William V () (13 February 1602 – 21 September 1637), a member of the

House of Hesse The House of Hesse is a European dynasty, directly descended from the House of Reginar, House of Brabant. They ruled the region of Hesse, one branch as prince-electors until 1866, and another branch as grand dukes until 1918.Burke's Peerage, Bur ...

, was Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1627 to 1637. Having come to rule in unfavorable circumstances and in the midst of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, he continued to suffer losses of territory and wealth.

Life

William was born in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

, the son of Landgrave

Maurice of Hesse-Kassel Maurice of Hesse-Kassel (; 25 May 1572 – 15 March 1632), also called Maurice the Learned or Moritz, was the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) in the Holy Roman Empire from 1592 to 1627. Life Maurice was born in Kassel as the son of ...

and his consort Agnes of Solms-Laubach. His mother died shortly after his birth, and his father subsequently married Countess Juliane of Nassau-Siegen. Maurice, of broad education and interests, inherited half of the estates held by the extinct landgraves of Hesse-Marburg in 1604. However, when he converted to

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

the next year, he entered into a protracted legal dispute with his

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

cousin Landgrave Louis V of Hesse-Darmstadt. The

Aulic Council The Aulic Council (; ; literally "Court Council of the Empire", sometimes abbreviated in academic writing as "RHR") was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the ''Reichskammergericht'' (Imperial Chamber Court). ...

decided in favour of Louis, and on 17 March 1627, after losing much of the territory to the Darmstadt line and leaving the family in financial ruin, Maurice finally abdicated in favor of his son. Seal of William V of Hessen-Kassel

William's first order was to obey the verdict and to stabilise the economic situation of the landgraviate. He fought against the ''

Kipper und Wipper ''Kipper und Wipper'' (, literally "Kipper and Wipper time") was a financial crisis during the start of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648).Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 19 December15946 November ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 16 November1632), also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 t ...

, whose army disembarked on 6 July 1630 in

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

. As a commander, he drove out the Imperial troops under Aldringen and

Fugger The House of Fugger () is a German family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and venture capitalists. ...

from Hesse. After the Protestant victory at the 1631 Battle of Breitenfeld, King Gustavus Adolphus ceded William the abbeys of

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

, Hersfeld and

Corvey The Princely Abbey of Corvey ( or ) is a former Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastical principality now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was one of the half-dozen self-ruling '' princely abbeys'' of the Holy Roman Empire from the Late Middl ...

as well as the prince-bishoprics of

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

and

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

. William occupied Hersfeld and the

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 ...

estate of

Fritzlar Fritzlar () is a small town (pop. 15,000) in the Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. The town has a medieval center ringed by a wall with numerous watch towers. high ...

; however, when he and Gustavus Adolphus entered the city of

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 ...

, his cousin Landgrave George II of Hesse-Darmstadt, allied with Emperor Ferdinand II, was alarmed and started negotiations with the Swedish king. William's expectations proved to be false, when Gustavus Adolphus only seized the Rüsselsheim fortress and left

Upper Hesse The term Upper Hesse () originally referred to the southern possessions of the Landgraviate of Hesse, which were initially geographically separated from the more northerly Lower Hesse by the . Later, it became the name of one of the three provinc ...

to Landgrave Georg. William's situation worsened when the king was killed in the 1632 Battle of Lützen. When in 1635 the emperor concluded the Peace of Prague with numerous Protestant

princes A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in some ...

, William was left offside. Instead he forged a military alliance with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, which earned him the invasion of Imperial troops. The landgrave again lost Fulda and his

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

n conquests and plunged into another debt crisis. He was declared an "enemy of the Empire" while his cousin Georg was appointed administrator of the Hesse-Kassel estates. In 1636 the forces of William and the Swedish commander

Alexander Leslie Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven (4 April 1661) was a Scottish army officer. Born illegitimate and raised as a foster child, he subsequently advanced to the rank of field marshal in Swedish Army, and in Scotland became Lord General in comma ...

were able to liberate the besieged fortress of

Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...

. Nevertheless, by 1637 whole Hesse-Kassel was under military occupation and William was forced to escape. He died in exile in

East Frisia East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...

. William's widow, Amalie Elisabeth von Hanau-Münzenberg, served as regent for her son

William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Wilhelm VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (23 May 1629 – 16 July 1663), known as William the Just, was Landgrave of Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Kassel from 1637 to 1663. Through two of his surviving children, he is the ancestor of all the ...

until he came of age in 1650. Under her leadership many of the lands lost by her father-in-law and husband were regained through various foreign alliances and battles. In 1650, William's son, William VI, began his rule as Landgrave, and continued the

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, also known as the Hessian Palatinate (), was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The state was created in 1567 when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided upon t ...

line, which almost perished under Maurice and William V. One of his daughters, Charlotte, married

Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine Charles I Louis (; 22 December 1617 – 28 August 1680) was Elector Palatine from 1648 until his death. He was the second son of Frederick V of the Palatinate, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and the British princess Elizabeth Stuart. Aft ...

and was the mother of the famous

Duchess of Orléans Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, sister in law of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. Another daughter, Emily, married

Henri Charles de La Trémoille Henri is the French form of the masculine given name Henry, also in Estonian, Finnish, German and Luxembourgish. Bearers of the given name include: People French nobles * Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), Marshal and Constable of France * ...

Issue

*Agnes (24 November 1620 – 20 August 1626). *Maurice (born and died 24 September 1621). *Elisabeth (21 October 1623 – 13 January 1624). *William (31 January 1625 – 11 July 1626). *Emilie (11 February 1626 – 15 February 1693), married 15 May 1648 to

. * Charlotte (20 November 1627 – 16 March 1686), married 12 February 1650 (div. 14 April 1657) to

Charles I Louis of the Palatinate Charles I Louis (; 22 December 1617 – 28 August 1680) was Elector Palatine from 1648 until his death. He was the second son of Frederick V of the Palatinate, Frederick V of the Palatinate, the "Winter King" of Bohemia, and the British pri ...

. *

(23 May 1629 – 16 July 1663), married 9 July 1646 to Margravine Hedwig Sophie of Brandenburg. *Philipp (16 June 1630 – 17 August 1638). *Adolf (17 December 1631 – 17 March 1632). *Karl (18/19 June 1633 – 9 March 1635). *Elisabeth (23 June 1634 – 22 March 1688), Princess-Abbess of

Herford Herford (; ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is situated in the cultural region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe (OWL) and the Detmold (administrat ...

. *Stillbirth (8 February 1635). *Luise (5 November 1636 – 6 January 1638). *Stillbirth (28 May 1637).

Ancestry

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:William V, Landgrave Of Hesse-Kassel Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel People from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel 1602 births 1637 deaths Landgraves of Hesse German Calvinist and Reformed Christians 17th-century German people