Pálffy ab Erdöd

Pálffy ab Erdöd, also known as Pálffy von Erdöd, Pálffy de Erdöd, or Pálffy of Erdöd, is the name of an Hungarian noble family. Several members of the family held significant positions in the Habsburg Monarchy.

Princely arms of the family (hart and wheel)

The Hungarian name Pálffy derives from the Latin term Pauli filius (son of Paul), after the first known ancestor of the family.[1][2]

Erdőd is the Hungarian name for Ardud, a town situated in Transylvania.

The family crest is of a deer above a wooden wheel which was created supposedly after an incident in the forest. The legend says that members of the Pálffy family were travelling in a horse-drawn carriage in the forest at night and in the mist when a deer shot out from the forest and hit the side of the carriage, breaking a wheel and killing the deer. The entourage decided to stay there until morning to fix the wheel. When morning arrived and the mist had cleared, they had stopped just before a cliff edge so the family realised that deer had saved their lives. In its honour, the family crest was created.

In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the family owned many castles and large residences. It's said that they owned up to 99 castles but never 100 as this would have required their personal contribution to fund the imperial army.