Simon III, Lord of Lippe

Who is Simon III, Lord of Lippe?

Simon III, Lord of Lippe was Lord of Lippe from 1360 until his death.

He was to son of Otto, from whom he inherited the city of Lemgo. His control of the surrounding areas was initially uncertain. As late as 1368, the castellans of his castles and representatives of the cities of Horn, Detmold and Blomberg published a joint declaration, stating that in the future, they would only recognize the heir as their sovereign only if the two main cities in the Lordship, Lippstadt and Lemgo, would agree.

In the ancestral lands around the cities of Lippstadt and Rheda, however, the situation was complicated, because after the death of his uncle Bernard V, around 1365, his widow Richarda had initially given his part of Lippe to Count Otto VI of Tecklenburg, who was the husband of her eldest daughter. In 1366, she had revoked the gift and acknowledged Simon III as her husband's heir. Otto VI, however, refused to return the gift. This led to a struggle that would last several decades.

Matters were further complicated when Otto VI took Simon III prisoner in 1371. Simon III was released in 1374, but he had to pay a very high ransom.