Magdalena of Lippe (25 February 1552,

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of t ...

– 26 February 1587,

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse ...

) was a German noblewoman. She was a Countess of Lippe by birth. By her marriage to

George I, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt George I of Hesse-Darmstadt (10 September 1547 – 7 February 1596) was the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1567 to 1596. Early life Born on 10 September 1547 in Kassel, he was the fourth son of Philip I the Magnanimous of Hesse and his wife ...

she was the first Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Life

Magdalena was the daughter of Count Bernhard VIII of Lippe (1527–1563) from his marriage to Catherine (1524–1583), daughter of Count Philip III of Waldeck-Eisenberg. After her father's death, she moved to the court of Landgrave

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

of Hesse-Kassel, where she was regarded as a natural beauty. Here, she met George. She married him on 17 August 1572. William paid the expenses of the marriage. The marriage was a happy one. Magdalena was regarded as so virtuous, pious and benevolent, that she was sometimes compared to Saint Elisabeth. She even wrote a prayer book for her children. Magdalena and her husband laid the groundwork for the State and University library of Hesse. She died in 1587, after 15 years of marriage, at the age of 35. She died after the birth of her last child. She was buried in the choir of the city church of Darmstadt. Her famous

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

can still be found behind the high altar. It was dedicated to her by her husband in 1589.

Issue

Magdalena and George had ten children, of whom three sons and three daughters reached adulthood: * Philip William (1576–1576), Hereditary prince *

Louis V Louis V may refer to: * Louis V of France (967–987) * Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor and V of Germany (1282–1347) * Louis V, Duke of Bavaria (1315–1361) * Louis V, Elector Palatine (ruled 1508–1544) * Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt L ...

(1577–1626), Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt : married in 1598 princess

Magdalene of Brandenburg Magdalene of Brandenburg, also Magdalene and Magdalen, (7 January 1582 – 4 May 1616) was the daughter of John George, Elector of Brandenburg and his third wife Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst. Issue She married Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Dar ...

(1582–1616) * Christine (1578–1596) : married in 1595 Count Frederick Magnus of Erbach-Fürstenau (1575–1618) * Elisabeth (1579–1655) : married in 1601 Count John Casimir of Nassau-Weilburg-Gleiberg (1577–1602) * Marie Hedwig (1580–1582) * Philip III (1581–1643), Landgrave of Hesse-Butzbach : married firstly, in 1610, Countess Anna Margarethe of Diepholz (1580–1629) : married secondly, in 1632, Countess Christine Sophie of East Frisia (1600–1658) * Anna (1583–1631) : married in 1601 Count Albert Otto of Solms-Laubach (1576–1610) *

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...

(1585–1638), Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg : married in 1622 Countess Margarethe of Leiningen-Westerburg (1604–1667) * Magdalene (1586–1586) * John (1587–1587)

References

Johann Wilhelm Christian Steiner: ''Georg I., Landgraf von Hessen-Darmstadt, Stifter des landgräfl. hessen...'', p. 211

Heinrich Künzel: ''Geschichte von Hessen, insbesondere Geschichte des Großherzogthums Hessen'', p. 649

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Magdalene of Lippe German countesses 1552 births 1587 deaths People from Detmold 16th-century German people Landgravines of Hesse-Darmstadt House of Hesse Deaths in childbirth Daughters of monarchs