House von Hoffendolt, Paved in Gold
Siegfried von Hoffendolt (Originally Siegfried Friedmann):
The von Hoffendolts pride themselves on their ability to organize and manage however even they struggle to fully recall the origins of their family. It is known for certain that a man by the name of Siegfried Friedmann emigrated to the castle of Manburg, however on the road he was waylaid by bandits. It is from here that the information is hazy as it was passed down through story and not record. Left for dead with nothing but the torn rags the bandits covered his dignity with, it is said that Siegfried should have died out there however it just so happened that a caravan of Venetian traders were taking the same road as Siegfried. Vincenzo Ascuzzi, a minor trader, found Siegfried and immediately took him in, nursing his wounds and bringing him back up to full health during the route. Taking him to Hoffendolt, a growing town to the north of Manburg, Vincenzo informed Siegfried that he had a choice now. Continue to Manburg, in which case Vincenzo would wish the young man luck and a purse of gold, or he could stay with Vincenzo's company, learning the art of trade and a good living at the same time. It was an opportunity that Siegfried had been looking for and jumped at the chance. For a few years he travelled with Vincenzo, learning the art of trade as well as how to stimulate a market and manage a business. Finally, after Vincenzo had come to trust Siegfried, even naming him a partner (with a minimal share), Siegfried came to be the manager of the Hoffendolt counting house and associated assets. This is where he made his name, turning a growing town into the trading heart between a large part of Austria and the ports of Venice. Vincenzo was an older man than Siegfried and soon passed away, leaving the entire company to Siegfried. In one year Siegfried professionally shifted the focus of the company away from the Italian peninsula and into the German lands. Hoffendolt was his base and here he married and had three children, Karl, Maria and Christoff. Though he also had one illegitimate child with a mistress during his travels in Italy, Mario. Siegfried finally passed away in 1245 AD, having taken the name Hoffendolt to honour where his friend and mentor had brought him, as well as show his loyalty to a town that had given him his fortune.
Karl von Hoffendolt (Part I):
With Siegfried's death he left half of the business to his first born, Karl, born in 1223 AD. Karl was his father's protege and the clear heir to the Hoffendolt enterprise. He was smart, cunning and had a better business acumen than his father ever did. Under Karl the von Hoffendolt fortune grew even further. Karl saw the promise in developing land, not just in goods trading, and bought up much of the field land outside of Hoffendolt, to build upon and then rent back to the people. Karl's siblings were happy to simply enjoy the life of having a quarter of the profits, as Siegfried left them each with a quarter of the business. Karl became a public figure in Hoffendolt as a response to his heavy investment in the town. Soon the people were calling for him to officially run for the local government, he had the funds to campaign and realistically he was a lot more effective in administration than anybody else pushing for local council. After a lot of pushing Karl eventually ran and, by a landslide, was brought in to manage the treasury of Hoffendolt. This was a full time job and so Karl relinquished twenty five percent of his shares of the business to his brother, Christoff.
Christoff Hoffendolt:
When Christoff took over the business in 1260 AD he was not too bad at maintaining the fortune, though he was no expert and it was certainly a period of stagnation. Which led to the 'Attack', a dark memory for the Hoffendolts, Mario Friedmann (As he is not allowed the name of von Hoffendolt) arrived from Italy and maneuvered his way into a hostile takeover of the von Hoffendolt business. Christoff was considered a fool and in 1264 challenged Mario to a duel, of all things, for his fifty percent of the business. Christoff was of course killed and it seemed Mario was going to attempt to force out Karl and Maria, taking the von Hoffendolt fortune for himself.
Karl von Hoffendolt (Part II):
With Christoff's demise Karl stepped down from public life, instead focusing his energies on the family business again. Mario was systematically buying up von Hoffendolt assets under a new business with himself as full owner. It would have been crippling had certain politicians Karl had befriended blocked many of the sales using foreign investment laws and regulations to hold up Mario so that Karl could introduce new policy to the business. After much maneuvering Mario was bankrupted through court case costs, as a result of infringing new 'regulations', he refused to appear for and Karl was able to recoup all of the von Hoffendolt assets. Continued his managing of the business, with seventy five percent of the company now, until his late death in 1283 AD. Karl never married and had no children the business passed it its entirety to Maria, who too was on her death bed. Maria had married and had one child, Rudolph.
Rudolph von Hoffendolt:
When his mother, Maria, passed away in 1284 Rudolph became the sole owner of the 'von Hoffendolt Trading Company'. Rudolph was a boy at heart, having only been born twenty three years earlier, in 1261. And decided that trading and business was not too his liking, instead he wanted to be a knight, like those that he had read about. Under the advisement of his uncle's, Karl, adviser he broke the business into several parts and sold them off to other companies in Hoffendolt. This left Rudolph with a fortune the size of a small countries, with this he had an ornate set of armour made, a beautiful long sword forged and a shield to go with it. Rudolph then travelled Austria, many expected him to play knight, be killed and then lose the von Hoffendolt name and fortune to history. However Rudolph was quite an adept fighter. He was able to use the money to hire some of the best fighting tutors and Rudolph served a minor lord the Italian-Austrian border. After a few years of service Rudolph was called upon to put down a small peasant revolt in the fort of Alleburg. A small force, taken from the lord’s retinue, led by Rudolph quickly moved across to the fort and put own the rebels with a quiet efficiency. The without being asked, Rudolph rebuilt the fort, reorganizing its economy and setting a proper system to support the peasants, where the previous lord had just left everyone to their own business. Impressed by his abilities the Duke of Austria gifted Alleburg, on the condition he maintain it as a source of loyal levies. Rudolph accepted and finally settled down to look after the lands he now owned. He was a wise and fair Burgrave and many in Alleburg saw him as a change for good. The von Hoffendolt fortune had shrunk however it was still present and Rudolph had ensured the von Hoffendolts as landed gentry for years to come. Rudolph married the daughter of a local village elder and had two children. Siegfried II and Karl II. Rudolph passed in 1268.
Karl II von Hoffendolt:
Karl was the youngest of Rudolph von Hoffendolt and the very best of the von Hoffendolts. His brother, Siegfried died very young, and so Karl made it his life’s work to be better than anyone could expect. He ushered in an age of steady growth and prosperity to Alleburg, reducing all crime by such a margin that the people who lived in the plains of Rastenburg would move closer to Alleburg to enjoy the vigilance of the routine patrols. Karl II married his childhood sweetheart, a landless noblewoman called Katherine, and had three children of his own. Rudolph II, Albert and Natascha. Karl II finally died in 1351.
Rudolph II von Hoffendolt:
Rudolph was a poor following to Karl II, being the eldest of the two sons Rudolph became Burgrave of Alleburg and replaced the peace and prosperity with harsh taxes and iron fisted rule. Whilst the von Hoffendolt fortune grew the Alleburg fortune shrunk and the people called out to the Duke of Austria for help. Finally the Duke responded by charging Rudolph’s brother, Albert, with bringing Rudolph to justice. In 1358 Rudolph was betrayed by his own guards and delivered to Albert, to be shortly executed.
Albert von Hoffendolt:
Albert was always the favourite child of Karl II and the courts, he shared his father’s fair rule, if he was a little more conservatively minded. When Rudolph took the Burgrave Albert ventured to Austria to act as a Knight on the court of the Duke of Austria, he led small bands of men to enforce the Austrian peace. During his time in Austria he met his wife, an Austrian noble, and had five children, Hubert, Katherine, Maria, Albert and Fredrick. When his brother was finally sentenced to death the Austrian Duchy was in the midst of a civil war. The men of Alleburg were valuable and so Duke Frederick charged Albert with brining his brother to justice. A short campaign ended as Rudolph was betrayed, his execution led to Albert receiving the Burgrave, which had only been kept together by court room manoeuvring by Natascha who had kept some support going to the people. Through the civil war Albert was busy fixing his brother’s mess to send men to the front however he aided the Duke however he could, swearing fealty to Duke Rudolf when Frederik died, even if it was only too keep himself safe until the country separated, for Albert had been a big part of promoting the idea independence. When the Rittenbergs declared their campaign for independence Albert responded in sort, immediately sieging Rastenburg castle and sealing off Alleburg. The siege of Rastenburg castle was short as the defenders were poorly provisioned and with both Alleburg and Rastenburg under his control Albert set about fortifying both. The war was a long one and much of the country suffered, especially being so close to Austria. Neither castle fell though, thanks to the brave defending of the von Hoffendolts and in 1367 when the Pope declared the duchy into existence both castles opened for the first time, in a long time. Albert was old by this point and sadly, a year later, he passed away. Leaving strict plans in place for rebuilding Rastenburg Castle, which the von Hoffendolts now claimed as their home, and Alleburg.
Albert II von Hoffendolt:
Albert II was the head of the von Hoffendolts after Albert died, being the eldest he took the Burgrave of Rastenburg Castle and left the Burgrave of Alleburg to his brother, Fredrick, which angered Fredrick’s twin, Hubert slightly. Though a fair ruler Albert was beset with the troubles of his feuding siblings, politically ill-equipped to deal with the infighting between Herbert and Fredrick it was to Albert’s grace that the Austrians invaded. With the invasion Albert charged his brothers with helping him beat back the invaders. Rastenburg was mostly ignored as the Austrians drove for the capital however it didn’t stop the Austrian men looting, pillaging and raping the many hamlets and villages along the way. Albert led forces with Fredrick to the aid of the von Rittenbergs, following their Duke into Austria. Whilst they were in Austria Konrad raised his flag in civil war. Fearing that Hubert had joined said call Albert and Fredrick pulled their forces back, along with the rest of the army. When they arrived it was too their surprise that Herbert had actually raised his forces against the pretender, harassing his armies and stopping him from properly organising. It was this harassment that allowed Albert and the rest of the army to attack Konrad. It was on this field that both Otto IV von Rittenberg and Fredrick died. Albert and Hubert are famously painted fighting side by side as they charge a line of rebels. After the civil war Albert decided leading the family was not for him, gifting the Burgrave of Rastenburg castle to Hubert he kept the Burgrave of Alleburg for himself, feeling even more proud when Hubert was gifted the County of Rastenburg in its entirety. Albert had two children Maria III and Albert the III. Albert died in 1397 during the crusade against the Ottomans.
Hubert von Hoffendolt:
Hubert always felt undervalued, he was a skilled fighter, tactician and diplomat and yet he found that every honour was skipping over him. Without a Burgrave at his youth he spent his time training with the men and going on court trips to the Duke’s court. During his time in court he campaigned furiously for better preparation against a new Austrian attack which he felt was ‘Imminent’ as well as more recognised titles for the von Hoffendolts who he thought were ‘overlooked’. During his youth he fought furiously with his twin brother, Fredrick, once even threatening to lead a coup against his twin. He was bluffing of course but they were still tense times. With the outbreak of civil war Hubert showed his true colours and fought valiantly against Konrad, keeping the rebels busy so that the Duke and his brothers could return from Austria. Being a twin to Fredrick Hubert was heartbroken at his brother’s demise however used it to spur him on, especially when his older brother retreated slightly from politics and allowed Hubert the chance to become a count and take Rastenburg castle. Hubert was a smart and calculated leader, taking the von Hoffendolts and making them a favourite of the masses as well as popular in court. He promoted farming and growth in Rastenburg as well as put in the first steps to a failry secure mining infrastructure in the mountains in the south. He also used his position to Knight his nephews and give them villages to control. When the crusade against the Ottomans came Hubert took a deadly wound, it became infected and soon passed away. Leaving behind Niko, Siegfried III and Karl III.
Karl III von Hoffendolt:
Current leader of the von Hoffendolts.
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