[December 21] Henry I, landgrave of Hesse

Sobriquet: "The Child" (das Kind)
Parents: Henry II, duke of Brabant, and Sophie of Thuringia
Date of Birth: 24 June 1244
House: Brabant-Hesse
Spouse(s): (1) Adelheid, daughter of Otto I, duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, then (2) Mechthild, daughter of Dietrich VI, count of Cleves
Predecessor: Henry Raspe (as landgrave of Thuringia)
Reign: 1247 – 1308
Brief: Born to Sophie of Thuringia, Henry was in a unique position to inherit all of his grandfather's vast lands in Germany. But a rival, Henry of Meissen, also had a claim to the territory. After many years of intermittent fighting and feuding, it was agreed that Henry would receive Hesse, and Henry of Meissen the remainder of Thuringia and the title. But Henry had been ruling his portion since 1247 and his lands were only confirmed in 1264. Another rivalry dominated the remainder of his reign, this time with the archbishop of Mainz, Werner II. Werner sought to control the land as a ecclesiastical fief, but agreed to leave it in Henry's hands. But when Henry I sought to annex a portion of Mainz, the archbishop fought back, calling in King Rudolf I of Germany and giving Henry the boot in 1274. Henry decided to join Rudolf's forces and ingratiate himself with the German king, thereby gaining his lands back in 1276. Fourteen years later, Henry defeated the archbishop at the Battle of Fritzlar, solidifying his control over Hesse for good. King Adolf, in 1292, granted Hesse full independence from Mainz and was given additional lands, expanding his territory. Sons born of multiple mothers forced Hesse to fold into a civil war around the same time. Henry I died in 1308 with the succession issue still unresolved. Two sons eventually divided the landgraviate in 1310, while a third, Louis, became bishop of Münster.

Date of Death: 21 December 1308

Successor: Otto I (in Upper Hesse), John (in Lower Hesse)

[April 17] John IV, duke of Brabant

Parents: Antoine, duke of Brabant, and Jeanne de St. Pol

Date of Birth: 11 June 1403

House: Capet-Valois

Spouse: Jacqueline, countess of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland

Predecessor: Antoine

Reign: 1415 – 1427

Date of Death: 17 April 1427

Successor: Philip I

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

Alexander, patriarch of Alexandria (326)

Harald III, king of Denmark (1080)

George, duke of Saxony (1539)

Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1711)

[March 31] Philip I, landgrave of Hesse

Surname: "Der Großmütige" (The Magnanimous)

Parents: William II, landgrave of Hesse, and Anna of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Date of Birth: 13 November 1504

House: Brabant-Hesse

Predecessor: William II

Spouse: Christine (daughter of George, duke of Saxony, and Barbara of Poland) and Margarethe von der Saale

Reign: 1509 - 1567

Summary: Philip was born into a troublesome time for Germany. He became landgrave at the age of five when his father, William II, died young. His mother fought for five years to become regent but only succeeded in 1514. Hesse remained in a state of quasi-civil war until 1518 when the Hessian estates proclaimed their fourteen-year-old landgrave old enough to rule. During his early years, he had a very scattered education with both morality and religious training being neglected, something that would become important oversights later in his life. Soon after he reached sixteen, he started actively participating in the government of Hesse.

Philip was lucky in that Hesse was a single unified state under his rule. Salic Law often separated German states and, indeed, Philip divided his own state into four quarters upon his death. Philip met Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, in 1521 at the Diet of Worms and he became attracted to the priest's ideas. In 1524, he personally accepted Lutheranism and then went out to suppress a peasant revolt at the Battle of Frankenhausen. By 1526, Philip was actively participating in a Protestant alliance that was growing in Germany. He began the Protestantization of Hesse that same year and opened the Protestant University of Marburg the year after. Intrigues in 1528 forced Hesse and the Electorate of Saxony to launch a preemptive strike against Catholic Germany to ensure the survival of Protestantism. They only awaited the time that such a rebellion would be required. A secret treaty was signed in 1529 and in 1530 the Schmalkaldic League against the Holy Roman Emperor was formed. For four years tensions rose in Germany as peace settlements were tried. Finally in 1534, the situation became dire. Ferdinand of Austria was invested with the duchy of Württemberg and at the Battle of Lauffen he was denied that and Philip was proclaimed a Protestant hero. The Schmalkaldic League was a success and in 1535 new members were added and the treaty was extended to 1545. Personal problems affected Philip's popularity after 1540 when the landgrave entered into a bigamous marriage with Margarethe von der Saale. To avoid utter scandal, Philip began negotiating with Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and came to terms with him over all but Protestantism. Philip's position as leader of German Protestantism was at an end. For a brief while he was a trusted advisor to Charles V, and the emperor even considered using him as the commander of a new war against the Ottoman Empire.Things feel apart again in 1544, though, as differences between the emperor and Philip broke out into the Schmalkaldic War which ended in 1547 with the capture of the Saxon Elector John Frederick and the dissolution of the Schmalkaldic League. Charles imprisoned both John Frederick and Philip in southern Germany until 1552. Philip was now old and new Protestant leaders had arisen during his captivity. Philip spent his last years seeking a peace between Catholics and Protestants while also supporting the Protestant cause in France. Upon his death, Hesse was divided permanently into four landgraviates.

Date of Death: 31 March 1567

Successor: William IV (Kassel), Louis IV (Marburg), Philipp II (Rheinfels), & Georg I (Darmstadt)

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Ivan I, prince of Moscow (1340)
• Francis I, king of France (1547)
• Philip III, king of Spain, Portugal, Naples and Sicily (1621)