page_title: Héder (genus)
section_title: Origin
hierarchical_section_title: Héder (genus) / Origin
caption_attribution_description: English: Knight Henrik in Chronicon Pictum Magyar: Henrik, a Héderiek vagy Héderváriak őse a Képes Krónika P iniciáléjában karddal, zászlóval és pajzzsal Képes Krónika (Chronicon Pictum)
context_page_description: Héder was the name of a gens in the Kingdom of Hungary, several prominent secular dignitaries came from this kindred. The ancestors of the kindred were two German knights from the Duchy of Swabia, brothers Wolfer and Héder. They were granted large-scale domains in Western Hungary. The powerful and influential Hédervári and Kőszegi noble families descended from them.
context_section_description: ..., 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,
  — Illuminated Chronicle
  ... 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.
  — Simon of Kéza: The Deeds of the Hungarians
  According to the Illuminated Chronicle, Wolfer and Héder belonged to the Counts of Hainburg. Mark of Kált'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). 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 Kált'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.
  In 1157, Gervasius, Bishop of Győr contributed and permitted the foundation of the Benedictine Abbey of Küszén (later Németújvár, present-day Burg Güssing in Austria), to comes Wolfer, who donated several surrounding lands to the monastery. Gervasius subordinated the monastery to the Pannonhalma Abbey and dedicated the new monastery to Virgin Mary. Both Wolfer and Héder were considered strong confidants of Géza II. Héder was the ancestor of the prestigious Hédervári family, while the infamous Kőszegi family originated from Wolfer. As later the Héder genus 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]". Wolfer was buried in the Küszén Abbey.
  Based on Alexander Köcski's seal, the Köcski family was presumably also related to the local powerful Kőszegi family and thus was a scion of the gens Héder too, at least from maternal side. Historian Pál Engel, however, considered that Alexander Köcski individually adopted his seal following his decisive victory over his ardent enemies, the Kőszegis, as a prominent general in Charles I of Hungary's unification war against the oligarchic domains.
caption: Héder as depicted in the Illuminated Chronicle with false coat of arms
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