Philipp, Count of Solms-Lich (15 August 1468 - 3 October 1544,
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
Kings and Emperors
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
Others
* Charles V, Duke ...
patron
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
of
art
Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...
and
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
.
Life
He was the son of Kuno of Solms-Lich and Walpurgis of Dhaun-Kyrburg and a younger brother of John of Solms. He studied in
Mainz
Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
,
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
and
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...
.
On 15 February 1489 he married Adriana of Hanau (1 May 1470 - 12 April 1524), a daughter of
Philipp I, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg
Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
"Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews.
Surname
* Adolf Philipp (1864 ...
and his wife
Adriana of Nassau-Siegen
Countess Adriana of Nassau-SiegenIn many sources she is called Adriana of Nassau-Dillenburg. The County of Nassau-Siegen is erroneously called Nassau-Dillenburg in many sources. The county was not named after the small, unimportant city of Dille ...
. They were related (albeit distantly) and so the marriage required a
papal dispensation
In the jurisprudence of the canon law of the Catholic Church, a dispensation is the exemption from the immediate obligation of the law in certain cases.The Law of Christ Vol. I, pg. 284 Its object is to modify the hardship often caused by rigor ...
. The marriage contract stipulated a 5,000
florin
The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time.
It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...
dowry with an additional 'widerlage' of 6,000 florins and a 'morgengabe' of 1,000 florins - Philip had some difficulty raising the sum and it was only in 1506 that she received her dowry.
As a councilor at the Imperial court, he strengthened his claims on his lands - in 1494 he was freed from the judgement of the Reichshofgericht or high imperial court. He was also exempted from appearing before all other courts and by so doing the emperor gave up his last rights in the county of Solms-Lich. He probably moved to become a councilor at the court of Frederick III between 1506 and 1514 - there he met the painter Hans Döring, who he made his official painter. He was also drawn by Durer in 1518 and painted by
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder ( ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German ...
in 1520.
The rebuilding of the Burg Hohensolm around this time was probably undertaken by Philip, whilst he also built a residence at
Lich
In fantasy fiction, a lich () is a type of undead creature with magical powers.
Various works of fantasy fiction, such as Clark Ashton Smith's " The Empire of the Necromancers" (1932), had used ''lich'' as a general term for any corpse, animat ...
. He, the Landgrave of Hesse and the
bishop of Trier
The Diocese of Trier (), in English historically also known as ''Treves'' () from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Marienkirche in Niederweidbach (now a district of
Bischoffen
Bischoffen is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Bischoffen lies in the Lahn-Dill Highland at the Aar Dam (''Aartalsperre''). This dam holds back the river Aar, a tributary to the Dill, forming a 57-ha la ...
) - he paid for the church's altar and he and his family were painted on its donation board, probably by Döring. In 1510 he began rebuilding the Marienstiftskirche in Lich.
On Frederick's behalf Philip concluded a marriage contract between John Frederick and Charles V's sister Katharina in 1519, but the plan failed. In 1520 he and
Franz von Sickingen
Franz von Sickingen (; 2 March 14817 May 1523) was a knight of the Holy Roman Empire who, with Ulrich von Hutten, led the so-called " Knights' War," and was one of the most notable figures of the early period of the Protestant Reformation. Sic ...
joined forces to protect
Martin Luther
Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...
from possible arrest. Via
Ulrich von Hutten
Ulrich von Hutten (21 April 1488 – 29 August 1523) was a German knight, scholar, poet and satire, satirist, who later became a follower of Martin Luther and a Protestant reformer.
By 1519, he was an outspoken criticism, critic of the Roman Cat ...
, Sickingen asserted Luther's protection and Philip may have offered a safe overnight stay to Luther en route to the 1521
Diet of Worms
The Diet of Worms of 1521 ( ) was an Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), imperial diet (a formal deliberative assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V and conducted in the Imperial Free City o ...
. After Frederick's death Philip entered the service of
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany. He was ...
. Philip was made ruler of Sonnewalde in
Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia (; ; ; ; ) is a historical region in Central Europe, stretching from the southeast of the Germany, German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the south, Lower Lusa ...
in 1537 and of Alt-Pouch in 1544. However, he remained Catholic for political reasons when the Landgrave converted to Lutheranism, backing the Holy Roman Emperor on the question of the
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession (), also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of th ...
, though he is said to have converted to Lutheranism on his deathbed. He was buried in Lich.
Children
*Walpurgis (1490–1527)
*Reinhard (1491–1562), founder of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich line
*
Dorothea
Dorothea, also spelt Dorothee (German), Dorothée (French), and Dorotea, is a female given name from Greek (Dōrothéa) meaning "god's gift". In English it is more commonly spelt Dorothy.
People with this name include:
Aristocracy
* Countes ...
(1493–1578)
*Anna (1494–1510)
*Otto I (1496–1522), founder of
Solms-Laubach
Solms-Laubach was a County of southern Hesse and eastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The House of Solms had its origins in Solms, Hesse.
History
Solms-Laubach was originally created as a partition of Solms-Lich. In 1537 Philip, Count of S ...
line
*Ursula (1498–1517)
Bibliography (in German)
* Friedrich Battenberg (Bearb.): ''Solmser Urkunden. Regesten zu den Urkundenbeständen und Kopiaren der Grafen und Fürsten von Solms im Staatsarchiv Darmstadt (Abt. B 9 und F 24 B), im gräflichen Archiv zu Laubach und im fürstlichen Archiv zu Lich 1131–1913'' = Repertorien des Hessischen Staatsarchivs Darmstadt 15. Bände 1-4: Urkundenregesten Nr. 1-5035, , 225-7, 227-3 und 232-X; Band 5: Nachträge (Urkundenregesten Nr. 5306-5318), Corrigenda und Indices. 1981–1986. XXIV, 437, 348, 408. 409, 579 S.
* Frank Rudolph: ''Solms-Lich, Philipp von.'' In: ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Band 28'', Bautz, Nordhausen 2007, , Sp. 1259–1263.
* Reinhard Suchier: ''Genealogie des Hanauer Grafenhauses''. In: Festschrift des Hanauer Geschichtsvereins zu seiner fünfzigjährigen Jubelfeier am 27. August 1894, Hanau 1894.
*
Friedrich Uhlhorn
Friedrich Uhlhorn (17 June 1894 – 24 July 1978) was an honorary professor at the Philipps-Universität Marburg, whose scientific focus was on the history of the State of Hesse and was also known for his work outside Hesse. His special scientif ...