Ulrich V. (Hanau)

Ulrich V. von Hanau (* around 1370; † 1419 (probably) in Schaafheim ) was the ruler of the Hanau rulership from 1380 to 1404.

childhood

His exact birthday and even the year of birth of Ulrich V are unknown because, from a medieval perspective, the date of death was much more important than the birthday because of the commemorative masses. On the other hand, the year and day of his death is also not known for certain, since he was "hushed up" by the family after his dismissal as Mr. von Hanau.

Ulrich V was born as the eldest son of Ulrich IV. Von Hanau around 1370. His father died as early as 1380 and he inherited the rule.

One of Ulrich IV's sons was enrolled as a student at Heidelberg University in 1390 . The corresponding entry in the matriculation does not give a nickname, but only speaks of a " domicellus de Hanaw ". Since Ulrich V was already ruling at this point in time, it is unlikely that he was the student named here.

Pedigree of Count Philipp Ludwig II of Hanau-Munzenberg
Great grandparents	Ulrich II. (* 1280; † 1346) ∞ Agnes von Hohenlohe (* before 1295; † 1343)	Count Gerlach von Nassau (* 1283; † 1361) ∞ Landgravine Agnes von Hessen (*?; † 1371)	Count Rudolf III. von Wertheim (* 1302; † 1355) ∞ Elisabeth von Breuberg (*?; † 1358)	Burgrave Friedrich IV of Hohenzollern (* 1287; † 1332) ∞ Margaret of Carinthia (*?; † n. 1348)
Grandparents	Ulrich III. (* approx. 1310; † 1369/70) ∞ Countess Adelheid von Nassau (*?; † 1344)		Count Eberhard I. von Wertheim (*?; † 1373) ∞ Countess Katharina von Hohenzollern (*?; † n. 1369)
parents	Ulrich IV. (* 1330/40; † 1380) ∞ Countess Elisabeth von Wertheim (* 1347; † 1378)
Ulrich V.

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

guardianship

Since he was still a minor at the time of inheritance, a guardianship was set up for him , which was exercised by the father of his fiancé, Count Gottfried VIII von Ziegenhain . This existed until around 1388.

family

Ulrich V married Elisabeth von Ziegenhain (* approx. 1375 - December 1, 1431), daughter of Count Gottfried VIII. Von Ziegenhain , in 1394 . The marriage, however, remained without male heirs. Her daughters were:

1. Elisabeth (approx. 1395; † May 25, 1475), married in 1413 to Albert I von Hohenlohe († June 15, 1429)
2. Agnes († November 22, 1446), Abbess of the Klarenthal Monastery
3. Adelheid († November 13, 1440), nun in Klarenthal Abbey

government

In 1389 he took part with Elector Ruprecht I of the Palatinate in the city war, a conflict between the nobility and emerging cities, and in the Kronberg feud (on the side of the victors). In 1400 he was among the Friedberger Burgmannen who were commissioned to negotiate with King Ruprecht about the homage after King Wenzel had been deposed.

Government crisis and dismissal

Two main reasons led to Ulrichs V being dismissed:

• The lack of a male heir threatened the continued existence of the family. The “Primogeniturstatut”, a family contract of the Hanau family from 1375, also stipulated that only the eldest son followed in the reign and was allowed to marry. A family contract of 1391 was initially intended to eliminate this threat. Among other things, it stipulated that the marriage ban for Ulrich's younger brother Reinhard should be lifted after ten years if Ulrich V did not father any male heirs. This period expired in 1401.
• Since 1394, and increasingly since 1396, it can also be proven that Ulrich V got into economic difficulties - despite the compensation payments obtained from Frankfurt from the city war and after the battle of Kronberg . Perhaps he had taken over financially through his "foreign policy" activities. He pledged the village of Hochstadt to Frankfurt , the Joßgrund office to the Lords of Thüngen, and finally even the two cities of Hanau and Babenhausen to the other political rival and neighbor, Archbishop Johann II of Mainz, who was thus effectively co-regent in the Hanau dominion has been. However, Ulrich V and his brothers were second-degree nephews of the Archbishop of Mainz. Possibly as a result of this episode, the martial wine was served in Hanau centuries later .

A coalition of Reinhard and the younger brother of the two, Johann , has been established since around 1395. They appeared independently and separately from Ulrich V and partly pursued a policy directed against him. There was an open dispute, which was first settled with a settlement in 1398. Nevertheless, there were further disputes up to and including a feud .

From 1400, and increasingly from 1402, Reinhard II and Johann seem to have moved closer politically to Archbishop Johann II of Mainz, who finally changed fronts in the family dispute in Hanau and dropped Ulrich V.

In 1404 Ulrich V was gradually disempowered. On February 20, 1404, he ceded the government to Reinhard II and Johann, and on November 26, 1404, he finally abdicated by instructing his subjects to pay homage to his brothers . His wife had already waived all claims to the Hanau rulership in return for a severance payment, without Ulrich V being even mentioned in this document.

The reason that a mental disorder forced Ulrich V to abdicate is not correct. This argument does not appear until the historiography of the 18th and 19th centuries to justify the violation of the Primogenitur statute, but finds no reference in the documents that were issued on the occasion of the abdication.

Reinhard II and Johann ruled together at first, Reinhard II later alone after Johann died in 1411.

death

There is hardly any news about Ulrich V after his abdication. He is said to have lived first in Frankfurt, later in the Babenhausen office . There is documentary evidence that his wife separated from him. He is said to have died in Schaafheim in 1419.

literature

• Reinhard Dietrich: The abdication of Ulrich V. von Hanau. Causes and consequences. In: Hanauer Geschichtsblätter Vol. 31, 1993, pp. 7–33.
• 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.
• Martin: Ulrich v. Hanau gives his wife Else v. Ziegenhain his village Nauheim near Friedberg as a morning gift 1394 In: Bad-Nauheimer Jahrbuch Vol. 7, 1928.
• 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

1. ↑ according to other sources 1417: Hanauisches Magazin from 1778 , Hanau 1779, first volume, p. 341
2. ^ Gustav Toepke : The register of the University of Heidelberg from 1386 to 1662. Part 1: From 1386 to 1553. Winter et al., Heidelberg 1884, p. 43, (reprint. Kraus Reprint, Nendeln / Lichtenstein 1976); Adolf Stölzel : The development of the learned judiciary in German territories. A legal historical investigation with preferential consideration of the conditions in the area of ​​the former Electorate of Hesse. Volume 2: Attachments. Register. Cotta, Stuttgart 1872, p. 52, (Neudruck. Scientia-Verlag, Aalen 1964), mistakenly puts this mention on the year 1389.
3. ↑ The marriage contract was concluded on April 3, 1379, cf. "Hanau, Ulrich V. Herr von". Hessian biography. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).

predecessor	Office	successor
Ulrich IV.	Lord of Hanau 1380–1404	Reinhard II. & Johann