Johannes Sering or Johannes Seringius (died 1631) was a chaplain to

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

in Scotland and England Sering was a graduate of

Rostock University The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in contin ...

where he had studied under

David Chytraeus David Chytraeus or Chyträus (26 February 1530 – 25 June 1600) was a German Lutheran theologian, reformer and historian. He was a disciple of Melancthon. He was born at Ingelfingen. His real surname was Kochhafe, which in Classical Greek is χ ...

. His 1585 matriculation record says he was from

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

. He was a member of the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

church.

In Scotland

As part of the marriage negotiations of Anne of Denmark and

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

the Danish council requested that she was allowed the freedom of religion and worship of her choice, and to keep a preacher at the expense of the Scottish exchequer, and recruit a successor as she wishes. The preacher was to be Danish or German. Though both kingdoms had adopted forms of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, Denmark was a

country while Scotland had become

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

. James VI of Scotland travelled to meet Anne of Denmark. On 25 November 1589 he had lunch with Sering and his own preacher David Lindsay, as guests of

Jens Nilssøn Jens Nilssøn (in Latin ''Joannis Nicolai'') (1538–1600) was a Norwegian clergyman, educator, poet and author. He served as the Bishop of Oslo from 1580 to 1600. Biography Nilssøn was born in Oslo, Norway. After the death of his father, his mo ...

Bishop of Oslo Oslo bishopric is the Church of Norway's bishopric for the municipalities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum. It is one of Norway's five traditional bishoprics and was founded around the year 1070. History Oslo was established as a diocese in 1068. It w ...

. James VI interviewed Sering promising him an annual stipend of 200 dalers and another 40 dalers for the wages of two servants for, "the instruction of our Sovereign lady his highness's dearest spouse in the true religion". Sering, the "Dens minister" (Danish preacher), was paid a yearly fee of £600 in three termly installments from the Scottish exchequer. David Chrytraeus wrote to him in October 1590. Sering may have written frequently to the court of Denmark with news of Scotland and the queen. One of his surviving letters to the Danish council seems to allude to this role. On 25 May 1595 he wrote the Council of Denmark, asking if he could leave Scotland and be a church minister in Denmark. He mentioned that the queen now could now speak Scots as fluently as any noblewoman. However, he stayed in the queen's service and came with her to England in 1603. In April 1597 he attended the baptism of Lucretia, the daughter of George Littlejohn. He married Anna Ellis or Ebbes, a Danish servant of the queen on 28 April 1598. The queen paid for their wedding banquet at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinbu ...

, and the

household accounts ''Household Accounts'' ( it, Il quaderno della spesa) is a 2003 Italian mystery-drama film directed by Tonino Cervi. Cast * Gabriele Lavia: Augusto Pavinato * Emanuela Muni: Antonia *Claudio Bigagli: Judge Di Giacomo * David Sebasti: Giuliano ...

recorded the day as the wedding of "Hairy Hans" and "Little Anna".

In England

The

Duke of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (german: Herzogtum Holstein, da, Hertugdømmet Holsten) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had hi ...

, who visited England in 1605, promised Anna Ebbis she would have an annual pension of £50, but she later had to write a petition for payment. On 25 July 1607 he was granted denization in England, and was described as a subject of the

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

. Little Anna died on 26 February 1608, and was buried at

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster a ...

, where Sering had a ledger stone placed with a Latin epitaph. In 1611 he petitioned for the mastership of the hospital of

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. It is separated from the rest of the urban ...

, which was part of the queen's jointure. Sering, recorded as the "Dutch chaplain" had a royal annuity of £50 per year from 11 February 1621. In 1622 he sent a petition for payment to the

Lord Treasurer The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State i ...

, Lionel Cranfield. He received a pension of £80 yearly. In 1626 he wrote a Latin poem for the coronation of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

to accompany another petition for arrears of his pension. He died in 1631 and was buried at St Margaret's, Westminster, leaving a widow, Grace.

Fredererick Sering

A man called "Frederick Searing" or "Serings", locksmith or turner (carpenter), also appears in lists of the queen's household. In patments of February 1608 he may be linked with George Davies, a coffer maker. It is unclear if this man was a relation to Johannes Sering.Thomas W. Ross, 'Expenses for Ben Jonson's The Masque of Beauty', ''The Bulletin of the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association'', 23:4 (December 1969), p. 172.

In Scotland

In England

Fredererick Sering

References

Further reading