Bodo was the son of Count Henry of Stolberg and Elizabeth née Countess of Hohenstein.
Perhaps he spent some time at a court of the Counts of Schwarzburg, possibly the one in the Sondershausen.
After his father's death, he initially ruled jointly with his elder brother Henry, who died c. 1416.
The first time Bodo is mentioned as acting alone, was when he acquired the imperial fief of Resperwenda in 1403.
One of his most important achievements, was a treaty of inheritance with the Houses of Schwarzburg and Hohnstein in 1433.