Simon V was the fifth child and eldest son of
Bernard VII "the Bellicose" and Anna of Holstein-Pinneberg and inherited Lippe after his father's death, around 1511. In 1528, he was raised to
Imperial Count and Lippe became one of about 140 Imperial Counties. Since 1518, the Reformation had prevailed, first in
Lemgo and then in other cities in Lippe. An open conflict arose in 1530 when Protestant hymns were sung during a Catholic Easter Mass. Simon, who remained a Catholic all his life, was outraged, and spoke of
insurgent farmers who refuse to endure any authority over themselves. He was, however, a
vassal of two
liege lords: the Bishop of
Paderborn and
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, who had been a Lutheran since 1524. This limited his freedom to act. The cities in Lippe, in particular
Lippstadt and Lemgo, also favoured a closer relationship with the Lutheran faith. Philip of Hesse urged the citizens of Lemgo to redress their dispute with Simon V; nevertheless,
Lutheranism continued to spread in the cities. When in 1533, Simon sought support for military action against Lemgo, Philip intervened and mediated. Later that year, Lemgo adopted the
Church Order and thus officially became Lutheran. In 1535, Simon V and Duke
John III of Cleves invaded Lippstadt, which had turned
Protestant. The city surrendered to its liege lord. The citizens of Lemgo were afraid that Simon V and John III would invade Lemgo as well, however, due to Philip's ongoing mediation, this did not happen. ==Marriage and issue==