PHILIP OF HESSE


Meaning of PHILIP OF HESSE in English

born Nov. 13, 1504, Marburg, Hesse

died March 31, 1567, Kassel, Ger.

German nobleman, landgrave of Hesse, and champion of the Reformation .

His skillful management made Hesse a sovereign state. Won to the cause of Schmalkaldic League . However, his folly in contracting a bigamous second marriage damaged his reputation. After the emperor crushed the league, Philip was imprisoned (1547–52). Long imprisonment undermined his influence and his health, though he finally saw Lutheranism gain a position of legal equality with Catholicism in the Peace of Augsburg (1555). In the year of his death, he divided Hesse among his four sons.

Britannica English dictionary.      Английский словарь Британика.