Philip I, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg

Philip I, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg
Philip I (the elder) of Hanau-Lichtenberg on his epitaph in the church of St Nicholas in Babenhausen
Noble family	House of Hanau
Father	Reinhard II, Count of Hanau
Mother	Catherine of Nassau-Beilstein
Born	8 November 1417(1417-11-08) Windecken Castle in Windecken, now part of Nidderau
Died	10 May 1480(1480-05-10) (aged 62) Ingweiler, now called: Ingwiller
Burial	St Nicholas church in Babenhausen

Philip I, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (also known as Philip the Elder; born: 8 November 1417 at Windecken Castle in Windecken, now part of Nidderau; died: 10 May 1480 in Ingweiler, now called: Ingwiller) was Count of Hanau. The county was divided between him and his nephew, Count Philip I "the Younger". Philip the Elder's part of the county was later called Hanau-Lichtenberg; Philip the Younger's part is known as Hanau-Münzenberg.

Contents 1 Life 1.1 The time before the division of the county 1.2 Context of the division 2 Marriage and issue 3 Ancestors 4 References 5 Footnotes

Life

The time before the division of the county

Philip I was on the 8 November 1417 at Windecken Castle as the son of Lord Reinhard II of Hanau, who was later raised to Count of Hanau, and his wife Catherine of Nassau-Beilstein. Two days later, he was bapitzed there. He godparents were Johann Trier, Komtur of the Teutonic Order in Frankfurt and Gertrude of Kronberg, the daughter of Frank X of Kronberg (1381-1423) and Gertrude of Hatzfeld (1381-1409), who was at the time married to her second husband Philip of Frankenstein.

Originally, a career in the clergy had been planned for Philip, as he was a younger son. For unknown reasons, this did not happen; instead he engaged in a military career. In 1448, he fought with the Duke of Cleves against the Archbishop of Cologne. His father died in 1451, and was succeeded by his eldest brother, Count Reinhard III.

Context of the division

Count Reinhard III died in 1452, after reigning only a year. He was succeeded by his son Philip "the Younger". At the time, Philip the Younger was only four years old. This situation presented the Hanau family with a dilemma:

• They could obey the primogeniture rule, which had been observed in Hanau since 1375. This would mean hoping that Philip the younger would live to an adult age, marry and have children, who would continue the dynasty. This would have the advantage that all of the family's possessions would remain in a single hand. It would entail the risk that the dynasty might die out, if Philip the Younger were to die without a male heir.
• Alternatively, the famlity could ignore the primogenture decision and allowed the next agnate, Philip the Elder, to marry. This would have the advantage of significantly increasing the probability that the dynasty continued to exist, but the disadvantage that the county would have to be divided. This model also called for urgent action, as Philip the Elder was almost 40 years old, which was considered quite an advanced age in the 15th century.

Marriage and issue

Philip the Elder married on 6 September 1458 in Hanau with Anna of Lichtenberg, (25 October 1442 – 24 January 1474), heiress of the Lordship of Lichtenberg. They had the following children:

1. John (1460 – 4 September 1473), buried in the church of St Nicholas in Babenhausen
2. Philip II (31 May 1462 in Hanau, – 22 August 1504 in Babenhausen)
3. Margaret (15 May 1463, Lichtenberg – 26 May 1504), married to Count Adolph IV of Nassau-Wiesbaden
4. Louis (23 August 1464; 30 December 1484 in Trent)
5. Anna (d. 1491), a nun in the Marienborn Abbey
6. Dieter (about 1468 – 25 February 1473^[1]), buried in the Church of St. Nicholas in Babenhausen
7. Albert (before 1474 – 24 June 1491), buried in Buchsweiler

Moreover, Philip had at least one extramarital affair, with whom is not recorded, from which had these sons:

1. John of Hanau-Lichtenberg (dates unknown, mentioned in 1463), clergyman
2. Reinhard Hanauer (dates unknown, mentioned in1512), provost at Neuweiler

Ancestors

Ancestors of Philip I, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg

8. Ulrich III, Lord of Hanau (1310-1370)                       4. Ulrich IV, Lord of Hanau (c. 1330-1380)                             9. Adelheid of Nassau-Wiesbaden (1327-1344)                       2. Reinhard II, Count of Hanau (1369-1451)                                   10. Eberhard of Wertheim (d. 1373)                       5. Elisabeth of Wertheim (1347-1378)                             11. Catherine of Nuremberg-Hohenzollern (died after 1373)                       1. Philip I, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg                                         12. Henry I, Count of Nassau-Beilstein (died between 1378 and 1380)                       6. Henry II, Count of Nassau-Beilstein (d. 1412)                             13. Meyna of Westerburg (d. 1388)                       3. Catherine of Nassau-Beilstein (d. 1459)                                   14. Arnold of Randerode                       7. Catherine of Randerode (d. 1415)

References

• Reinhard Dietrich: Die Landesverfassung in dem Hanauischen = Hanauer Geschichtsblätter , vol. 34, Hanau, 1996, ISBN 3-9801933-6-5
• Paul-Joachim Heinig: Kaiser Friedrich III. und Hessen, in: Hessisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte, vol. 32, p. 63 ff
• J. G. Lehmann: Urkundliche Geschichte der Grafschaft Hanau-Lichtenberg im unteren Elsasse, 2 vols., 1862, reprinted: Pirmasens, 1970
• Sebastian Scholz: Die „Ewige Anbetung“ Philipps I. von Hanau-Lichtenberg und seiner Familie. Ausdrucksformen adeliger Memoria und Frömmigkeit im Spätmittelalter, in: Beiträge zur Geschichte der Grafschaft Hanau-Lichtenberg. Herausgegeben zum 20-jährigen Jubiläum der Partnerschaft zwischen den beiden ehemaligen gräflichen Residenzstädten Babenhausen und Bouxwiller = Babenhausen einst und jetzt, vol. 31, 2004, p. 19 ff
• Sebastian Scholz: Die Inschriften der Stadt Darmstadt und des Landkreises Darmstadt-Dieburg und Groß-Gerau = Die deutschen Inschriften, vol. 49 = series Mainz, vol. 6, ed. by Akademie der Wissenschaften Mainz, Wiesbaden, 1999
• Reinhard Suchier: Genealogie des Hanauer Grafenhauses, in: Festschrift des Hanauer Geschichtsvereins zu seiner fünfzigjährigen Jubelfeier am 27. August 1894, Hanau, 1894
• Ernst J. Zimmermann: Hanau Stadt und Land, 3rd ed., Hanau, 1919, reprinted: 1978.

Footnotes

1. ^ Scholz, p.67, says it was on 3 March 1474

Philip I, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg House of Hanau Born: 8 November 1417 Died: 10 May 1480
Preceded by Philip the Younger as Count of Hanau	Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg 1458-1480	Succeeded by Philip II

Persondata
Name	Philip I, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg
Alternative names	Philip the Elder; Philipp der Ältere (German); Philipp I. von Hanau-Lichtenberg (German)
Short description	Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (1458-1480)
Date of birth	8 November 1417
Place of birth	Windecken Castle in Windecken, now part of Nidderau
Date of death	10 May 1480
Place of death	Ingweiler, now called: Ingwiller