It was written not long after events, possibly even before the death of the Emperor Henry VI (1197).
The sole surviving manuscript, made in the early 13th century at Salem Abbey, is not quite complete and seems to be missing the last sentences.
Conrad's father, William V, was one of Barbarossa's closest Italian allies.
The History may also make use of the Marbach Annals, or perhaps of a lost common source, for its coverage of the assembly of Strasbourg (1187) and the "Court of Christ" (1188).
[1] The anonymous author was probably from Swabia, judging by his knowledge of individual Swabian knights.