Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse
Encyclopedia
Henry I of Hesse "the Child" (German
: Heinrich das Kind) (24 June 1244 – 21 December 1308) was the first Landgrave of Hesse
. He was the son of Henry II
, Duke of Brabant
and Sophie of Thuringia
.
, Landgrave of Thuringia, died without issue, conflict arose about the future of Thuringia and Hesse. The succession was disputed between Heinrich Raspe's nephew and his niece: Sophie
was the daughter of Heinrich Raspe's brother Ludwig IV
and claimed the territories on behalf of her son Henry, while Henry the Illustrious, margrave of Meissen, was the son of Heinrich Raspe's sister Jutta
. Another competitor were the Archbishops of Mainz, who could claim Hesse was a fiefdom of the Archbishop and now, after the extinction of the Ludowingians, demanded its return to them. Sophia, supported by the Hessian nobility, succeeded in retaining Hesse against her cousin, who in 1264 accepted the division of the Ludowingian inheritance: Henry of Meissen received Thuringia, while Sophia's son Heinrich would inherit Hesse
. In the following year, the Archbishop Werner II von Eppenstein acceeded to this outcome in the Treaty of Langsdorf, accepting Henry as his liege-man and Landgrave of Hesse.
At this time, the landgraviate of Hesse consisted of the region between Wolfhagen
, Zierenberg
, Eschwege
, Alsfeld
, Grünberg
, Frankenberg
and Biedenkopf
. In the same year, Henry acquired a part of the county of Gleiberg with Gießen
from the Counts palatine of Tübingen
. The landgraviate was centred around the towns of Kassel
, where Henry took up his residence since 1277, and Marburg
, where his grandmother Saint Elisabeth
was buried and where Henry built the Castle Marburg.
Henry again got into conflict with his liege-lord, the Archbishop, about the possession of Naumburg
. On behalf of the Archbishop, Henry was outlawed in 1274 by King Rudolf I of Habsburg
, but after Henry had supported Rudolph in the war against Otakar II of Bohemia and had helped to conquer Vienna
1276, Rudolph reinstated Henry. In 1290 Henry defeated the Archbishop in the battle of Fritzlar
and could henceforth maintain his territory.
Though Henry never relinquished his own claim on Brabant
, he supported his nephew John of Brabant
against Guelders
and Luxembourg
in the Limburg succession war.
On 12 May 1292, Henry was made a Reichsfürst (prince of the realm) by King Adolf of Nassau
, freeing Hesse of the supremacy of the Archbishop of Mainz. Henry was bestowed with Eschwege
and the Boyneburg (with Sontra), stengthening his position in Hesse. By skillful diplomacy he gained the cities of Sooden-Allendorf, Kaufungen
, Witzenhausen
, Immenhausen
, Grebenstein
, Wanfried
, Staufenberg
, Trendelburg
and Reinhardswald
.
In 1263 Henry had married Adelheid of Brunswick, daughter of Duke Otto of Brunswick, who bore him four daughters and the sons Henry ("the Younger") and Otto. After Adelheid's death in 1274, Henry had married Mechthild, daughter of Count Thierry VI of Cleves, who bore him another four daughters and the sons John and Louis.
In 1292 internal conflict arose about the question of Henry's successor. Mechthild of Cleves demanded on her sons receiving a share of the heritage, while Henry and Otto, Henry's sons by his first wife, insisted on excluding their stepbrothers from the inheritance. This led to civil war lasting throughout the rest of Henry's lifetime.
Henry died in Marburg
during the conflict, and was buried there in St. Elisabeth's Church, which became the gravesite of the succeeding Landgraves for several more centuries. After his death, the inheritance was divided between Otto, who received Upper Hesse (Oberhessen) around Marburg, and John, who received Lower Hesse
(Niederhessen), centred around Kassel. John's younger brother Ludwig had entered the clergy and became bishop of Münster in 1310.
(1244–1274)
Second marriage (1276) to Mechthild of Cleves,
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Heinrich das Kind) (24 June 1244 – 21 December 1308) was the first Landgrave of Hesse
Landgraviate of Hesse
The Landgraviate of Hesse was a Landgraviate of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a unity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided between the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.-History:...
. He was the son of Henry II
Henry II, Duke of Brabant
Henry II of Brabant was Duke of Brabant and Lothier after the death of his father Henry I in 1235...
, Duke of Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
and Sophie of Thuringia
Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess of Brabant
Sophie of Thuringia was the second wife and only Duchess consort of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Lothier. She was the heiress of Hesse which she passed on to her son, Henry upon her retention of the territory following her partial victory in the War of the Thuringian Succession in which she was...
.
Life
In 1247, as Heinrich RaspeHeinrich Raspe
Henry Raspe succeeded Hermann II as Landgrave of Thuringia in central Germany in 1241; he later was elected anti-king in 1246–1247 in opposition to Conrad IV of Germany....
, Landgrave of Thuringia, died without issue, conflict arose about the future of Thuringia and Hesse. The succession was disputed between Heinrich Raspe's nephew and his niece: Sophie
Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess of Brabant
Sophie of Thuringia was the second wife and only Duchess consort of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Lothier. She was the heiress of Hesse which she passed on to her son, Henry upon her retention of the territory following her partial victory in the War of the Thuringian Succession in which she was...
was the daughter of Heinrich Raspe's brother Ludwig IV
Ludwig IV of Thuringia
Ludwig IV or Louis IV was the Landgrave of Thuringia from 1217 to 1227.Louis was born in Creuzburg to Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia, and Duchess Sophia, daughter of Otto of Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria. Upon his father's death in 1216, Louis ascended the Thuringian throne at the age of...
and claimed the territories on behalf of her son Henry, while Henry the Illustrious, margrave of Meissen, was the son of Heinrich Raspe's sister Jutta
Jutta of Thuringia
Jutta of Thuringia was the eldest daughter of Landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia and his first wife, Sophia of Sommerschenburg, a daughter of Fredrick II of Sommerschenburg....
. Another competitor were the Archbishops of Mainz, who could claim Hesse was a fiefdom of the Archbishop and now, after the extinction of the Ludowingians, demanded its return to them. Sophia, supported by the Hessian nobility, succeeded in retaining Hesse against her cousin, who in 1264 accepted the division of the Ludowingian inheritance: Henry of Meissen received Thuringia, while Sophia's son Heinrich would inherit Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
. In the following year, the Archbishop Werner II von Eppenstein acceeded to this outcome in the Treaty of Langsdorf, accepting Henry as his liege-man and Landgrave of Hesse.
At this time, the landgraviate of Hesse consisted of the region between Wolfhagen
Wolfhagen
Wolfhagen is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 12 km southeast of Bad Arolsen, and 23 km west of Kassel on the German Framework Road.-External links:*...
, Zierenberg
Zierenberg
Zierenberg is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 19 km east of Bad Arolsen, and 15 km northwest of Kassel on the German Framework Road.-External links:*...
, Eschwege
Eschwege
Eschwege , the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany.- Location :The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river Werra at the foot of the Leuchtberg northwest of the Schlierbachswald and east of the Hoher Meißner...
, Alsfeld
Alsfeld
Alsfeld is a town in the center of Hesse, somewhere in Germany. Large towns nearby are Bad Hersfeld about 33 km to the east, Fulda 36 km to the southeast, Gießen 47 km to the west and Marburg an der Lahn about 36 km to the northwest...
, Grünberg
Grünberg
Grünberg is a town in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany.- Neighbouring communities :To the north Grünberg borders the municipality Rabenau and the town Homberg , to the east the municipality Mücke , to the south the town Laubach and to the west the municipality Reiskirchen.- Constituent...
, Frankenberg
Frankenberg
Frankenberg may refer to:* Frankenberg, Hesse, a town in Hesse, Germany* Frankenberg, Saxony, a town in Saxony, Germany* Waldeck-Frankenberg, a district in Hesse, Germany* Joannes-Henricus Cardinal de Franckenberg, 18th century archbishop of Mechelen...
and Biedenkopf
Biedenkopf
Biedenkopf is a spa town in western Hessen, Germany with a population of 13,271.- Location :The town of Biedenkopf lies in the west of Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Ringed by mountains reaching up to 674 m above sea level – the Sackpfeife in the Rothaargebirge reaches this height – the town...
. In the same year, Henry acquired a part of the county of Gleiberg with Gießen
Gießen
Gießen, also spelt Giessen is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen...
from the Counts palatine of Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
. The landgraviate was centred around the towns of Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, where Henry took up his residence since 1277, and Marburg
Marburg
Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
, where his grandmother Saint Elisabeth
Elisabeth of Hungary
Elizabeth of Hungary, T.O.S.F., was a princess of the Kingdom of Hungary, Countess of Thuringia, Germany and a greatly-venerated Catholic saint. Elizabeth was married at the age of 14, and widowed at 20. She then became one of the first members of the newly-founded Third Order of St. Francis,...
was buried and where Henry built the Castle Marburg.
Henry again got into conflict with his liege-lord, the Archbishop, about the possession of Naumburg
Naumburg
Naumburg is a town in Germany, on the Saale River. It is in the district Burgenlandkreis in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. It is approximately southwest of Leipzig, south-southwest of Halle, and north-northeast of Jena....
. On behalf of the Archbishop, Henry was outlawed in 1274 by King Rudolf I of Habsburg
Rudolph I of Germany
Rudolph I was King of the Romans from 1273 until his death. He played a vital role in raising the Habsburg dynasty to a leading position among the Imperial feudal dynasties...
, but after Henry had supported Rudolph in the war against Otakar II of Bohemia and had helped to conquer Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
1276, Rudolph reinstated Henry. In 1290 Henry defeated the Archbishop in the battle of Fritzlar
Fritzlar
Fritzlar is a small German town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. It can reasonably be argued that the town is the site where the Christianization of northern Germany began and the birthplace of the German empire as a political entity.The...
and could henceforth maintain his territory.
Though Henry never relinquished his own claim on Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
, he supported his nephew John of Brabant
John I, Duke of Brabant
John I of Brabant, also called John the Victorious was Duke of Brabant , Lothier and Limburg .-Life:...
against Guelders
Guelders
Guelders or Gueldres is the name of a historical county, later duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.-Geography:...
and Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
in the Limburg succession war.
On 12 May 1292, Henry was made a Reichsfürst (prince of the realm) by King Adolf of Nassau
Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg
Adolf was the King of Germany from 1292 until 1298. Though his title in his lifetime was Rex Romanorum , he is usually known as Adolf of Nassau...
, freeing Hesse of the supremacy of the Archbishop of Mainz. Henry was bestowed with Eschwege
Eschwege
Eschwege , the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany.- Location :The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river Werra at the foot of the Leuchtberg northwest of the Schlierbachswald and east of the Hoher Meißner...
and the Boyneburg (with Sontra), stengthening his position in Hesse. By skillful diplomacy he gained the cities of Sooden-Allendorf, Kaufungen
Kaufungen
Kaufungen is a municipality in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated in the narrow valley of the river Losse, surrounded by the steep, wooded hills of the Kaufunger Wald, approx...
, Witzenhausen
Witzenhausen
Witzenhausen is a small town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeastern Hesse, Germany.It was granted town rights in 1225, and until 1974, it was a district seat....
, Immenhausen
Immenhausen
Immenhausen is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 12 km north of Kassel on the German Framework Road.-External links:*...
, Grebenstein
Grebenstein
Grebenstein is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 16 km northwest of Kassel on the German Framework Road. In 1762 it was the scene of a skirmish between British and French troops during the Seven Years War.-External links:...
, Wanfried
Wanfried
Wanfried is a town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeasternmost Hesse, Germany. It is classified as a Landstadt, a designation given in Germany to a municipality that is officially a town , but whose population is below 5,000. It literally means “country town”.-Location:The town lies right on the...
, Staufenberg
Staufenberg
Staufenberg is either of two municipalities in Germany:*Staufenberg, Lower Saxony, in the district of Göttingen, Lower Saxony.*Staufenberg, Hesse, in the district of Gießen, Hesse.See also: Stauffenberg....
, Trendelburg
Trendelburg
Trendelburg is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany with a population of 5,282 on 30 September 2009. It is situated on the river Diemel, north of Kassel.The town is twinned with Pocklington, England....
and Reinhardswald
Reinhardswald
The Reinhardswald is a range of hills up to and covering an area of over 200 km² in the Weser Uplands in the district of Kassel, Hesse...
.
In 1263 Henry had married Adelheid of Brunswick, daughter of Duke Otto of Brunswick, who bore him four daughters and the sons Henry ("the Younger") and Otto. After Adelheid's death in 1274, Henry had married Mechthild, daughter of Count Thierry VI of Cleves, who bore him another four daughters and the sons John and Louis.
In 1292 internal conflict arose about the question of Henry's successor. Mechthild of Cleves demanded on her sons receiving a share of the heritage, while Henry and Otto, Henry's sons by his first wife, insisted on excluding their stepbrothers from the inheritance. This led to civil war lasting throughout the rest of Henry's lifetime.
Henry died in Marburg
Marburg
Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
during the conflict, and was buried there in St. Elisabeth's Church, which became the gravesite of the succeeding Landgraves for several more centuries. After his death, the inheritance was divided between Otto, who received Upper Hesse (Oberhessen) around Marburg, and John, who received Lower Hesse
Lower Hesse
Lower Hesse a historic designation for an area in northern Hesse, Germany.The term Lower Hesse originated in the Middle Ages for the so-called "lower principality" of Hesse, which was separated until 1450 from the so-called "upper principality" by the area Ziegenhain...
(Niederhessen), centred around Kassel. John's younger brother Ludwig had entered the clergy and became bishop of Münster in 1310.
Children
First marriage (1263) to Adelheid, daughter of Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-LüneburgOtto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Otto I of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the first duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1235 until his death. He is called Otto the Child to distinguish him from his uncle, Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor.-Early years:...
(1244–1274)
- Sophia (1264–after 12 August 1331), married 1276 to Count Otto I of Waldeck.
- Henry the Younger (1265–23 August 1298).
- Matilda (1267–after 1332), married to:
- 1283 Count Gottfried of Ziegenhain;
- after 11 October 1309 Philipp III of Falkenstein-Münzenberg.
- Adelheid (1268–7 December 1315), married 1284 to Count Bertold VII of Henneberg-SchleusingenBerthold VII, Count of Henneberg-SchleusingenBerthold VII, Count of Henneberg-Schleusingen was Count of Henneberg- Schleusingen from 1284 to 1340. He was the son of Count Berthold V of Henneberg-Schleusingen and his wife Sophie of Schwarzburg , the daughter of Count Günther VII of Schwarzburg...
. - Elisabeth (1269/70–19 February 1293), married ca. 1287 to Count Johann of Sayn.
- an unnamed son (ca. 1270–ca. 1274).
- OttoOtto I, Landgrave of HesseOtto I of Hesse , Landgrave of Hesse.He was a son of Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse and his first wife Adelheid of Brunswick-Lunenburg. Following the death of his father in 1308, he inherited Upper Hesse, the "Land on the Lahn", which included Marburg, Giessen, Grünberg and Alsfeld...
(ca 1272–17 January 1328).
Second marriage (1276) to Mechthild of Cleves,
- John (d. 1311, KasselKasselKassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
). - Elisabeth (ca. 1276–after 6 July 1306), married to
- 1290 Duke Wilhelm of Braunschweig-WolfenbüttelWilliam I, Duke of Brunswick-LüneburgWilliam , Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, briefly ruled part of the duchy.William was the third son of Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. On Albert's death on 1279, the three eldest brothers succeeded him, but were put under guardianship of Conrad, Prince-Bishop of Verden...
; - 1294 Gerhard of Eppstein.
- 1290 Duke Wilhelm of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel
- Agnes (ca. 1277–1335), married to Burgrave John I of Nuremberg.
- Louis (1282/83–18 August 1357), Bishop of MünsterMünsterMünster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
in 1310-57. - Elisabeth (d. after 30 October 1308), married 1299 to Count Albrecht III von Görz.
- Katharina (d. 1322), married to Count Otto IV of Orlamünde.
- Jutta (d. 13 October 1317), married 1311 to Duke Otto of Braunschweig-GöttingenOtto the Mild, Duke of Brunswick-LüneburgOtto , Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, called the Mild, ruled over the Brunswick part of the duchy.Otto was the eldest son of Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Otto and his brothers succeeded on their father's death in 1318; he served as his brothers' guardian while they were not of age...
.