Hahóti family

The Hahóti family originated from the Arnold branch of the notable gens Hahót. According to the fourteenth-century chronicle composition, the founder of the kindred, knight Hahold descended from the Counts of Orlamünde, arriving to Hungary in 1163 upon the invitation of Stephen III to help to defeat the rebelled Csák kindred.[1] Hahold's great-grandson Keled served as Vice-ban of Slavonia in 1234. He had two children Keled II and Violant. Keled II was mentioned as a "royal man" in 1275. He is considered as the first member of the Hahóti family, descended from the Arnold branch, as a royal charter from 1277 referred to him as Hahóti (lit. "of Hahót").[2] During that time, he inherited a part of Nick from his kindred and involved in a lawsuit against the Ják clan and his own cousin, Nicholas III Hahót.

The last male member of the family John died in 1376 without heirs. On 13 March 1377, King Louis I of Hungary granted the status of a son to his only daughter Anne who married Nicholas de Surdis (or Lipoveci), a nephew of John de Surdis, Archbishop of Esztergom. The members of the Söjtöri (or also Hahóti) family protested against the method and filed a lawsuit in the royal court, without success.[3]

The Söjtöri (or Falkosi) family of the Buzád branch, which descended from Herbord, son of Lancelot, was frequently also called as "Hahóti" throughout the 14th century by royal charters. Another member of the kindred, Nicholas V (fl. 1342) was also called Hahóti. His grandfather was Csák I, Lancelot's elder brother. After a praefectio in filium, his daughter Klara granted the village of Buzádsziget. Following that she mortgaged the estate to her husband John Koltai and his brother George. The living members of the Buzád branch (Söjtöris, Csányis and Szabaris) protested against the king's rule, but after a court decision they forced to hand over their property in Buzádsziget and Hahót to her.[5]