a province of the principality of Hesse-Cassel, in Germany, formerly a sovereign state, which came under the Hessian family in 1540. It is bounded on the north and the north-east by Lower Hesse, on the south-east by Hersfeld, on the south by Great Hesse, on the south-west by Fritzlar, and on the west by Upper Hesse. It extends over 218 square miles, and contains six cities and towns, seventy-three villages, and twenty-two hamlets, with 32,400 inhabitants. The capital is the city of the same name, in a marshy situation. It is surrounded with dilapidated walls, has a castle, in which the archives of the Hessian family are preserved; but only contains 260 houses, with 1280 inhabitants.