Margaretha von der Lippe

Margaretha von der Lippe (* 1525 - † June 7, 1578 ) was abbess at Freckenhorst Abbey .

Life

Origin and family

Margaretha von der Lippe was born as the daughter of Count Simon zur Lippe and his second wife Countess Magdalene von Mansfeld and grew up with her six siblings (including Magdalena, Abbess in Herford) in an ancient Westphalian noble family . Her grandparents were Bernhard von der Lippe and Anna von Holstein-Schaumburg (daughter of Otto von Schaumburg ) as well as Gebhard von Mansfeld and Margaretha von Gleichen.

Career and work

After Simon's death, Landgrave Philipp von Hessen took over the guardianship of Margaretha and after her mother's death in 1542 she came to the landgrave's court for education. At this point she was already a canoness in Herford.

Her grandfather Count Gebhard of Mansfeld had intended to marry her and demanded that the Lippe country stands a Miss tax . His plan didn't work out. Margaretha remained in the clergy and was elected abbess at Herford Abbey in 1565 . Here she was coadjutor of her predecessor Anna von Limburg . When the abbess Agnes von Limburg-Styrum died in Freckenhorst , a delegation negotiated the conditions for taking office, which ended in an agreement on electoral surrender . In this declaration she undertook to adhere to the Catholic religion and to participate in Catholic ceremonies. It is astonishing that Margaretha accepted these conditions. It was actually clear to everyone involved that, as a Protestant, she would not adhere to them.

She left open the right to travel to Herford to settle matters if necessary. She made use of this without further ado when a delegation from the Prince-Bishop arrived on April 30, 1572 for a visit. The review could not take place due to the abbess's absence and was not made up for in the period that followed. Shortly before, on March 4, 1572, Margaretha had been appointed abbess by the Protestant Borghorster convent . Because of the large number of her offices, she left only a few traces in Freckenhorst. It is possible that the church spire in its present form dates from her time in office. Margaretha was buried on June 10, 1578 in the cathedral church of Herford.

See also

Family list of the house of Lippe

literature

• Wilhelm Kohl : Diocese of Münster. 3: The Freckenhorst (free worldly) women's monastery (= Germania Sacra NF 10). de Gruyter, Berlin 1973, pp. 332–336, ISBN 3-11-002098-X ( PDF file ).

Web links

• Margaretha von der Lippe person database at Germania Sacra