Edzard II (24 June 1532 – 1 March 1599) was Count of East Frisia from 1561 to 1599. He was the son of Enno II of East Frisia and Anna of Oldenburg. During his reign, Edzard came into conflict with the city of

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

. Edzard was a staunch

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

while the city of Emden was mostly

Calvinistic Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

. In 1595 Emden revolted and, after an intercession by the Calvinistic

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

, Edzard was forced to accept a large degree of independence from Emden.

Life

Edzard II had a dispute with his dominant mother, Anna. She had abolished his right of

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

, in an attempt to curb the influence of the Swedish royal family. She decreed that Edzard should rule East Frisia jointly with his younger brothers Johan and Christopher. When Christopher died early, Edzard ran into a strong and almost hateful rivalry with his brother Johan II. The power struggle between two increasingly hamstrung their government. After Johan died in 1591, Edzard became the sole ruler, but his authority had been severely hit by the ongoing conflict. At the request of the Estates, Edzard founded the High Court in

Aurich Aurich (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Auerk'', West Frisian: ''Auwerk'', ) is a town in the East Frisian region of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Aurich and is the second largest City in East Frisia, both in popula ...

in 1593. In 1595, the city of Emden revolted. In the course of this Emden Revolution, the

Cirksena The House of Cirksena was the ruling family of East Frisia (). They descended from a line of East Frisian chieftains from Greetsiel. East Frisia In 1439, in the wake of clashes between different lines of chieftains, the town of Emden was first ...

family were driven out of Emden. Under pressure from the Dutch States General, Edzard signed on 5 July 1595 the Treaty of

Delfzijl Delfzijl (; ) is a city and former municipality (which now belongs to the municipality of Eemsdelta) with a population of 25,651 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Delfzijl was a sluice between the Delf and the Em ...

, which gave Emden a large degree of independence. During Edzard's reign, the Counts of East Frisia definitively lost the Lordship of

Jever Jever () is the capital of the district of Friesland (district), Friesland in Lower Saxony, Germany. The name Jever is usually associated with a major brand of beer, Jever Pilsener, which is produced there. The city is also a popular holiday res ...

. Maria of Jever, the last baroness, died and left her territory to the Counts of Oldenburg. Edzard died on 1 March 1599. The Great Church at Emden refused to allow him to be buried in the

family vault, because he was a

and it was a

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

church. He was buried on 13 May 1599 in the St. Lambert Church in

. He was the first member of the Cirksena family to be buried there. However, all later family members were buried in this church, until the family died out in 1744.

Marriage and issue

Married to Katarina Vasa, daughter of King Gustav I of Sweden, on October 1, 1559 in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. He was the only ruler of East Frisia who ever married a princess. Through this marriage, the Swedish royal family sought to secure their influence on the North Sea coast. They had the following children: #Margareta of East Frisia, 1560–1588 # Anna of Ostfriesland, 1562–1621, married: ## in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, on 12 July 1583, Louis VI, Elector Palatine (1539-1583) ## on 21 December 1585, Ernest Frederick, Margrave of Baden-Durlach (1560-1604) ## in

Grabow Grabow () is a town in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The town lies southeast of Ludwigslust, the next city, and has the river Elde passing through its old town which is characterized by 16th century tim ...

, on 7 March 1617, Julius Henry, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1586-1665) # Enno III of East Frisia, 1563–1625, married ## on 29 January 1589, Walburgis, Countess of Rietberg, daughter of

John II, Count of Rietberg John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

## in Esens, on 28 January 1598, Anna of Holstein-Gottorp, daughter of

Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Adolf of Denmark or Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp (25 January 1526 –1 October 1586) was the first Duke of Holstein-Gottorp from the line of Holstein-Gottorp of the House of Oldenburg. He was the third son of King Frederick I of Denmark and ...

# John III of Rietberg, born 1566, died 29 September 1625, married: ## on 4 March 1601, his niece Countess Sabina Catherine of Rietberg, daughter of his brother Enno III # Christopher of East Frisia, 1569–1636, married: ## on 13 August 1613, Lambertine de Ligne (1593-1651) #Edzard of East Frisia, 1572?-1573 #Elizabeth of East Frisia, 1572?-1573 #Sophia of East Frisia, 1574–1630 #Karl Otto of East Frisia, 1577-1603. #Maria of East Frisia, 1582–1616, married: ## on 1 September 1614, Julius Ernst of Braunschweig-Dannenberg (1571-1636); she was his first wife Edzard II was an ancestor of Queens

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and

Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born ...

.See Talk:Edzard II, Count of East Frisia for the line of descent

Ancestors

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edzard Ii, Count Of East Frisia 1532 births 1599 deaths People from Aurich (district) Counts of East Frisia