 The founder of the family , Voyk , received the eponymous Hunyad Castle ( in present @-@ day Hunedoara , Romania ) from Sigismund , King of Hungary , in 1409 . His ethnicity is the subject of scholarly debate . Some modern historians describe him as a Vlach , or Romanian , knez or boyar , from either Wallachia or Transylvania . Others describe him as a Cuman or Slav nobleman . According to contemporaneous accounts , Voyk moved from Wallachia to Transylvania . Voyk 's oldest son , John Hunyadi , was often mentioned as a " Vlach " by his contemporaries . 
