Bernard III, Lord of Lippe () was a German nobleman. He was the ruling

Lord of Lippe Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a state in Germany, ruled by the House of Lippe. It was located between the Weser river and the southeast part of the Teutoburg Forest. It originated as a state during the Holy Roman Empire, an ...

from 1229 until his death.

Life

Bernard III was the son of Lord Herman II and his wife, Oda of Tecklenburg. His father fell in battle in 1229, and Bernard III succeeded him as Lord of Lippe. After 1232, he would style himself ''by the grace of God'', and sometimes ''Count of Lippe''. Bernard was bellicose, like his brothers and his grandfather Bernard I. He was

diocesan administrator A diocesan administrator (also known as archdiocesan administrator, archiepiscopal administrator and eparchial administrator for the case, respectively, of an archdiocese, archeparchy, and eparchy) is a provisional ordinary of a Catholic partic ...

of the

Bishopric of Paderborn The Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn () was an ecclesiastical principality (Hochstift) of the Holy Roman Empire from 1281 to 1802. History The Diocese of Paderborn was founded in 799 by Pope Leo III. In the early years it was subordinated to t ...

from 1254 to 1256. Some authors consider him the founder of Lippe as a territorial entity. Via his brother, Bishop Simon I of Paderbron he acquired furthers offices, and reorganized the church in his principality. He promoted the cities of

Horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

and Blomberg. He had a dispute with the city of

Lippstadt Lippstadt () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest town within the district of Soest. Lippstadt is situated about 60 kilometres east of Dortmund, 40 kilometres south of Bielefeld and 30 kilometres west of Paderborn. Geo ...

, because it would not allow him to build a castle. He also fought

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

s against the cities of Ravensberg and Sternberg, and against the

House of Waldeck The County of Waldeck (later the Principality of Waldeck and Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and its successors from the late 12th century until 1929. In 1349 the county gained Imperial immediacy and ...

. His frequent feuds weakened the House of Lippe.

Marriage and issue

Bernard III married twice. Around 1230, he married Sophie of Cuijck-Arnsberg ( – ). She was the daughter of Count Gottfried II of Arnsberg and Rietberg and his wife Elisabeth. Bernard III and Sophie had the following children together: * Bernard IV ( – ) * Herman III ( – 3 October 1274) * Hedwig ( – 5 March 1315, married Count Otto III of Ravensberg * Gerhard ( – 1259), provost of

Bremen Cathedral Bremen Cathedral (), named after St. Peter, is a church situated in the market square in the center of Bremen. The cathedral belongs to the Bremian Evangelical Church, a member of the umbrella organization Evangelical Church in Germany. It ...

chapter, lost a feud against

Hildebold of Wunstorf Hildebold of Wunstorf (? - 11 October 1273), also Hildbold, was the Prince-Archbishop of Bremen from 1258 until his death. Life He was a son of Hildebold II, and Hedwig of Oldenburg, daughter of Maurice I. He was appointed as '' Domherr'' of ...

over the succession to the

Archbishopric of Bremen The Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen () was an ecclesiastical principality (787–1566/1648) of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church that after its definitive secularization in 1648 became the hereditary Duchy of Bremen (). The prince-ar ...

* Dietrich ( – after 1271), pastor at Minden Cathedral Bernard remarried after Sopie's death; in 1248 he married Sophie of Ravensberg-Vechta – after 3 June 1285), a daughter of Count Otto II of Ravensberg and Countess Sophie of Oldenburg. From this marriage, Bernard had four more children: * Elisabeth ( – after 1316), married Count Baldwin II of Steinfurt * Agnes ( – 1307), married Count Hoyer I of Sternberg * Adelaide, married Count Adolph I of Schwalenberg * Sophie ( – 1 February 1275), married Count Albert I of Regenstein

References

* Arnold Berg: ''Über die Gemahlinnen des Edlen Bernhard III. zur Lippe'', in: ''Norddeutsche Familienkunde'', vol. 9, 1971, p. 49 ffAccording to this source, Bernard III had only one spouse named Sophie, viz. Sophie of Arnsberg

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard 03, Lord of Lippe Lords of Lippe 1190s births 1260s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 13th-century German nobility