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- BIOGRAPHY
Bernhard was born in 1429, the elder son of Simon IV, Edler Herr zur Lippe and Duchess Margarete of Brunswick-Grubenhagen. He lived in the transition period from the late Middle Ages to early modern times. His land of Lippe was in the sphere of influence of two powerful neighbours, the archbishopric of Cologne in the west and the dukedom of Braunschweig in the east, and Lippe was involved in numerous feuds throughout the 15th century with these neighbours and other surrounding territories.
In 1447, during the Soest conflict (1446-1449), Bernhard was barely 18 when the archbishop of Cologne, his great-uncle and earlier guardian, invaded Lippe with 26,000 strong army, and pillaged and laid waste to the land. The rest of Bernhard's life was marked by his efforts at reconstruction and by his struggle to consolidate his rule.
He has been called the last knight of Lippe. The greater part of his long life (Bernhard was 82 when he died), was spent in armour and in the saddle. His contemporaries said of him, 'that nowhere could one better learn skill at arms and horsemanship than at his court'. Later he received the epithet 'Bellicosus' ('the Warlike').
In 1444 the 15-year-old Bernhard was betrothed to Gräfin Anna von Holstein-Schauenburg, daughter of Otto II, Graf von Holstein-Schauenburg and Gräfin Elisabeth von Honstein. They were married before 18 November 1452, and at least six children were born of the marriage; two sons and four daughters would have progeny. Bernhard is known to have fathered a further twelve children.
Bernhard died 2 April 1511. He was succeeded by his son Simon V.
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