Magdalene of Brandenburg (born: ; died: 27 October 1454 in Scharnebeck) was a princess of

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

by birth and by marriage Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Life

Magdalena was the daughter of Elector Frederick I of Brandenburg (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) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

(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 Albrecht III (9 November 141411 March 1486) was Elector of Brandenburg from 1471 until his death, the third from the House of Hohenzollern. A member of the Order of the Swan, he received the cognomen ''Achilles'' because of his knightly qualit ...

. She married on 3 July 1429 in

Tangermünde Tangermünde (; ) is a historic town on the Elbe River in the district of Stendal (district), Stendal, in the northeastern part of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The town has land area of around 89.87 sq.km (34.70 sq.mi) and a population of 10,283 people ...

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. History 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 g ...

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 land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

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

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

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

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

Footnotes

Duchesses of Brunswick-Lüneburg House of Hohenzollern 1410s births 1454 deaths 15th-century German people 15th-century German women Middle House of Lüneburg Daughters of prince-electors Mothers of German monarchs {{Germany-duchess-stub