Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt

Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt (July 20, 1671 in Darmstadt – August 11, 1736 in Vienna) was a Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, Imperial Field marshal and Governor of Mantua.

Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt

Life

Philip was a younger son of Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1630–1678) and his second wife Princess Elisabeth Dorothea of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1640–1709), daughter of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha and Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg.[1]

Philip fought for the Habsburgs in the Spanish War of Succession and became in 1708 Field Marshal and Supreme Commander of the Imperial troops in newly conquered Naples. After the war in 1714, under influence of Prince Eugene of Savoy, he became governor of the former Duchy of Mantua until his death.

Philip was a great lover of music. When he commanded the Austrian Army in Naples, he was patron of Nicola Porpora, and when he was governor of Mantua, he made Antonio Vivaldi Maestro di Cappella of his court.[2] Vivaldi wrote the opera Tito Manlio in Philip's honor.[3]

Marriage and Children
Joseph Ignaz Philipp von Hessen-Darmstadt, bishop of Augsburg, son of Philip marshal in Austria.

Philip married on March 24, 1693, in Brussels with Princess Marie Therese of Croÿ (1673–1714), daughter of Duke Ferdinand François Joseph of Croy-Havré and Marie Anne Cesarine Lante Montefeltro della Rovere dei Duchi di Bomarzo. For this marriage, he converted to Catholicism, despite heavy protest of his mother.
They had 5 children :

  • Joseph (1699−1768), Bishop of Augsburg
  • Wilhelm Ludwig (1704, died young)
  • Theodora (February 6, 1706 – January 23, 1784), married in 1727 Duke Antonio Ferrante Gonzaga (1687–1729), no issue.
  • Leopold (1708–1764), Imperial Field marshal, married in 1740 Enrichetta d'Este from Modena (1702–1777)
  • Charles (1710)

Literature

References
  1. Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 71.
  2. Talbot, Michael. "Vivaldi, Antonio." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed December 15, 2015, (subscription required), http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/40120
  3. Eric Cross. "Tito Manlio." The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, (subscription required), accessed December 28, 2015, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/O009614%5B%5D.


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