and should not be confused with their possible ancestors the Popponids (both called after the same leading name variously spelled as Babo, Poppo, Papo, Pabo, Puapo, etc.).

The Babonids, after its progenitor Count Babo of Regensburg, administered possessions in the Bavarian Donaugau and Nordgau until the end of the 12th century.

But by the late 9th century, Frankish direct power in the region had waned due to recurring attacks by the Hungarians, and local rulers had been able to grab greater independence.

Luitpold, Margrave of Carinthia and Upper Pannonia, set himself up as the most prominent of Bavaria's aristocracy and thereby laid the foundations of the renewed stem duchy.

In 911, his son Arnulf the Bad assumed the title of Duke of Bavaria, centered around his possessions around Regensburg and in the adjacent March of the Nordgau.

Like the Popponids and several other related and unrelated nearby dynasties, the leading name Babo (Poppo) characterized the earlier Babonids generations.

[5] Mayer (1883)[2] lists four arguments to connect the Babonids with the Elder Babenberger; Count Babo would have been born around 930 or 940 and is reported to have died on 5 May 1001 or 1002.

Other property of the Babonids and their descending lines include Abensberg, Abenberg, Burg Rotteneck (in the Hallertau), a series of castles in the Nordgau (in the neighourhood of the Altmühl river), Sulz, Weiße and Schwarze Laber.

And it is not surprising that from such a multifarious seed a bountiful crop has sprung up, that spread over many countries and provinces.When these sons had grown up, the emperor Henry sent a message and called their father to him, in order to join him, accompanied by a few, in the hunting sport and game.

Hence he [Babo] considered that he had found a suitable opportunity to present the aforesaid boys, who were refined enough in physical elegance for the prince's sight and favor, and to commend him to his bounty, so he assigned to himself and to each of the boys a soldier and a servant and thus proceeded to meet him.When he [the emperor] saw such a crowd, he modestly argued with the count as to why he had come with such a large number of people, while he had ordered to bring only a few.

Who then can doubt that from the seed of so many children an infinite harvest of kinship was sprouted and generated, and, as we have said above, so many provinces were filled.There has been confusion as to which Babo and which Emperor Henry he refers to.

[13][14][failed verification] A number of later Bavarian and Austrian noble families claim their descent from one of the sons of this legendary Count Babo.

The burgrave held court in the apse of St. Giles' Church [de] in Regensburg and was assisted by a judicial sub-officer known as the Schultheiß, tribunus or centurio.

Under Henry III, the family's possessions were considerably extended, as he received estates from his wife Bertha that stretched from the Mühlviertel to Lower Austria.

Henry sold part of the Beinwald forest to Otto von Machland [de], who transferred this property to Waldhausen Abbey.

In addition to the variety of families that claim to descend from one of Count Babo's legendary 30 or 32 sons, a number of other families also trace their descent to the Babonids: Finally, the Wolfsteiner, Sulzbürger, Hilpoltsteiner, Heidecker, and Holnsteiner are said to be Babonid descendants, as well as the Julbach, Wald and Uttendorf in Inn and Salzach.

Nonetheless, both the Weingartner Liederhandschrift and the Codex Manesse include the coats of arms of two Babone minnesänger (troubadours of courtly love).

[2] In the Weingartner Liederhandschrift, the same burggrave is depicted with a comital crown, under a similar helm and crest and the same arms – but here with different colors, namely Or, on a bend sable three roses gules.

The family tree below follows a paper by Elisabeth Gäde (2020), in which she attempts to reconcile the various differences and integrate the information from the newest sources.

of Oettingen Otto II († 1175), 1143 Landgrave of Stefling, 1152 Burgrave of Regensburg, 1160 Count of Regenstauf⚭ Adelheid (Adelaide) or Sophie, daughter of the Wittelsbacher Count Otto IV of Scheyern ⚭ Heilika of Lengenfeld The family resided at Castle Prunn [de] and Rosenburg (both near Riedenburg), St. Emmeram (near Regensburg), and Stefling Castle (on the Regen river, today part of Nittenau).