In 1409, the Hungarian king Sigismund of Luxembourg ennobled one of his faithful knights – a Wallachian boyar named Voicu (Vojk) – and gave him a castle from Hunedoara – the Hunyadi Castle.

Voicu was the father of a great millitary leader, John Hunyadi, who became the regent of Hungary during turbulent times and defeated  in Belgrade the Sultan of the Ottoman empire, Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople.

Matthias Corvinus, the son of John Hunyadi, later became King of Hungary. He is considered one of the greatest kings the country has ever had.