Margarethe von der Saale (1522 – 6 July 1566) was a German noblewoman, lady-in-waiting and

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

spouse by

bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...

to Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.

Marriage

Born as daughter of Hans von der Saale and his wife, Anna von Miltitz. When she came to Hessian court to serve as

lady in waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

, Margarethe met the married Landgrave Philip at the age of seventeen. Philip wished to marry von der Saale morganatically rather than keep her as a mistress, as adultery would blacken his religious reputation, but he did not wish to divorce his consort,

Christine of Saxony Christine of Saxony (25 December 1505 – 15 April 1549) was a German noble, landgravine consort of Hesse by marriage to Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.Eckhart G. Franz (Hrsg.): Haus Hessen. Biografisches Lexikon. (= Arbeiten der Hessischen His ...

, as he believed that a divorce was equally sinful. On 10 December 1539, he received support from

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

, with the argument that of two evil things, bigamy was better than divorce. The bigamous wedding ceremony took place on 4 March 1540 in Rotenburg Castle in the presence of Martin Bucer and Philipp Melanchthon. Saale never attended court but resided in a house beside the square in

Spangenberg Spangenberg is a small town in northeastern Hesse, Germany. Geography Spangenberg lies in the Schwalm-Eder district some southeast of Kassel, west of the Stölzinger Gebirge, a low mountain range. Spangenberg is the demographic centrepoint o ...

. The bigamy between Margarethe and Philip had a negative effect upon the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

Children

# Philipp, Count zu Dietz (12 March 1541 – 10 June 1569). # Hermann, Count zu Dietz (12 February 1542 – ca. 1568). # Christopher Ernst, Count zu Dietz (16 July 1543 – 20 April 1603). # Margretha, Countess zu Dietz (14 October 1544 – 1608), married: ## in Kassel on 3 October 1567 to Count Hans Bernhard of Eberstein; ## in Frauenberg on 10 August 1577 to Count Stephan Heinrich of Everstein. # Albrecht, Count zu Dietz (10 March 1546 – 3 October 1569). # Philipp Konrad, Count zu Dietz (29 September 1547 – 25 May 1569), # Moritz, Count zu Dietz (8 June 1553 – 23 January 1575). # Ernst, Count zu Dietz (12 August 1554 – 1570). # Anna (1557 – 2/5 January 1558).

Marriage

Children

See also