Winkelried
Winkelried was a family of Unterwalden, recorded as members of the lower nobility during the second half of the 13th century and as commoners during the 14th to early 16th centuries. The name is mostly associated with Arnold von Winkelried, the hero of the Battle of Sempach (1386) in Swiss historiography. Because of the importance of Arnold Winkelried in 19th-century Swiss nationalism, much research has gone into the genealogy of this family.
Their origin was presumably in the territory of Ennetmoos in Nidwalden, where a toponym Wichried (Wychried, 46°57′11″N 8°20′24″E / 46.953°N 8.340°E) has survived into modern times. The first recorded member of this family was the knight Rudolf von Winkelried, attested in a letter dated to the 1240s. Heinrich von Winkelried was probably a son of Rudolf, als recorded as a knight and ministerialis of count Rudolf von Habsburg, between 1275 and 1303. Heinrich became connected him with a legend of a dragon fight, first recorded by Etterlin (1507). Abbot Rudolf I of Engelberg who lived during the same period may also have been a member of the family.
After Heinrich, the Winkelrieds lose their distinction as noblemen. People bearing the name Winkelried are recorded as mostly prosperous commoners during the 14th and 15th centuries. These later Winkelrieds may reflect their origin among the nobility by keeping a coat of arms (displaying a crescent in a triangle). A Jacob von Winkelried is recorded in 1343 as owning property in Ennetmoos, in 1372 a Peter Winkelried is the tenant of the possessions of Engelberg in Alpnach. In the 1382 uprising against the noble families in Unterwalden, the Winkelrieds seem to be affected because of their close connections to the aristocracy.
...
Wikipedia