Hermann II (Hesse)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hermann II of Hesse (* 1341 at Grebenstein Castle ; † May 24, 1413 ), also known as the scholar , was co-regent from 1367 and later Landgrave of Hesse .

Life

Hermann von Hessen, called "the learned", was born in 1341 as the son of the Landgrave's brother Ludwig (* 1305; † February 6, 1345) at Grebenstein Castle near Kassel . Like his brother Otto, he was intended for a career in the church, studied in Paris and Prague , and became provost in St. Peter's Abbey in Nörten and allegedly also canon in Magdeburg and Trier.

After the death of the intended heir to the throne Otto ("the Schütz") , the son of Landgrave Heinrich II. (* Before 1302; † June 3, 1376), in December 1366, Heinrich II appointed his nephew Hermann in 1367 as co-regent. Since the latter had only received the minor ordinations so far , it was possible for him to leave the spiritual class without major difficulties.

In the Star Wars , the coffers of the country and the landgrave had largely emptied. After taking office, Landgrave Hermann decided to levy a new tax on all imported food, clothing and metal goods. The new tax led to resentment among the nobility and citizens. The representatives of the cities of Lower Hesse and the Werra landscape decided on January 11, 1376 at a meeting in the old town hall in Kassel to refuse this tax under all circumstances and formed a city ​​league . The nobility joined this union in 1378 and occupied the landgrave's castle. A settlement was only reached in May 1378 through the mediation of Landgrave Balthasar of Thuringia . A number of Kassel's citizens were executed. In addition, the special administration of the three Kassel cities (Altstadt, Neustadt and Freiheit) was abolished and in the cities of Spangenberg (1377), Melsungen (1379) and Rotenburg / Fulda (1384) the administration was again subjected to greater sovereign control.

In Kassel, Landgrave Hermann even issued a completely new constitution in 1384 , in which the city lost its independence and he made himself absolute ruler. The citizens therefore turned to Balthasar von Thuringia again. This allied itself with the Duke Otto I of Braunschweig-Göttingen and with the Archbishop Adolf of Mainz against Hermann von Hessen. In 1388 he conquered Eschwege and Sontra . Overall, the allied troops attacked the city of Kassel three times without success. A turning point came when the Archbishop of Mainz Adolf died in 1390 and Hermann came to an agreement with his successor Konrad von Weinsberg in 1394 , which was sealed in the Peace of Frankfurt . The Friedberg Peace with Mainz and Braunschweig followed in 1400 after Duke Friedrich von Braunschweig-Lüneburg near Fritzlar was murdered by Count Heinrich VII von Waldeck and his cronies.

Landgrave Hermann II was able to expand his dominion during this time. In 1399 he took Ulrichstein (by purchase) and soon after Schotten am Vogelsberg (also by purchase) in possession. This was followed by 1402 Hauneck and 1406 Vacha .

Marriages and offspring

Hermann II was married twice. His first marriage in 1377 to Johanna von Nassau-Weilburg (1355-1383) remained childless. After Johanna's death in 1383 he married Margaret of Nuremberg (1363–1406), daughter of the burgrave Friedrich V of Nuremberg, in a second marriage . He had eight children with her, but only three of them survived childhood:

  • Anna (1385-1386)
  • Heinrich (1387-1394)
  • Elisabeth (1388-1394). The siblings Heinrich and Elisabeth, who died within ten days in 1394, were buried in a double grave in the Elisabeth Church in Marburg.
  • Margarete (1389–1446), married to Heinrich I of Braunschweig-Lüneburg
  • Agnes (1391–1471), married to Otto von Braunschweig-Göttingen
  • Hermann (1396–1406)
  • Friedrich (1398–1402)
  • Ludwig (1402–1458), followed his father as Landgrave of Hesse

literature

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Henry II Landgrave of Hesse
1376–1413 		Ludwig I.
personal data
SURNAME Hermann II.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hermann the Scholar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Landgrave of Hesse
DATE OF BIRTH 1341
PLACE OF BIRTH Grebenstein Castle
DATE OF DEATH May 24, 1413