Hesse, a countrj' in central Germany. The name is for the first time mentioned in a letter of St. Boniface to the pope (783), and the pupils of Boniface introduced Christianity into the country. At the time of Charle- magne it belonged to the dominions of the coimts of Franconia; in the 10th century, a number of Hessian nobles established their independence ; in the following, all of them recognised the sovereignty of Ludwig I of Thuringia, who had married the daughter of one of the Hessian princes. This line became extinct in 1247 ; a long civil war ensued ; the result was the confirmation of the rule of Heinrich of Brabant, the son-in-law of the
HESSE
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last ruler of the extinct line. His son Heinrich (" the Chilli of Brabant") became the ancestor of all the branch- es of Hessian princes. The Hessian lands, sometimes divided among several princes, were again remiited at , the beginning of the 16th century under Wilhelm II,
I the father of Philip I the Magnanimous, who played so
I prominent a part in the history of the Reformation of
the IGth century. Philip divided his dominions among his four sons, two of whom died childless, thus leaving only two chief lines of the Hessian dynasties, Jiesse-Cas- sel and Ilesse-Darimtadt. The landgraves of Hesse- Cassel in 1803 received the title of elector; but in 1806, in consequence of the German war, in which the elector had taken sides against Prussia, the country was con- (piered by the Prussians, and annexed to Prussia. The landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 received the title of grand-duke. From both main lines others branched off I'rom time to time, but at the establishment of the German Confederation in 1815, only one, the landgra- vate of Ilesse-Homhurg, a branch of Hesse-Darmstadt, became a member of the Confederation. It became ex- tinct in j\Iarch, 18G6, fell to Hesse-Darmstadt, but in September, 1866, was ceded by Hesse-Darmstadt to Prus- sia. ThiLS, in 1870, the only Hessian line retaining sov- ereignty was the grand-duchy of Hesse - Darmstadt, which was a part of the new North-Gemian Confedera- tion, not for the whole territory, however, but only for one of the three provinces.
The zeal of Philip the Magnanimous for the success of the Reformation made the Hessian territory one of the strongholds of German Protestantism. But the vac- illation of the succeeding princes between the Lutheran and the Reformed Creeds caused considerable trouble, especially in Hesse-Cassel, the State Church of which was often left in the dark as to whether it was Lutheran or Reformed. Theological controversies on this sub- ject have been continued up to the present day. In the grand-duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, the majority of the Protestant churches, both Lutheran and Reformed, have joined (since 1822) the " Union" or United Evangelical Church. Before the union there were in the grand- duchy about 406,000 Lutherans and 173,000 Reformed. According to the census of 1867, there were in the grand- duchy in that year 564,657 Evangelical Christians (68.60 per cent, of the total population), 229,373 Roman Cath- oUcs (27.86 per cent.), 3841 other Christians (0.47 per cent.), 25,266 Israelites (3.07 per cent.). In the class of " other Christians" were included 2987 German Catho- lics, 626 Mennonites, 119 Baptists, 31 Free Religious, 24 Separatists, 22 Greek Catholics, 20 United Brethren in Christ, 6 Darbyites, 4 Pietists, 2 Orthodox Catholics.
The National EvangeUcal Church comprises the mem- bers of the United Evangelical Church as well as the non-united Lutherans and Reformed. The Chiu-ch con- stitution, introduced at the time of the Reformation, with two consistories and four superintendents, was changed in 1803. The office of superintendents was abolished; the two consistories were supplanted by Church and School councils which had no consistorial ju- risdiction. The new councils were subordinate to the state ministers of the Interior and of Justice, who, in the exercise of their functions, were aided by inspectors. As in other parts of Germany, the Church lost tlie last rem- nant of self-government, and became \vholly suliject to the state. A reorganization of the constitution took place by a decree of .June 6, 1832. The administration of all the affairs of the National Evangelical Church was transferred to a Supreme Consistory (Oberconsistorium) at Darmstadt, which consists of a president (a la_\-man), three ministerial counsellors, two lay counsellors, and of one or several assessors. Only in rare cases the Supreme L Consistory has to report to the state ministry for a final
B decision. Each of the three provinces of the grand- H duchy has a superintendent. The superintendents are
K the organs through whom the Supreme Consistory exer- B cises its functions. Subordinate to the superintendents
the Supreme Consistory for the term of five years. Ev- ery congregation has a local church comicil to assist in the management of the external church discipUne and of the local church property. This Church council has two official members, the pastor and the burgomaster (or his representative), and from three to five extraor- dinary members, who are chosen by the former in luiion with the council of the civil community. Every par- ish is to receive an official "visitation" from tlie sui)er- intendent or a dean once within every three years. The highest dignitarj' of the Chiu:ch is the "prelate" (iiriilat), who is also, by virtue of his office, a memlter of the First Chamber. A theological faculty is connected with the University of Giessen ; besides, there is a preachers' seminary- at Friedeburg. The theological faculty of Giessen has been and still is (.Jan. 1870) mider the con- trol of the RationaUstic party ; among its best known professors Avere Crethier (q. \.) and Knobel (q. v.). As may therefore be expected, a considerable portion of the clergy belong likewise to the Rationalistic party; of late, however, the reaction in favor of evangelical priji- ciples has gained ground.