Louis II, Landgrave of Lower Hesse

Louis II of Hesse (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:
 * Anna [1455-1459]
 * Elisabeth (died young)
 * William I, Landgrave of Hesse (1466–1515)
 * William II, Landgrave of Hesse (1469–1509)

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.