Ulrich IV, Lord of Hanau

Ulrich IV, Lord of Hanau
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth of Wertheim
Noble family	House of Hanau
Father	Ulrich III, Lord of Hanau
Mother	Adelaide of Nassau
Born	Between 1330 and 1340
Died	September or October 1380
Buried	Arnsburg Abbey

Ulrich IV, Lord of Hanau (1330/40–1380) was Lord of Hanau from 1369 or 1370 until his death. Based on the estimated year his parents married, he is assumed to have been born between 1330 and 1340. He was the son of Ulrich III of Hanau and Adelaide of Nassau.

Ulrich IV succeeded his father when he died in late 1369 or early 1370. The exact date of Ulrich III's death has not been recorded.

On 20 March 1371, Duke Wenceslas of Bohemia, acting as the representative of his father, Emperor Charles IV, appointed Ulrich IV as governor of the Wetterau, a position his father had held before him. However, he must have been relieved of his duties later that year, as we find Archbishop John of Mainz on this post in the fall of 1371. Perhaps Charles IV never confirmed Ulrich IV's appointment.

During his reign, he was involved in various feuds and regional wars. He was a member of the Star League, a group of territorial lords trying to counter the growing influence of the Landgraviate of Hesse. Possibly in the context of the War of the Start League, Ulrich IV killed Frowin of Hutten, an ally of Hesse, in Steinau an der Straße. Details of how this happened, are unknown. Relatives of Frowin, led by his brother Conrad, pursued Ulrich and took him prisoner. Ulrich's uncle, Bishop Adolph of Speyer mediated and Ulrich was released, in exchange for a ransom of 7500 guilder. Ulrich also had to donate a sanctuary lamp to the monastery at Schlüchtern, provide for a requiem and 50 guilders for the maintenance of the altar, and 100 guilders for a conciliation cross at the house where the crime had been committed. Finally, he had to make some political concessions, designed to prevent him from continuing to fight on the side of the Star League.

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