The Von Heisenberg Family

A Brief History of The Von Heisenberg Family

An Excerpt from Karl Shilton’s “Of Blue Blood: A Guide to the Noble Houses of Wissenland

Like much of the nobility in Wissenland, the Von Heisenberg family find it difficult to trace their roots back further than 1707, as many records of the period were lost during Gorbad Ironclaw’s invasion of the province. However, it is known that the family prior to the invasion ruled over the town of Heisenberg, the town from which their name originates.

The first name to emerge from the records in the 18^th Century is Otto Kirsch, being noted as being made Lord of Heisenberg in 1776 by the ruling Baron of Meissen. This was the family’s entry into the nobility of Wissenland, and Otto took the name of his protectorate town in its honour, consigning the Kirsch family to the annals of Heisenberg history.

Between the 19^th and 23^rd Centuries, the Von Heisenberg family consolidated their position within the nobility of Wissenland. They invested in the flourishing trade in the Barony, making themselves particularly wealthy, and continued their legacy through tactical marriages, mainly for wealth, rather than position, for they sought to establish their lineage more, before attempting to scale the hierarchical ladder. Due to their low standing, the records give little information but names and dates of births, deaths and marriages, which can all be found in the accompanying indices.

It is not until the 24^th Century that the Von Heisenberg name truly appears again in any worthwhile form. In 2304, when the great Emperor Magnus the Pious established his Court in Nuln, the noble families of northern Wissenland began to grow more and more important. Lucas von Heisenberg, the patriarch at the time, attended the Court regularly as the chief consort of the Barony, send on behalf of his Baron, Victor von Liebewitz, ancestor of the current Countess of Wissenland.

This may not at first seem particularly important, and indeed, the von Heisenberg name only again appears on certain documents, but the very fact they were trusted with the task shows a great advance in their prestige. From my research of the Von Liebewitz family, I discovered that, as owners of many different Barony’s across the land (for they were not at this point the Counts), they delegated to important families in each region to act on their behalf. This thus means that the Von Heisenberg family, whilst only officially being Lords of Von Heisenberg, were being unofficially treated as the Barons of Meissen. Of course, they were not permitted to alter anything without Von Liebewitz approval, but were in charge of the day to day running of a large and affluent area.

The family do not appear in any further extent until over a century later in 2424, the year of Grom the Paunch’s invasion of the Empire and his siege of Nuln. It is recorded that Michael von Heisenberg, the then patriarch, fought valiantly in many battles across Wissenland, leading armies drawn up on behalf of the von Liebewitz family. It is noted that he acted as one of many generals, and was designated his own bodyguard on the field of battle, signifying his importance. However, Hector was fatally wounded by a barbed arrow of a sneaky goblinoid, killing him two days after receiving the wound, dying of infection. There is still a small memorial to him this day at Two Roads Rock near a small town in Reikland, where the battle took place.

Michael’s death left the Von Heisenberg family in a serious crisis, as their lineage was effectively cut. Michael was an only child and had married, but none of his children had survived past the age of seven. He had however, sired a bastard in Heisenberg’s neighbouring town of Penzfeld with Maria Bohm, the daughter of a prominent merchant, Gustav Bohm. The bastard, named Phillip, came forward upon his father’s death to take his position, but was refused by the current Baron, Ralph von Liebewitz.

The mass migration of Wissenland families to the safer lands down South during the invasion of Grom the Paunch encouraged Phillip to follow suit, attempting to establish the family’s roots once again in new territories. He made the journey to the Barony of Sonnefurt, where his maternal aunt, Katherin Bohm had married to the current late Baron Lucas Tol, and their son, Herman now ruled.

The Von Heisenberg name disappears for four years as Phillip settled into life in the southern Barony, apparently in the then prosperous agricultural town of Ostrach. His name suddenly reappears with great force in the family name’s crowning moment in 2428, with the death of Baron Herman Tol.

Baron Tol had no living descendants, being an only child and unmarried due to his relative youth. I have found records from the minutes of the meetings of the Council of Sonnefurt during this period, many of which desired for Sonnefurt to once again be ruled by them instead of an aristocrat. Throughout the Barony’s history, independent of being within the Barony of Kreutzhofen, it had been ruled by two families, the Wulstbergs and the Tols. Both had come to power without birth rights, either through wealth or meritocracy, and the Council seemed unwilling to break with tradition.

However, Katherin Bohm (Tol), now incredibly elderly, campaigned for Phillips recognition and stated that despite his illegitimacy, common law stated that the last remaining relative, even bastards, can rule in the wake of a death and disputed lineage. The Council reluctantly agreed, apparently due to the fear of Frau Bohm even in her old age, but also due to renewed tensions about Solland in the area, requiring a lineage to protect their town, and a link to a once prominent Wissenland noble family was actually deemed invaluable. Thus not only did Phillip manage to gain legitimacy, he also brought the Von Heisenberg name up in Wissenland notoriety.

Phillip ruled as Baron for many years, making the town prosperous by using his renewed links to the North to trade using the Soll. It was under Phillip that many traders started using the port, and the town expanded greatly under his influence.

Phillip had a son, Heinrich, in 2432, establishing the Von Heisenberg line in Sonnefurt officially. He brought up his son to follow in his footsteps as a Baron. His links to the northern towns of Wissenland brought him into contact with the Schafer family, an important noble line who had married well, with Frieda Schafer married to the current Count, Frank von Liebewitz. He arranged for Heinrich to marry the younger daughter of the family, Lea Schafer, linking his family directly to their ancient liege-lords. Heinrich then had a son, Max, in 2452, and a daughter, Anne in 2456 sealing the union permanently.

In 2461, Phillip died, leaving behind a legacy to continue where all his hard work had got him, ushering in the golden age of the Von Heisenbergs. Heinrich became Baron and lead the Barony through a difficult time, where his father’s once hometown of Ostrach suffered diseased crops, a plight it failed to recover from, plunging the Barony into economic downturn as the other towns struggled to pick up the loss.

To save the Barony from total economic downturn in the face of the loss of Ostrach's production, Heinrich married Max to Vanessa Zell, sister to Herman Zell, a prominent foreign merchant in the town from the Border Princes. He even made the Zell family minor nobles so that they would bring in business to the port. It succeeded and foreign trade boomed in the region.

Heinrich died in 2481, making Max von Heisenberg the new Baron. Sonnefurt continues to grow hugely under Von Heisenberg influence, with trade from their Northern contacts in Meissen, Heisenberg and Nuln as well as business growing further afield.

Since their wedding, Max and Vanessa had been attempting to conceive an heir to the Von Heisenberg line, but Vanessa suffered many miscarriages and still births, no pregnancies came to fruition. As Max’s sister Anne had also lost several infants in their early years, there was nearly no hope of an heir, and Max was beginning to grow ill. The Council began to worry for the future of the Barony under the Von Heisenberg name. It is not noted whether Max was unfaithful in hope of siring a bastard, but all accounts uphold he was incredibly loyal to his wife, despite their problems. As of yet, there are no records of illegitimate children appearing.

Fortunately, in 2497, Katarina von Heisenberg was born, to the joy of the entire Barony. As Max slowly became aware that he was dying, and that he would not father a son, he began to teach Katarina to rule properly. He succumbed to his disease in 2513, leaving Katarina, at only sixteen, too young to rule alone.

Katarina ruled for the following two years with the help of the Council, until she matured in 2515, officially becoming Baroness. She has ruled well since, a valuable addition to the Von Heisenberg name. The Barony has prospered greatly during, and there are great hopes the lineage will continue when she marries.