Noble family Elder House of Welf Role Father of Judith Name Welf Welf | Parents Rothard of Metz | |
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Died October 3, 825 AD, Altdorf, Lower Bavaria, Germany Spouse Hedwig, Duchess of Bavaria (m. 810 AD) Children Judith of Bavaria, Hemma, Conrad I, Count of Auxerre, Rudolph, Count of Ponthieu Grandchildren Charles the Bald, Charles the Fat Similar People Judith of Bavaria, Hildegard of the Vinzgau, Louis the Pious, Charles the Fat, Lothair I | ||
Welf I (or Hwelf; died about 825) is the first documented ancestor of the Elder House of Welf. He is mentioned as a count (comes) in the Frankish lands of Bavaria.
Contents
Life
Welf originated from a distinguished dynasty of Franconian nobles. He is mentioned only once: on the occasion of the wedding of his daughter Judith with Emperor Louis the Pious in 819 at Aachen. His son Conrad later appeared as a dux (duke) in Alamannia and achieved a powerful position in the Upper Swabian estates he possibly had inherited from his mother Hedwig (Heilwig).
His family became politically powerful when Louis the Pious chose his oldest daughter as his 2nd wife upon the death of his consort Ermengarde of Hesbaye. Though Welf himself never became publicly prominent, his family became interwoven with the Carolingian dynasty.
Marriage and issue
Welf married Hedwig (Heilwig), daughter of the Saxon count Isambart; Hedwig later became abbess of Chelles. The couple had the following children: