Hodenberg

The originally hochfrei family line belonged to the fourth military feudal level or Heerschild.

Since early times the von Hodenberg lords were protectors (Schirmvögte) of the monastery at Bücken founded by Archbishop Rembert of Bremen.

Their name was probably derived from this hereditary office, because in Low German the word Hode means Hut or Schirm (i.e. protection or shield).

At one time Hodenberg Castle on the Weser, the oldest ancestral seat of the family, was situated in the vicinity of this monastery.

From the 16th century two main family lines arose whose last common ancestor was Marquard III von Hodenberg (died 1538).