The House of Cirksena () was the name of the ruling family of

Ostfriesland East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...

. They descended from a line of

East Frisian chieftains The East Frisian chieftains (german: Häuptlinge, Low German: ''hovetlinge / hovedlinge'') assumed positions of power in East Frisia during the course of the 14th century, after the force of the old, egalitarian constitution from the time of Fri ...

from

Greetsiel Greetsiel is a small port on the bight of Leybucht in western East Frisia, Germany that was first documented in letters from the year 1388. Since 1972, Greetsiel has been part of the municipality of Krummhörn, which has its administrative seat i ...

East Frisia

In 1439, in the wake of clashes between different lines of chieftains, the town of

Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of E ...

was first placed by Hamburg under direct rule and then, in 1453, given to the Cirksena. The family administered and ruled the town until 1595. The Cirksena gained strength and succeeded the chieftain line of the

tom Brok The tom Brok family (, also: tom Broke, tom Brook, tom Broek, ten Brok, ten Broke; equivalent to Dutch , "at the marsh") were a powerful East Frisian line of chieftains, originally from the Norderland on the North Sea coast of Germany. From the s ...

s, after their opponent

Focko Ukena Focko Ukena ( Neermoor, 1360 or 1370 – 1435) was an East Frisian chieftain (''hovetling'') who played an important part in the struggle between the Vetkopers and Schieringers in the provinces of Groningen and Friesland. Aside from this he ...

was defeated and expelled by several allied chieftains, led by

Edzard Cirksena Edzard Cirksena (born: ''Edzard Edzardisna''; died: 1441) was an East Frisian chieftains, East Frisian chieftain at Greetsiel, Norden, Lower Saxony, Norden, Emden and Brokmerland.Ubbo Emmius: ''Friesische Geschichte'', Frankfurt am Main, 1980-1982 ...

. Ulrich Cirksena (d. 1466) was elevated to the rank of

imperial count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

by Emperor Frederick III and

enfeoffed In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...

with the Imperial County of East Frisia. The most important ruler from the House of Cirksena was Edzard the Great (1462–1528), under whose leadership the Imperial County of East Frisia reached its greatest extent. During his reign,

the Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

spread throughout

East Frisia East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...

. In 1654, the Cirksena were elevated to princes by the emperor. Charles Edzard, the last ruler from the House of Cirksena, died without issue during the night of 25/26 May 1744 (reportedly from a glass of buttermilk, which he is said to have drunk after a hunt). Immediately thereafter, the state was taken over by

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

Rietberg

The Cirksena provided the rulers of the

County of Rietberg The County of Rietberg (german: Grafschaft Rietberg) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present-day German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It was situated on the upper Ems in Westphalia, between the Prince-Bishopric of Paderbo ...

from 1581 to 1699. This initially happened as a

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

with East Frisia, after Count Enno III had married Rietberg's daughter-heir, Walburg von Rietberg. In the Treaty of Berum (1600), however, he ceded the County of Rietberg to his daughters. In 1601, Enno's brother, Count John III, married his niece, Sabina Catherine, Enno's daughter and heiress of Rietberg, with

papal dispensation In the jurisprudence of the canon law of the Catholic Church, a dispensation is the exemption from the immediate obligation of law in certain cases.The Law of Christ Vol. I, pg. 284 Its object is to modify the hardship often arising from the ...

. Both were converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and so founded the Catholic branch line of the House of Cirksena. The last male descendant of the House of East Frisia in Rietberg, Count Ferdinand Maximilian, died in 1687. His heiress, Maria Ernestine Francisca, married Maximilian Ulrich von Kaunitz in 1699.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the family of Cirksena displays a crowned, golden

harpy In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, a harpy (plural harpies, , ; lat, harpȳia) is a half-human and half-bird personification of storm winds. They feature in Homeric poems. Descriptions They were generally depicted as birds with the hea ...

(or angel) on a black field. This motif appears in a variety of successor coats of arms; for example, in the final

comital Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

coat of arms of East Frisia, which Count Rudolf Christian adopted in 1625. Here, the harpy is in the upper left of the shield. This coat of arms is still used today as the emblem of East Frisia. The upper half of Emden's coat of arms also depicts the Cirksena harpy. Until the Emden Revolution in 1595, the Cirksena resided in the town of Emden. Even the Dutch town of

Delfzijl Delfzijl (; gos, Delfsiel) is a city and former municipality with a population of 25,651 in the province of Groningen (province), Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Delfzijl was a sluice between the Delf (canal), Delf and the Ems (riv ...

opposite Emden incorporated the Cirksena coat of arms into its own. This goes back to the rule of Edzard the Great in Groningerland. Likewise, the harpy is part of the coat of arms of Aurich district, albeit in a different colour, something which also goes back to the Cirksena. Even the present-day municipality of

Krummhörn Krummhörn is a municipality in the district of Aurich, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...

, in which the ancestral homeland of the Cirksena lay, has the family's coat of arms in its municipal shield. After the Cirksena had taken over the reins of power in the

, their emblem was also found in Rietberg's coat of arms, between the coat of arms of the old ruling family and that of the

Harlingerland The Harlingerland is a strip of land on the North Sea coast of East Frisia. While today the whole of the district of Wittmund is usually described as Harlingerland, historically it specifically refers to the northern part of the present district, ...

. It was later supplemented by the Kaunitz family's coat of arms. Through the link between East Frisia and Rietberg, the Cirksena harpy is still part of the coat of arms of the Principality of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

, albeit in the reverse colours (black and gold), at the bottom right (heraldic: bottom left). Gundakar of Liechtenstein had married Agnes Cirksena, the second daughter of Count Enno III and Walburgis of Rietberg, and had a claim to Rietberg as a result. File:Coacirksena.jpg, Cirksena coat of arms File:Arms of the house of Cirksena (2).svg, Coat of arms of

File:DEU Emden COA.svg,

coat of arms File:Delfzijl wapen.svg, Coat of arms of

File:DEU Landkreis Aurich COA.svg, Coat of arms of Aurich district File:Staatswappen-Liechtensteins.svg,

Coat of arms of Liechtenstein The coat of arms of Liechtenstein is the coat of arms of the ruling Prince of Liechtenstein, currently Hans-Adam II. As the sovereign emblem of the Prince, its use is restricted to the Prince and members of his House, though private individuals ...

File:Arms of the house of Kaunitz-Rietberg.svg, Coat of arms of the Kaunitz-Rietberg family File:DEU Krummhörn COA.svg, Coat of arms of

Origin of the name

The name ''Cirksena'' is of Frisian origin and is still a widespread family name in East Frisia today. It probably goes back to the old forename ''Tzirk'' (''Cirk''). Enno Attena took over the respectable name on the occasion of his marriage to the daughter-heir, Gela Syardsna of Manslagt.

Genealogy

Syert/Syrt/Syrtatus, Captain of Norden, +after 1255; m. NN Aldersna; They had issue: A1. Enno, +after 1280; m. N van Norden B1. Sitat, Captain of Norden, +after 1310 C1. Enno, Captain of Norden, +after 1340 D1. Sitat (?), +after 1400; m. Frouwa N (+after 1437) D2. a daughter; m. Hylo Atena, Captain of Norden (+after 1367) D3. a daughter; m. Affo Beninga van Pirsum, heer van Bersum (+1402) D4. a daughter D5. Frouwa, +after 1437 B2. Idzerd, Captain of Appingen, +after 1312; m. Etta van Visquard (+after 1312) C1. Enno, Captain of Appingen, +after 1350; m. Adda van Groothusen D1. Etta; m. Hera Attena, heer van Dornum (+after 1410) D2. Idzerd, Captain of Appingen, +1406; 1m: Doda ten Book, dau.of Keno Hilmersna; 2m: N.von Engena (?) E1. Enno E2. Imel, Captain of Eilsum, +after 1404 F1. Sibrand, Captain of Eilsum, +4.4.1465 E3. Haro, +after 1408 E4. Enno, Captain of Norden, Greetsiel, Berva and Pilsum, +ca 1450; 1m: Gela Beningna von Manslagt (+after 1429); 2m: Ellen Sytzena, dau.of Affo Beninga van Pilsum, heer van Bersum en Tiadeke (+1450), widow of Ewo van Westerhusen F1. m.Frouwa; 1m: Sibet Attena (+1433); 2m: Eppo Gokkinga (+after 1437) F2. Edzard, Judge of Frisia, +after 1441; 1m: Moeder Ennosna (+1438); 2m: Frouwe, dau.of Ewo von Westerhusen and Ellen Sytzena F3. Ulrich I, Statolder of Ostfriesland (1454–64), 1st Graf von Ostfriesland (1464–66), +27.9.1466; 1m: Foelke van Esens (+1452); 2m: 1453 Theda Ukena, dau.of Uko van Oldersum (*ca 1434,+17.9.1494) G1. m.Hebe, *18.11.1457, +1476/78; m. Gf Erich I von

Schaumburg Schaumburg is a district (''Landkreis'') of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (clockwise from the north) the districts of Nienburg, Hanover and Hamelin-Pyrmont, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (districts of Lippe and Minden-Lübbe ...

- Pinneberg (*1420, +24/25.3.1492) G2. Gela, *1458, +1497 G3. Enno I, Graf von Ostfriesland (1466–91), *1.6.1460,+drowned 22.2.1491 G4. Edzard I, Graf von Ostfriesland (1491-1528), *15.2.1462,+15.2.1528; m. 8.7.1498 Elisabeth Gfn von Rietberg, dau.of GfJohann I von Rietberg by Margarethe zur

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The d ...

(*ca 1475,+13.7.1512) H1. Ulrich, Graf von Ostfriesland(1528–32),Valet of Emperor Maximilian I, *1499, +in madness 1532 H2. Margarete, *1500, +Altenwildungen 15.7.1537; m. Emden 17.2.1523 Gf Philipp IV von Waldeck-Wildungen (*1493 +1574) H3. Theda, *1502, +1563 H4. Enno II, Graf von Ostfriesland (1532–40), *VIII.1505,+24.9.1560; m. 6.3.1530 Anna von Oldenburg (*14.11.1501,+10.11.1575) H5. Johann, heer van Falkenburg, Durbuy en Halem, *1506 +Schloss Falkenburg 6.6.1572; m. 11.11.1539 Dorothea von

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

, heiress of Falkenburg, Durbuy and Halem, illegitimate dau. of

Emperor Maximilian I Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself Ele ...

(*1516 +1572) I1. Maximilian, heer van Falkenburg, Durbuy en Halem,*1542, +ca 1603; m. 14.9.1564 Barbara de Lalaing J1. Christoph, heer van Falkenburg, Durbuy en Halem, +1636 J2. Dorothea, +1604; m. before 1.4.1592 Jacob t’Serclaes, Gf von Tilly et baron de Marbais (*1564, +11.10.1624) J3. Katharina Maria; m. François de Rye, marquis de Varambon J4. Louise, *ca 1565, +16.10.1607; m. 5.5.1601 Evrad de Limburg, baron de Barbançon (+31.12.1608) I2. Anna; m. Jodocus van Bronckhorst, Gf von Gronsfeld and Limburg (+1588/89) I3 Gisela; m. Heinrich van Hahnsberg, Heer van Bruck (+1590) H6. Anna, +1530 H7. Armgard, +1559 G5. Uko, *1463, +1507 G6. Almuth, *1465, +1522/23; m. Engelmann von Horstell F4. Adda, +ca 1470; m. Weren't Maninga von Bersum (+1450) F5. m.Tiadeke, *1438 ?, +after 1470 E5. m.Doda; m.Reduard Hyetsna, heer van Groothusen C2. Sibrand, Captain of Eilsum, +after 1379; m.N von Ilsum (?) D1. a son van Eilsum A2. Merten, +after 1288; m. N von Berum B1. Omptat, +after 1310 C1. Merten, +after 1367/78 D1. Omptat van Bersum, +after 1378 D2. Olrik van Bersum, +after 1373 D3. Bojo D4. arentage uncertainTiadeke, +after 1409;1402 m. Affo Beninga von Pilsum Lord of Bersum (+1402)

Sources

*Hobbing, Hans Heinrich (1915). ''Die Begründung der Erstgeburtsnachfolge im ostfriesischen Grafenhaus der Cirksena.'' Aurich(Abhandlungen und Vorträge zur Geschichte Ostfrieslands, 19) *Reimers, Heinrich (1925) ''Ostfriesland bis zum Aussterben seines Fürstenhauses.'' Bremen *Esselborn, Ernst (1945). ''Das Geschlecht Cirksena.'' Berlin

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cirksena German noble families History of East Frisia