Philip III (Hanau-Munzenberg)

Marienkirche Hanau, epitaph of Count Philipp III. from Hanau-Munzenberg

Philip III von Hanau-Munzenberg (born November 30, 1526 - † November 14, 1561 ) ruled the county from 1529.

Origin and Guardianship

Philip III was the second son of Count Philip II of Hanau-Munzenberg (* August 17, 1501; † March 28, 1529) and Countess Juliana zu Stolberg (* February 15, 1506; † June 18, 1580).

Pedigree of Count Philipp III. from Hanau-Munzenberg
Great grandparents	Philipp I von Hanau-Münzenberg (* 1449; † 1500) ∞ Adriana von Nassau-Dillenburg (* 1449; † 1477)	Günther XXXVIII. von Schwarzburg -Blankenburg (* 1450; † 1484) ∞ Katharina von Querfurt († 1521)	Heinrich the Elder zu Stolberg (* 1436; † 1511) ∞ Countess Mathilde von Mansfeld († 1468)	Philipp von Eppstein-Königstein (* 1459; † 1481) ∞ Countess Ludovika von der Mark († 1499)
Grandparents	Count Reinhard IV of Hanau-Münzenberg (* 1473; † 1512) ∞ Countess Katharina von Schwarzburg-Blankenburg (* 1470; † 1514)		Count Botho zu Stolberg (* 1467; † 1538) ∞ Anna von Eppstein-Königstein (* 1482; † 1538)
parents	Count Philipp II of Hanau-Münzenberg (* 1501; † 1529) ∞ Countess Juliana zu Stolberg (* 1506; † 1580)
Philip III

For the family cf. Main article: Hanau (noble family)

An older brother had died as a child. He was only three years old when he inherited the county.

Mother and relatives therefore took the initiative to have a guardianship set up by the Reich Chamber of Commerce. It was formed from:

Countess Juliana zu Stolberg, mother of the ward . She later marries the co-guardian
Count Wilhelm (the Rich) of Nassau-Dillenburg . He was a grandson of a great-great-grandfather of the ward.
Count Balthasar von Hanau-Munzenberg , the younger brother of the deceased Count Philip II, so an uncle of the ward. In fact, he seems to have done most of the work, but died in 1534.
Count Reinhard I. zu Solms-Hohensolms-Lich , son of a great-aunt of the ward.

It turned out to be problematic that the previous guardianship of Count Balthasar had prepared an agreement that declared his renunciation of the County of Hanau-Munzenberg. At this point Philip II was already dying and, although prepared accordingly, no longer sealed the relevant document. This draft contract was a problem when their uncle, Count Balthasar, took over the guardianship of the children of Philip II, because in it he had only just declared his renunciation of the county. The problem was solved with the formal argument that Philip II had no longer sealed the document and that it was therefore no longer valid.

In his youth Philip III visited together with his younger brother Reinhard von Hanau, the universities of Mainz and Ingolstadt until 1541 . A subsequent educational trip led Count Philip III. to Antwerp , Mechelen , Leuven , Brussels , Breda , Strasbourg and from there to the "capital" of the county Hanau-Lichtenberg , Buchsweiler (today: Bouxwiller), to visit relatives. From there it went on to France , to Orléans and to study at the University of Bourges .

Family and offspring

Marienkirche Hanau, alliance coat of arms of Count Philipp III. and the Countess Palatine Helena at the Marienkirche in Hanau with severe environmental damage

Count Philip III. married on November 22, 1551 Helena von Pfalz-Simmern . They had five children:

Philip Ludwig I (1553–1580)
Dorothea (1556-1638)
Wilhelm Reinhard (born September 28, 1557 in Hanau; † February 17, 1558, in Hanau), buried in the choir of the Marienkirche in Hanau
Johann Philipp (born November 6, 1559; † April 22, 1560), also buried in the choir of the Marienkirche in Hanau
Maria (1562–1605), born posthumously , died unmarried.

The alliance coat of arms of Count Philip III. and Countess Palatine Helena von Simmern is - unfortunately in poor condition due to environmental damage caused by the stone - above the main entrance of the Marienkirche in Hanau.

government

reformation

During his reign - but actually still under tutelage - the Reformation found its way into the county of Hanau-Munzenberg. The guardian, Count Balthasar, is said to have encouraged them a lot, Count Reinhard I. von Solms-Lich-Hohensolms worked against it. Initially, the Reformation was introduced “slowly”, primarily through the replacement of departing church staff by clergymen who turned to the reform. As early as 1523, Pastor Adolf Arborgast was accepted into the collegiate chapter of St. Mary's Church, who declared when he was called that he wanted to have as little as possible to do with the daily Mass and Vespers because he wanted to devote himself much more to the sermon and the Gospel . His successor, Magister Philipp Neunheller , is Hanau's actual reformer. Under his influence, the innovations gained more and more ground. Catholic worship was never officially canceled. With the departure of clergymen whose positions were no longer filled, their number continued to decrease.

Own government

1544 was Count Philip III. Declared of legal age at the age of 18, although the age of consent under common law was 25 years. Obviously the guardians wanted to get rid of their onerous task. With regard to his younger brother, Reinhard, they had to take notice of this even further.

In 1561, Count Philipp III. the former Naumburg monastery in the Wetterau for Hanau, which also included the parishes of Bruchköbel , Oberissigheim and Kesselstadt .

During his reign, the castle expansion and the fortification around the city of Hanau were also completed. The county made its contribution to the Turkish tax .

Rieneck inheritance

Rieneck coat of arms according to Scheibler's book of arms 1450–1480

Coat of arms of the Lords and Counts of Hanau based on Scheibler's book of arms

Count Philip III. von Rieneck worked closely with Count Philip III on the question of the Reformation and also otherwise. from Hanau-Munzenberg together. When it was foreseeable that the Count of Rieneck would die without a male heir, he asked Emperor Karl V for the eventual transfer of the fiefs to Hanau, which the Emperor also granted. One argument for this was the similarity of the coat of arms of Hanau and Rieneck. This led to the assumption that both houses come from the same root, which in fact was not the case.

For the history of the coat of arms see: here

Since Emperor Charles V abdicated in the same year, Count Philip III tried. von Hanau-Münzenberg to have this transfer confirmed by his successor, King Ferdinand I, at the Diet of Augsburg . However, he had forgotten to bring the certificate from Emperor Karl with him, so that King Ferdinand could not confirm it. But before the omission could be made up, Count Philip III died. von Rieneck as the last male member of his family on September 3, 1559. With regard to the material inheritance claims, Count Philipp III. von Hanau-Munzenberg therefore did not enforce much: the fiefs fell back to Kurmainz and the Würzburg monastery . In contrast, Philip III took over. von Hanau-Münzenberg the coat of arms of the Rieneckers and their names in its title .

death

Epitaph of Count Philip III. von Hanau-Münzenberg and his wife, Helene von Pfalz-Simmern, in the Marienkirche in Hanau

Count Philip III. died after a six-month illness on November 14, 1561 and was buried in front of the high altar of the Marienkirche in Hanau on the right side. Two still preserved and at the above this uplifting southern wall of the choir Johann von Trarbach created Renaissance grave times , placed for him and his wife.

The counts of the Hanau-Münzenberg line usually died in their third or fourth decade, leaving behind underage successors. Presumably there is an inheritable disease - which one is unknown. The phenomenon spans nine generations. A coincidence can be ruled out.

literature

Adrian Willem Eliza Dek: De Afstammelingen van Juliana van Stolberg tot aan het jaar van de vrede van Munster. In: Mirror of History. Vol. 3, No. 7/8, 1968, ZDB -ID 428272-3 , pp. 225-304.
Reinhard Dietrich : The state constitution in Hanau. The position of the lords and counts in Hanau-Münzenberg based on the archival sources (= Hanauer Geschichtsblätter. Vol. 34). Hanau History Association, Hanau 1996, ISBN 3-9801933-6-5 .
Reinhard Suchier : Genealogy of the Hanauer count house. In: Festschrift of the Hanau History Association for its 50th anniversary celebration on August 27, 1894. Heydt, Hanau 1894.
Reinhard Suchier: The grave monuments and coffins of the people buried in Hanau from the houses of Hanau and Hesse. In: Program of the Royal High School in Hanau. 1879, ZDB ID 890817-5 , pp. 1-56.
Ernst Julius Zimmermann : Hanau city and country. Cultural history and chronicle of a Franconian weatherwave city and former county. With special consideration of the older time. Increased edition. Self-published, Hanau 1919 (Unchanged reprint. Peters, Hanau 1978, ISBN 3-87627-243-2 ).

Individual evidence

↑ A funeral sermon appeared in print for his funeral. Evidence: Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg, 81st Hanau Government A 28.3 (2).
^ Theodor Ruf: Hanau and Rieneck. About the changeable relationship between two neighboring noble families in the Middle Ages. In: New magazine for Hanau history. Vol. 8, No. 6, 1986, ZDB -ID 535233-2 , pp. 300-311, here p. 308.

predecessor	Office	successor
Philip II	Count of Hanau- Munzenberg 1529–1561	Philip Ludwig I.

personal data
SURNAME	Philip III
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Hanau-Munzenberg, Philipp III. from
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German nobleman, Count of Hanau-Munzenberg
DATE OF BIRTH	November 30, 1526
DATE OF DEATH	November 14, 1561

[1] A funeral sermon appeared in print for his funeral. Evidence: Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg, 81st Hanau Government A 28.3 (2).

[2] Theodor Ruf: Hanau and Rieneck. About the changeable relationship between two neighboring noble families in the Middle Ages. In: New magazine for Hanau history. Vol. 8, No. 6, 1986, ZDB -ID 535233-2 , pp. 300-311, here p. 308.