Louis II, Landgrave of Lower Hesse

Louis II
Landgrave of Lower Hesse
Stone effigies of Louis II, and his wife Mechthild of Württemberg-Urach.
Born7 September 1438
Died8 November 1471(1471-11-08) (aged 33)
SpouseMechthild of Württemberg-Urach
IssueAnna
Elisabeth
William I, Landgrave of Lower Hesse
William II, Landgrave of Hesse
HouseHouse of Hesse
FatherLouis I, Landgrave of Hesse
MotherAnna of Saxony

Louis II of Hesse (German: Ludwig) (7 September 1438 – 8 November 1471), called Louis the Frank, was the Landgrave of Lower Hesse from 1458 - 1471.

He was the son of Louis I, Landgrave of Hesse and Anna of Saxony. He married Mechthild, daughter of Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg-Urach in 1454. Their children were:

He also had seven (known) illegitimate children by his mistress, Margarethe von Holzheim (born about 1443 - died after 1515):

  • Anna of Hesse (born about 1460, married Heinz Missener, 23 May 1484)
  • Margarethe of Hesse (born about 1460, died 1524, married Heinrich Furster, mayor of Marburg, 5 February 1486)
  • Johannes of Hesse (born about 1460, murdered 11 March 1531, married Gertrude ______)
  • Wilhelm of Hesse (born about 1470, died 1550 in Melsungen)
  • Luckel Lambrechts (born before 1471), a nun at the convent of Ahnaberg in Kassel
  • Ernst of Natega, a canon in Hildesheim
  • Friedrich of Hesse

The Landgraviate of Hesse had been divided by his father Louis I between Louis II and his brother Henry III into Hesse-Kassel (Lower Hesse) and Hesse-Marburg (Upper Hesse). The brothers fought about the exact demarcation of the realm until May 1470.