 Abt 0770 - Bef 0825 (< 54 years)
-
| Name |
WELF Welf |
| Birth |
Abt 0770 |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
Bef 0825 |
| Notes |
- Welf (Hwelf) is the earliest documented ancestor of the Welf dynasty (sometimes known as Guelph, Guelf, Guelfe). His name is perhaps a shortened form of Welfhard or Bernwelf.[1]
The first time he appears in the records is in the Gesta Hludowici imperatoris (Life of Emperor Louis the Pious), written by Thegan of Trier in about 836-837,[2] where he is mentioned as the father of Louis' second wife, Judith; married in 819.
Ancestry
Although Welf was a noble in the Carolingian empire, its not clear exactly where. Thegan calls him a Duke in Bavaria ( Hwelfi ducis ... noblissima progenie Bawariorum) though he never held the title Duke or Count of Bavaria, which appears in many secondary sources.[3]
It's also possible he was a Count in Argengau a district later included in the Duchy of Swabia and also the northern section of the Kingdom of Burgundy, based on his possible father or grandfather, and then his son, ruling that area.
In secondary sources, he is often called Count of Altdorf, but again there are no primary sources to confirm this and it is later members of the family who ruled there.
His parentage is unknown, but his father or grandfather may have been Rothard (Ruothard/Chrothard), Count in Argengau,[4] see that profile for further details.
Another theory is that his father is Isanbart, a Count in Allemannia, the son of a Count Warin and Hadellinde.[3]
Birth date
The only date that can be assigned to him, is the marriage date of his daughter Judith in 819, when it would be supposed that he was still alive. Given that a birth date of about 800-805 is proposed for her and she is thought to be his eldest daughter and possibly eldest child[5] then a birth date of about 770 seems reasonable for Welf.
Family
His spouse was Heilwig, (family name unknown but from the nobility of Saxony)[6]
Judith (c.805 - 19 April 843), Empress and Queen of the Franks[1][2]
Konrad "l'Ancien" (d. 22 March 862/66), Graf von Linzgau und Argengau, Comte de Paris, husband of Adelais de Tours
Raoul/Rudolf I (d. 15 Oct 866), Comte de Sens, husband of Hruodun (d. after 867)
Emma/Hemma (d. 31 Jan 876), Queen of Bavaria and Carinthia[3]
Possible child
Hrodroh/Ruadroh, appears in a list of names after Konrad and Rudolf and before Hemma, and it thought to be another son, died 1 February, year unknown.[3]
Unverified children
Eticho, is listed in a late 12th century document; Historia Welforum Weingartensis, as the son of Welf, and ancestor of the German Welfs.[3] He has continued to appear in many works[7] but there are no primary documents that name him and he is thought to be legendary or at least not a son of Welf.
Deda (Edith), appears in online genealogies as the daughter of Welf and Heilwig, and married to Bernard de Toulouse, Count of Barcelona. According to Cawley, his wife is called Dhuoda (Doda) and her parents are unknown. There seems to be no primary sources that call her the daughter of Welf and Heilwig and the relationship must be from a much later source and should be disregarded.
Death
He died on 3 September, probably before about circa 825, when his wife was appointed Abbess of Chelles.[3]
Sources
↑ Cawley; Hiebl
↑ Thegan of Trier
↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Baldwin, S. (2012, 16 August). 'Welf: Duke or count. Ancestor of the Welfs.' in The Henry Project, Stewart Baldwin & Todd Farmerie (Eds). Retrieved 29 December from https://fasg.org/projects/henryproject/data/welf0000.htm
↑ Baldwin; Cawley, Huebl; Moriarty; Settipani
↑ her known siblings all died about 20 years or more after her
↑ Baldwin, citing Thegan, Vita Hludowici Im
↑ see for instance, Halliday, p. 86 & 104
Baldwin, S. (2012, 16 August). 'Welf: Duke or count. Ancestor of the Welfs.' in The Henry Project, Stewart Baldwin & Todd Farmerie (Eds). Retrieved 13 Feb 2021 from https://fasg.org/projects/henryproject/data/welf0000.htm
Cawley, C. (2015, 31 August). 'Chapter 9A: Grafen im Linzgau, Grafen von Altdorf (Welf)' in Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families. Retrieved 29 December 2015 from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SWABIAN%20NOBILITY.htm#_Toc428785911
Halliday, A. (1826). Annals of the House of Hanover, vol. 1. Retrieved 30 December 2015 from https://archive.org/stream/annalshousehano01hallgoog#page/n8/mode/2up
http://www.manfred-hiebl.de/genealogie-mittelalter/welfen/welfen_aeltere_linie/welf_graf_um_825/welf_graf_+_um_825.html
Moriarty, G.A. (n.d.). The Plantagenet ancestry of King Edward III and Queen Philippa, copy of handwritten original. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/plantagenetances00mori
Settipani, C. & Van Kerrebrouck, P. (1993). La préhistoire des Capétiens 481-987: Première partie - Mérovingiens, Carolingiens et Robertiens, being volume 1 of Nouvelle histoire généalogique de l'auguste Maison de France, P. Van Kerrebrouck (Ed.); Villeneuve d'Ascq, France.
'Thegan of Trier'. (2015, 1 May). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 29 December 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thegan_of_Trier&oldid=660159819
See also:
W.H.Turton, "The Plantagenet Ancestry" (Balt.:Gen. Pub. Co., 1968), p. 23 & 181, titles him Guelph III, Count of Andech, and has him son of Guelph, 745-800.}
|
| Person ID |
I57974 |
Freeman-Smith |
| Last Modified |
27 Jan 2026 |
| Family 1 |
|
| Children |
| | 1. WELF Judith, b. 0805, Altdorf, Schwaben, Bavaria, Germany  d. 19 Apr 0843, Tours, France (Age ~ 37 years) [Father: natural] |
|
| Family ID |
F347068 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
27 Jan 2026 |
| Family 2 |
SACHSEN Heilwich, b. Abt 0780, Kingdom of Saxony, Frankish Empire d. 0833, Holy Roman Empire (Age 53 years) |
| Marriage |
0805 |
| Children |
| | 1. WELF Konrad, b. Abt 0805, Bourgogne, Francia d. 22 Mar 0862, Auxerre, Bourgogne, Francia (Age 57 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural] |
|
| Family ID |
F25866 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
27 Jan 2026 |
|
|
