Wolfer
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Wolfer | |
|---|---|
| Died | 1158–1161 |
| Buried | Küszén Abbey (Burg Güssing) |
| Noble family | gens Héder |
| Issue | Hencse I (?) Simon (?) Lawrence I |
Wolfer or Wolfger (also Walfer; died between 1158 and 1161) was a German knight possibly from the Duchy of Swabia, who, alongside his brother Héder, settled down in the Kingdom of Hungary and became a member of the Hungarian nobility. Wolfer was also co-founder of the prestigious Héder clan and ancestor of the powerful and infamous Kőszegi family, which ruled whole Transdanubia at the peak of its power.[1]
..., Volphger, who was descended from the counts of Hemburg, came with his brother Hedricus from Alemannia with three hundred armed horsemen, to whom Duke Geysa made a gift of Mount Kyscen and an island in the Danube near Iaurinum that he might dwell there for ever; here he built a castle of wood, and on the same mountain he founded a monastery, where he is buried. From him and his brother springs the clan of Heder.
... Wolfger and his brother Hedrich come to Hungary from Wildon with forty knights in armour. Wolfger was given Mt. Güssing to settle in. There he built a wooden fort, and later a monks' cloister, where he was buried after his death. The Héder descend from him.
According to the Illuminated Chronicle, Wolfer and Héder belonged to the Counts of Hainburg. Mark of Kalt's work incorrectly – accidentally or intentionally – refers to Grand Prince Géza (c. 972–997), father of Saint Stephen, the first King of Hungary, in fact, Wolfer and Héder arrived to Hungary during the first regnal years of the minor Géza II of Hungary (definitely before 1146, when Héder was already mentioned as ispán). The brothers' place of origin is in dispute. Simon of Kéza's Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum writes that Wolfer and Héder came from "Vildonia" with forty armored soldiers, referring to Burgruine Wildon in Styria, however the castle itself was built only after 1157 thus that identification is incorrect. Johannes de Thurocz says in his work Chronica Hungarorum that the two knights originated from Hainburg of "Alemannia", therefore the Duchy of Swabia. Presumably Mark of Kalt's version is closer to the truth, as there was a certain knight Wolfger von Erlach in the first half of the 12th century in Hainburg.
As later the Héder clan was named after Héder and not after his elder brother, historian János Karácsonyi argued that Héder "was more talented than Wolfer or lived a very long time [after his brother's death]".[4]
