberg (1218–1262), Frederick III, Burgrave of Nuremberg (1262–1297), John I, Burgrave of Nuremberg (1297–1300)