Individual Details
Count Philipp II Hanau-Lichtenberg
(31 May 1462 - 22 Aug 1505)
Philipp was born on 31 May 1462, the son of Philipp I, Graf von Hanau in Lichtenberg, and Anna von Lichtenberg, heiress of Lichtenberg. Three days after his birth he was christened in the Marienkirche in Hanau. His godfathers were Konrad Brelle, abbot if the Selbold Abbey, Wenzel von Kleef and Meze von Gemmingen, widow of Eberhard Waissen. His older brother Johann had died as a child, so that Philipp was his father's successor. On 9 September 1480 he married Gräfin Anna von Isenburg-Büdingen, daughter of Ludwig II, Graf von Ysenburg-Büdingen and Gräfin Maria von Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein. A papal dispensation was needed as they were third cousins. They had three sons and four daughters of whom Philipp III and Ludwig would have progeny.
Philipp probably had two natural sons. Though it is not certain that he was their father, the timing of their birth excludes any other man of the house of Hanau-Lichtenberg, and as they grew up entirely within the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg it is very unlikely that a count of Hanau-Münzenberg could have been their father.
After the death of Philipp I in 1480, Philip II's younger brother Ludwig raised a claim to a share of the rule over the county. While the rule of primogeniture had been in place in the Hanau family statutes since the 14th century, the general law of succession advocated a division of the land. Through the intervention of their cousin Graf Philipp I von Hanau-Münzenberg, a compromise was quickly reached and Ludwig renounced his claim. Shortly afterwards he left on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; he died in 1485 on the return journey.
Philipp at first closely supported Philipp 'der Aufrichtige', Kurfürst von der Pfalz, who was also the feudal lord of parts of the county Hanau-Lichtenberg. Philipp aided Philipp 'der Aufrichtige' in the siege of the castle of Hohengeroldseck.
There was cooperation but also conflict with the house of Zweibrücken-Bitsch, because a considerable part of the estate of Lichtenberg was initially governed jointly. In 1487 a dispute broke out between the houses over the Lichtenberg inheritance. Earlier Philipp and Simon VI Wecker, Graf von Zweibrücken-Bitsch, the husband of Elisabeth von Lichtenberg-Lichtgenau, sister of Philipp's late mother Anna, had jointly acted against Bärbel von Ottenheim, mistress of the sisters' uncle Jakob von Lichtenberg; after Jakob's death in 1480 she was incarcerated in the town of Hagenau, accused of witchcraft. Both men advocated the death penalty for her to the town council. Their motivation was probably to get hold of Bärbel's property. However another possibility is that in the tense situation in the lead up to the Peasants' Wars they saw the chance to offer a 'sacrificial pawn' to their subjects, as Bärbel had had extensive influence on the rule of Lichtenberg and was hated by the people. Before judgment was passed on her, Bärbel died in prison; the cause of her death remained unresolved.
A longer dispute arose with the Electorate of Mainz concerning the Mainz fiefs. This was settled when Philipp resigned his jurisdiction over the town of Klingenberg in favour of Mainz, and in exchange received half of Brumath as a fief.
He took part in a number of imperial Diets, whose main focus was the danger of a Turkish invasion of Central Europe. In the Landshut war of succession (1503-1505) between Philipp 'der Aufrichtige', Kurfürst von der Pfalz, and Bavaria, which Kurfürst Philipp precipitated with his attack on Landshut, Philipp von Hanau-Lichtenberg remained neutral, but not his son and designated successor Philipp III, who sided with Kurfürst Philipp. Wilhelm II, Landgraf von Hessen, was instructed by Emperor Maximilian I to enforce outlawry in the emperor's name against Kurfürst Philipp and his allies, who were branded as peace breakers. The countryside of the province of Babenhausen was already laid waste before Philipp II succeeded in calling a halt to the campaign against his own estates with the help of Emperor Maximilian; fortunately Babenhausen, as a Bohemian fief, belonged indirectly to the Habsburgs. The emperor did not blame Philipp for the fact that his son fought on the 'wrong' side, and his seat of Babenhausen remained spared. In 1503 the emperor granted it the privilege of holding a fair - the Nikolausmarkt.
In 1491 Philipp undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He spent the feast of Pentecost in Venice. In Jerusalem Philipp was made a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre. By the beginning of the winter he was home again. The account by Dietrich von Schachten of his pilgrimage to Jerusalem includes several references to Philipp.
In the light of his own bad experience with his brother Ludwig, Philipp had his sons sign a document agreeing that the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg should remain undivided. It turned out not to be a fully effective measure.
Philipp died in Babenhausen on 22 August 1504; he was buried in the town church of Sankt Nikolaus.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Philipp probably had two natural sons. Though it is not certain that he was their father, the timing of their birth excludes any other man of the house of Hanau-Lichtenberg, and as they grew up entirely within the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg it is very unlikely that a count of Hanau-Münzenberg could have been their father.
After the death of Philipp I in 1480, Philip II's younger brother Ludwig raised a claim to a share of the rule over the county. While the rule of primogeniture had been in place in the Hanau family statutes since the 14th century, the general law of succession advocated a division of the land. Through the intervention of their cousin Graf Philipp I von Hanau-Münzenberg, a compromise was quickly reached and Ludwig renounced his claim. Shortly afterwards he left on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; he died in 1485 on the return journey.
Philipp at first closely supported Philipp 'der Aufrichtige', Kurfürst von der Pfalz, who was also the feudal lord of parts of the county Hanau-Lichtenberg. Philipp aided Philipp 'der Aufrichtige' in the siege of the castle of Hohengeroldseck.
There was cooperation but also conflict with the house of Zweibrücken-Bitsch, because a considerable part of the estate of Lichtenberg was initially governed jointly. In 1487 a dispute broke out between the houses over the Lichtenberg inheritance. Earlier Philipp and Simon VI Wecker, Graf von Zweibrücken-Bitsch, the husband of Elisabeth von Lichtenberg-Lichtgenau, sister of Philipp's late mother Anna, had jointly acted against Bärbel von Ottenheim, mistress of the sisters' uncle Jakob von Lichtenberg; after Jakob's death in 1480 she was incarcerated in the town of Hagenau, accused of witchcraft. Both men advocated the death penalty for her to the town council. Their motivation was probably to get hold of Bärbel's property. However another possibility is that in the tense situation in the lead up to the Peasants' Wars they saw the chance to offer a 'sacrificial pawn' to their subjects, as Bärbel had had extensive influence on the rule of Lichtenberg and was hated by the people. Before judgment was passed on her, Bärbel died in prison; the cause of her death remained unresolved.
A longer dispute arose with the Electorate of Mainz concerning the Mainz fiefs. This was settled when Philipp resigned his jurisdiction over the town of Klingenberg in favour of Mainz, and in exchange received half of Brumath as a fief.
He took part in a number of imperial Diets, whose main focus was the danger of a Turkish invasion of Central Europe. In the Landshut war of succession (1503-1505) between Philipp 'der Aufrichtige', Kurfürst von der Pfalz, and Bavaria, which Kurfürst Philipp precipitated with his attack on Landshut, Philipp von Hanau-Lichtenberg remained neutral, but not his son and designated successor Philipp III, who sided with Kurfürst Philipp. Wilhelm II, Landgraf von Hessen, was instructed by Emperor Maximilian I to enforce outlawry in the emperor's name against Kurfürst Philipp and his allies, who were branded as peace breakers. The countryside of the province of Babenhausen was already laid waste before Philipp II succeeded in calling a halt to the campaign against his own estates with the help of Emperor Maximilian; fortunately Babenhausen, as a Bohemian fief, belonged indirectly to the Habsburgs. The emperor did not blame Philipp for the fact that his son fought on the 'wrong' side, and his seat of Babenhausen remained spared. In 1503 the emperor granted it the privilege of holding a fair - the Nikolausmarkt.
In 1491 Philipp undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He spent the feast of Pentecost in Venice. In Jerusalem Philipp was made a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre. By the beginning of the winter he was home again. The account by Dietrich von Schachten of his pilgrimage to Jerusalem includes several references to Philipp.
In the light of his own bad experience with his brother Ludwig, Philipp had his sons sign a document agreeing that the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg should remain undivided. It turned out not to be a fully effective measure.
Philipp died in Babenhausen on 22 August 1504; he was buried in the town church of Sankt Nikolaus.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | 31 May 1462 | ||||
| Marriage | 9 Sep 1480 | Countess Anna von Isenburg-Büdingen | |||
| Death | 22 Aug 1505 | Babenhausen |
Families
| Spouse | Countess Anna von Isenburg-Büdingen (1460 - 1522) |
| Child | Count Philipp III Hanau-Lichtenberg (1482 - 1538) |