Magdalene of Brandenburg (born: ; died: 27 October 1454 in

Scharnebeck Scharnebeck is a municipality in the district of Lüneburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately northeast of Lüneburg. The Scharnebeck twin ship lift on the Elbe Lateral Canal The Elbe Lateral Canal (german: Elbe-Seitenk ...

) was a princess of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

by birth and by marriage Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Life

Magdalena was the daughter of Elector

Frederick I of Brandenburg Frederick (Middle High German: ''Friderich','' Standard German: ''Friedrich''; 21 September 1371 – 20 September 1440) was the last Burgrave of Nuremberg from 1397 to 1427 (as Frederick VI), Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1398, Margr ...

(1371–1440) from his marriage to

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

(1383-1442 ), daughter of Duke Frederick "the Wise" of Bavaria-Landshut. Magdalene's brothers were Electors of Brandenburg, one after the other, first Frederick II, then Albrecht III Achilles. She married on 3 July 1429 in

Tangermünde Tangermünde (; nds, Tangermünn) is a historic town on the Elbe River in the district of Stendal, in the northeastern part of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Tangermünde is situated in the historic Altmark region of the North German Plain, ...

with Duke Frederick II of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1418–1478). The marriage had been arranged by Emperor

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

, like the marriage of her sister

Cecilia Cecilia is a personal name originating in the name of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. The name has been popularly used in Europe (particularly the United Kingdom and Italy, where in 2018 it was the 43rd most popular name for girls born ...

with Duke William "the Victorious" of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Both couples were engaged on 3 March 1420. Magdalena brought a

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...

of into the marriage, for which Wichard von Rochow had vouched, and was promised Bodenteich Castle as her

wittum Wittum (), Widum or Witthum is a medieval Latin legal term, known in marital and ecclesiastical law. Provide for a widow at the wedding The term referred initially to steps taken by a husband to provide for his wife if she became a widow. The wi ...

, but later received the city and castle of

Lüchow Lüchow (Wendland) () is a city in northeastern Lower Saxony, in Germany. It is the seat of the ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Lüchow (Wendland), and is the capital of the district Lüchow-Dannenberg. Situated approximately 13&nbs ...

instead.Wilhelm Havemann: ''Geschichte der Lande Braunschweig und Lüneburg'', vol. 1, Dieterichsche Buchhandlung, 1853, p. 695

Issue

From her marriage Magdalena had the following children: * Bernard II (1432–1464), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg : married in 1463 Countess Mathilde von Holstein-Schauenburg (d. 1468) *

Otto V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Otto V, called the Victorious or the Magnanimous (1439 – 9 January 1471, german: Otto der Siegreiche, der Großmütige), was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Prince of Lüneburg from 1457 to his death. He shared the principality with his brother, ...

(1438/39-1471), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg : married in 1467 Countess Anne of Nassau-Siegen (1440/41–1514) *

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

(1442–1512) : married in 1452 Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Stargard (d. 1466)

Footnotes

Duchesses of Brunswick-Lüneburg House of Hohenzollern 1412 births 1454 deaths 15th-century German people 15th-century German women Middle House of Lüneburg Daughters of monarchs {{Germany-duchess-stub