Individual Details
Ulrich II von Hanau
(Abt 1280 - 23 Sep 1346)
Ulrich was born between 1280 and 1285, the son of Ulrich I, Herr von Hanau, and Elisabeth von Rieneck. Nothing is known of his childhood. The first documented reference to him relates to the beginning of his rule. His year of birth is not certain. At the earliest it would have been within a year or so of his parents' wedding year, 1278. The latest year stems from the fact that he was evidently of age (18) when he began his rule. As he married four years after the start of his rule, the evidence suggests a later rather than earlier year.
About 16 January 1310 Ulrich married Agnes von Hohenlohe-Weikersheim, daughter of Kraft I von Hohenlohe-Weikersheim and his second wife Margareta von Truhendingen. They had ten known children of whom Ulrich III, Else/Elizabeth and Adelheid would have progeny.
In 1310 Ulrich provided military assistance to Johann 'the Blind', king of Bohemia, son of Emperor Heinrich VII, for which the emperor pledged to him the Jews in the towns of the lordship of Hanau (Babenhausen, Hanau, Steinau an der Strasse and Windecken) to the value of 600 pounds.
In 1315 Ulrich was present in the suite of Duke Ludwig IV 'der Bayer' at his election as King of the Germans in Frankfurt. He took an active part in the pacification policy for the region.
In 1316 Ulrich purchased the jurisdiction of Brandenstein and half that of Schlüchtern from Rieneck. They were fiefs of the bishop of Würzburg, who agreed to these sales. Hanau would receive the second half of Schlüchtern in 1377 in exchange for the castle of Büttert. The Abbey of Schlüchtern would finally enter the jurisdiction of Hanau in 1457.
In 1317 the owner of the jurisdiction of Trag accepted Ulrich as his liege lord. In 1320 Emperor Ludwig IV pledged Bornheimerberg to Ulrich in payment for services rendered in a campaign in Alsace. In 1351 Emperor Karl IV would renew this pledge. In 1434 Reinhard II of Hanau would be invested with Bornheimerberg.
In 1326, formalised in 1349, the imperial town of Gelnhausen was pledged by Emperor Ludwig IV to Hanau, and in 1330 the citizens were released from their oath of allegiance to the emperor and expected to give it to Hanau.
In 1333 the death of Ludwig V, Graf von Rieneck zu Rothenfels, the last surviving brother of Ulrich's mother, marked the end of the line of the counts of Rieneck-Rothenfels. The inheritance passing to Hanau was enormous: a quarter of the castle and province of Rieneck; half of the castle of Prozelten; a third of the castle and province of Grumbach (the other two thirds had belonged since 1309 to the archbishopric of Mainz); an interest in the castle of Rothenfels; the castle and town of Lauda; Osterburken (Burgheim); stewardship over Dörnigheim; and countless fiefs and rights in the province of Schwarzenfels.
In 1339 Ulrich introduced primogeniture into the house of Hanau, one of the earliest implementations of this rule in Germany. The rule would be applied several times, such as in 1343 and 1375. However, in spite of this family statute, it was also ignored several times when this was deemed politically opportune, leading to divisions of the county, for example in 1456 and 1685.
Shortly before his death Ulrich was declared an outlaw in the emperor's name, for reasons which now not known. Emperor Ludwig 'der Bayer' instructed Friedrich von Hütten, as a governor of the Wetterau, with enforcing the decree. The affair seems to have been settled amicably soon after.
Two different dates are recorded in the literature as the dates of Ulrich's death: 2 September and 23 September 1346. He was buried in the Abbey of Arnsburg, the family grave site of the house of Hanau until the 15th century. In a document from the year 1343 his daughter Adelheid was to be permitted to visit her father's grave twice a year, implying that it was not freely accessible.
Source: Leo van de Pas
About 16 January 1310 Ulrich married Agnes von Hohenlohe-Weikersheim, daughter of Kraft I von Hohenlohe-Weikersheim and his second wife Margareta von Truhendingen. They had ten known children of whom Ulrich III, Else/Elizabeth and Adelheid would have progeny.
In 1310 Ulrich provided military assistance to Johann 'the Blind', king of Bohemia, son of Emperor Heinrich VII, for which the emperor pledged to him the Jews in the towns of the lordship of Hanau (Babenhausen, Hanau, Steinau an der Strasse and Windecken) to the value of 600 pounds.
In 1315 Ulrich was present in the suite of Duke Ludwig IV 'der Bayer' at his election as King of the Germans in Frankfurt. He took an active part in the pacification policy for the region.
In 1316 Ulrich purchased the jurisdiction of Brandenstein and half that of Schlüchtern from Rieneck. They were fiefs of the bishop of Würzburg, who agreed to these sales. Hanau would receive the second half of Schlüchtern in 1377 in exchange for the castle of Büttert. The Abbey of Schlüchtern would finally enter the jurisdiction of Hanau in 1457.
In 1317 the owner of the jurisdiction of Trag accepted Ulrich as his liege lord. In 1320 Emperor Ludwig IV pledged Bornheimerberg to Ulrich in payment for services rendered in a campaign in Alsace. In 1351 Emperor Karl IV would renew this pledge. In 1434 Reinhard II of Hanau would be invested with Bornheimerberg.
In 1326, formalised in 1349, the imperial town of Gelnhausen was pledged by Emperor Ludwig IV to Hanau, and in 1330 the citizens were released from their oath of allegiance to the emperor and expected to give it to Hanau.
In 1333 the death of Ludwig V, Graf von Rieneck zu Rothenfels, the last surviving brother of Ulrich's mother, marked the end of the line of the counts of Rieneck-Rothenfels. The inheritance passing to Hanau was enormous: a quarter of the castle and province of Rieneck; half of the castle of Prozelten; a third of the castle and province of Grumbach (the other two thirds had belonged since 1309 to the archbishopric of Mainz); an interest in the castle of Rothenfels; the castle and town of Lauda; Osterburken (Burgheim); stewardship over Dörnigheim; and countless fiefs and rights in the province of Schwarzenfels.
In 1339 Ulrich introduced primogeniture into the house of Hanau, one of the earliest implementations of this rule in Germany. The rule would be applied several times, such as in 1343 and 1375. However, in spite of this family statute, it was also ignored several times when this was deemed politically opportune, leading to divisions of the county, for example in 1456 and 1685.
Shortly before his death Ulrich was declared an outlaw in the emperor's name, for reasons which now not known. Emperor Ludwig 'der Bayer' instructed Friedrich von Hütten, as a governor of the Wetterau, with enforcing the decree. The affair seems to have been settled amicably soon after.
Two different dates are recorded in the literature as the dates of Ulrich's death: 2 September and 23 September 1346. He was buried in the Abbey of Arnsburg, the family grave site of the house of Hanau until the 15th century. In a document from the year 1343 his daughter Adelheid was to be permitted to visit her father's grave twice a year, implying that it was not freely accessible.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | Abt 1280 | ||||
| Marriage | Abt 1310 | Agnes von Hohenlohe-Weikersheim | |||
| Death | 23 Sep 1346 |
Families
| Spouse | Agnes von Hohenlohe-Weikersheim ( - 1342) |
| Child | Ulrich III von Hanau ( - 1370) |
| Father | Ulrich I von Hanau (1255 - 1305) |
| Mother | Elisabeth von Rieneck (1260 - 1300) |