This translation was sent to me by Simon Alff an English cousin, who was here to visit me with his family on the 28th of Febraury 2000. Thanks a lot !

The original was in German and it was written by Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Alff (original article was received on 7.10.1999 sent by Birlenberg-Alff Agnes)

History of the Alff family and the Prüm leather industry.
The origin of the extensive Alff family (also spelt Alf) in Prüm goes back to the 6th century A.D. It is closely connected with the leather industry in Prüm, which is of similar age. With the decline of Roman rule in Gaul, the liberated areas on both sides of the Mosel came under Frankish sovereignty. This resulted in a new division of the areas into “Gaue” and “Hundertschaften”. The new division of the land also corresponded to the administration of justice. Jurisdiction was exercised by higher and lower judicial authorities. Exceptions were the royal courts, free patrimonial courts whose rights of possession were the prerogative of the king. The royal courts (villa regia) had their own jurisdiction. Celto-Germanic tribes inhabited the Trier area at that time. The newly formed “Gaue” were also named after them.
The “Karoesen” tribe lived in the Prüm “Gau”. It was integrated easily into the realm of the Franks. The structure of the judiciary, which provided for the involvement of lay assessors elected from the people for all Courts of Law, was fully approved by the inhabitants of the “Gau”. The Courts in the “Hundertschaften” processed the most important offences concerning property and suits relating to the liberty of persons and penal cases (criminal matters). They were called “Hundgerichte”, and also “Hochgerichte” and “Hochding”. Then there was also a “Gemeindegericht” or “Zehnereigericht”, which was concerned with settling economic matters and rural police offences. The royal courts had their own jurisdiction.
In the “Karoesgau” there were five royal courts : Prüm, Alff, Awe, Selich and Gundebrett. The Law courts were held under a mighty beech tree, the “King’s Beech”, where the Law was administered in the name of the King. The Law Courts were in Bering of the royal court of Alff. The forenamed Courts and the “King’s Beech” are mentioned in a document dating from the year 806. Only the two courts of Prüm and Alff have developed over the centuries to larger places and have also been of importance for the descendants of the first owners.
The Royal Court of Alff
Its economic rise is mainly attributable to the fact that both courts were closely associated with one another from the beginning. The court of Prüm soon incorporated the leather industry into its agricultural activities, and the court of Alff (today Bleialf), which had rich mineral resources, carried out mining of lead ores at its Bering. The Alff mining industry developed over the centuries into one of the most important in the spa town of Trier.
The royal court of Alff takes its name from the river Alf, and the court of Prüm took its name from the river Prüm. The situation of the latter in the Prüm valley and the water conditions there were particularly favourable to the setting up of tanneries. An essential factor which contributed to the successful development of the leather industry was that there were extensive tan pits in the surrounding area which supplied the necessary tanning agents for leather processing. The fact that the people at Alff were always connected with the Prüm leather industry is evident from historical documents.
By the time of Charlemagne the Prüm leather industry was already in full flower. Through an envoy, Charlemagne sent valuable gifts to his contemporary, the great calif Harun al Raschid, which included travelling cases made of Prüm leather, manufactured in Prüm.
The 30 Years War and the upheavals of the last few centuries have destroyed so much in the country around Trier. Nor was the Prüm leather industry spared, but it always managed to recover even from the most severe blows. The tanning family Alff, in particular, stands out in the struggle for existence going back over 1000 years. The industry enjoyed another period during which it flowered at the beginning of the last century, after the French revolution.
Many thousands of local hides and exotic hides from overseas were processed every year. Prüm sole leather was a sought-after item on the market, particularly as it was described by experts as the best Rhenish leather. This is also confirmed in a report by the Trier Government of 5th October 1836, which states : “Business still continues actively in leather manufacturing in Prüm. Last month 145 cart loads of sole leather were sent to the fairs at Frankfurt and Leipzig.” In a report from a later year, the Trier Chamber of Commerce also emphasises the significance of the Prüm leather industry, which enjoyed a considerable upturn in the first half of the last century in particular. The leather factory belonging to the brothers Franz, Bartholomäus and Jacob Alff is described in this report as being especially important. The genealogical line of this Eifel tanning family goes back to the 6th century, as already mentioned in the introduction.
Major royal courts, such as Prüm and Alff, owned spacious industrial buildings, and also “Wohntürme” (castles) as a defence against attacks by enemies. The rulers of the land occasionally stayed overnight at these courts. For example, the Chronicles of the town of Merzig tell how that Kaiser Lothar stayed in the royal court there when he visited the Trier area in autumn 843. He also visited Prüm and Alff. Court hunts were also held at that time in the large “Schneifelwald” which lay between the two Courts. Kaiser Lothar’s last resting place is in the old abbey church at Prüm. The owners of the patrimonial royal courts (castles) called each other “noblemen”. They were “Gaugrafen”.
Clodwig (481 - 511) is the founder of the greater Frankish Empire. The Franks were divided into three main branches : the “Sal” Franks lived in the Rhine delta, the “Ripuarians” held the area from Cologne to Trier, and the Eifel was also in their possession. South of Trier as far as the region of  Lothringen was inhabited by the “Chatten”. Unification started with the “Sal” Franks. Their highly gifted king, Clodwig, of the Merovingian dynasty, pursued the aim of conquering the whole of Gaul and uniting all Franks under one sceptre. He conquered the remaining Roman possessions in Gaul, the area around Soisson and Paris, won victory over the Alemanni, whose expansion was threatening the Franks on the lower Rhine, and pushed aside all the kings of the other Frankish tribes. So in the year 500 Prüm, too, came under the rule of Clodwig with the empire of the Ripuarian Franks. In the same year the patrimonial royal courts of Prüm and Alff were founded in the newly created “Karoesgau”.
After the victory at Zülpich in 496 Clodwig was baptised by the Bishop of Rheims. Many Franks followed the King’s example. This meant that religious unity was established between the Roman inhabitants of Gaul, who were already Christians, and the Frankish conquerors. The Christian faith then quickly spread to the whole “Karoesgau” from the royal courts, where Christian parishes were set up with magnificent churches.
Bertrada, a princess of the Merovingian dynasty, with her son Charibert, endowed the famous Benedictine abbey in Prüm at the royal court of Prüm in 672. The princess, who lived in the castle of Mürlenbach which was situated on the Kyll, was the grandmother of the wife of the French king Pipin. King Pipin and Charlemagne increased the abbey’s wealth by rich bestowments, and the abbey’s fortunes increased still further under Charlemagne’s son Ludwig the Pious. The Abbey of Prüm, which was under the patronage of the princes, had a seat and a vote in the prince’s council. In 1576 the abbey, which had hitherto been independent, was united with the Archbishopric of Trier. The prince electors and archbishops of Trier were from then on administrators of the abbey and from that time also had a seat and a vote in the prince’s council.
In Bering of the royal court of Alff there were huge lead ore deposits, which were already being exploited by the first owner. After mining was carried out here most successfully for around 1400 years, the industry had to be laid up in 1884 because there was no longer a market for it. At the beginning of the second World War mining operations were temporarily taken up again. A few years ago, when clearing a patch of woodland, the remains of a glassworks were found, which experts believed to date from the early Frankish period. During the excavations, as well as cinders and glass shards, a well preserved glass ladle was found bearing the image of the Virgin Mary.
From the Alff family history The surnames Alf and Alff occur in the area around Trier, most frequently the name Alff, the origin of which goes back to a royal domain Alff, which enjoyed special freedoms even in the early Middle Ages. The court of Alff, with three other courts, formed an immediate district with its own jurisdiction. In the middle of this district there was a mighty beech tree, where from time to time Court proceedings were held, presided over by an Earl, where adjudications were pronounced in the  name of the King. In the area of the royal domain of Alff are the famous lead ore deposits, which, however, were not exploited until the late Middle Ages. The settlement which arose later near the lead mines was called Bleialff (today Bleialf). The four courts of Alff, Selerich, Awe and Gundebrett were the only ones in the Eifel where Law was administered in the name of the King. In the year 1806 a “Buoche” (beech tree) was designated as the boundary of the Prüm forest, which is called “Boicht” in 1304, “Bescheit” in 1581 and “Beechent” in 1601, and turns out to be the village of “BucHet” near Bleialf, which today lies so idyllically on the edge of the “Schneifelwald”. This “Court Beech” is referred to in later historical collections of judicial sentences as the “King’s Beech”. The relevant passage reads : “At the same place 4 Courts are divided - Alff, Awe (today Awo), Selerich and Gundebrett, and 3 “Bistump” (bishoprics) : Trier, Coelin and Kendigh (Luettich).
A castle formerly stood near the “King’s Beech”. The following legend is recounted of this castle : Once upon a time the Lord of the castle was riding to Christmas mass in Bleialf during a severe snowstorm. He lost his way and wandered about for a long time in the darkness of the night. When he had already lost all hope of rescue, he suddenly heard, from afar, the Christmas bells ringing, showing him the way to Bleialf. In gratitude for being saved in his hour of need, the Lord of the castle set up an endowment for the parish church at Bleialf, so that, every year, the bells are to ring for an hour before the start of mass at Christmas. Descendants of the inhabitants of the court of Alff are said to have been the first to introduce the leather industry in Prüm in the early Middle Ages. Prüm has always been famous for its sophisticated leather industry, and its products, as the best Rhenish sole leather, are still prominent at market (Leipzig fair). The name Alff has been a conspicuous name throughout the centuries.

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