Knight Hundt
The Ritter Hundt is a legendary figure from the noble family Hundt of Saulheim that are not clearly can be assigned to a historical person.
background
The name Hundt probably comes from the Germanic ?? Hundreds , a group of ?? 100 able-bodied men who were eligible on ?? Hundsthing ?? to participate. The head of such a hundred was called Hun or Hundt . The first documented mention of a dog goes back to a document from 1311 in which the talk of a ?? Hundt of Sowelheim ?? is. In the course of the 14th and 15th centuries, the knightly family expanded, so in 1338 Hermann Hunt received Gieselwerder Castle near Aschaffenburg as a fief . Furthermore, the family took over important offices and increased their influence in the later Rheinhessen region .
Legend
According to legend, a member of the Hundt family is said to have distinguished himself around 1500 due to his special drinkability. His thirst for wine and his success in drinking competitions are said to have been celebrated in songs even then. In 1935 Otto Höser (1897-1959) composed the song of the knight Hundt, supposedly based on a Mainz ballad, which is still very popular today as a street hit and at carnival meetings in Rheinhessen and has been set to music several times. The current popularity of the knight Hundt is largely due to this song.
Regional importance
Since viticulture and the wine trade are still important agricultural and industrial branches in the region, the Ritter Hundt is an ideal advertising medium for regional marketing. Several wineries and inns use the name for advertising purposes today. The municipality of Saulheim dedicated a life-size statue made of red sandstone to the knight Hundt in 1987 and named a street and a sports hall after the figure. In addition, the community awards the so-called Ritter Hundt plaque to people who have made outstanding contributions to the wine-growing region .
Several events are also named after the Knight Hundt, for example the annual Nieder-Saulheim Knight Hundt Wine Cellar and the Knight Hundt Ball .
literature
- Ernst Heinrich Kneschke : New General German Adels Lexicon , Volume 4, P. 529, 1863; (Digital scan)