Magdalene of Lippe


Magdalena of Lippe was a German noblewoman. She was a Countess of Lippe by birth. By her marriage to George I, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt she was the first Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Life

Magdalena was the daughter of Count Bernhard VIII of Lippe from his marriage to Catherine, daughter of Count Philip III of Waldeck-Eisenberg.
After her father's death, she moved to the court of Landgrave William IV 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 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: