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