Coat of arms:
Hesse, the country of the Chatti (ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser), was conquered by Giso – count of Gudensberg, in 1120. The first landgrave of Hesse was Henry the Child (1265), who was named prince by the imperial council in 1292. The latter descended from Duke Henry II of Brabant and Sophie, the daughter of Louis of Thuringia.
Landgrave was a title only used in the Holy Roman Empire and later on by its former territories. The title refers to a count that had feudal duty directly to the Holy Roman Emperor. A landgrave by definition exercised sovereign rights. His decision-making power was comparable to that of a Duke.
The House of Hesse included the following landgraves: Hesse Cassel, Hesse Darmstadt that gave birth to Hesse Homburg, founded by Frederic I, son of George I of Hesse Darmstadt.
The first landgrave of Hesse Cassel was Wilhelm IX (1801), the eldest son of Philip I, the one who supported the expansion of reformation in Germany.
Genealogic Tree:
