Count Johan II of East Frisia (29 September 1538,

Aurich Aurich (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Auerk'', West Frisian: ''Auwerk'', stq, Aurk) 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 i ...

– 29 September 1591, Stickhausen Castle) was a member of the House of

Cirksena The House of Cirksena () was the name of the ruling family of Ostfriesland. 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 Em ...

and from 1561 until his death in 1591 co-regent of the county of

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 ...

. He ruled jointly with his brother Edzard II. In 1558 the

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

of John's mother, the Countess

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...

was abolished, presumably to stem the impact of the house Vasa in the county, which was based on the marriage of her eldest son Edzard with

Catherine Vasa of Sweden , birth_date = 6 June 1539 , death_date = , father = Gustav I of Sweden , mother = Margaret Leijonhufvud , spouse = Edzard II, Count of East Frisia , issue = Countess Margareta Anne, Electress PalatineEnno III, Count of Ostfriesland John II ...

, the eldest daughter of King

Gustav I of Sweden Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

. This meant that she abolished Edzard right to be the sole ruler of the county. This led to a de facto division of East Frisia, because Johan, like his mother, was a

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 ...

, whereas Edzard II was a

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 ...

Life

In 1559, his brother Edzard took Johan to his wedding in Stockholm, where Johan had an affair with

Cecilia Cecilia is a personal name originating in the name of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. The name has been popularly used in Europe (particularly the United Kingdom and Italy, where in 2018 it was the 43rd most popular name for girls born ...

, the daughter of King

Gustav I Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

(and therefore his sister-in-law). He was caught and was nearly sentenced to death if it hadn't been for the intercession of the Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. Johan never married after that. After the death of their brother Christoffel in 1566, the power struggle between Johan and Edzard worsened. Johan blocked Edzard's exercise of sovereign power and strengthened the nobility and the citizens of Emden. Ultimately, this struggle provided the foundation for the coexistence of faiths in East Frisia: since none of them could prevail over the other, the Lutheran Edzard failed to establish the Lutheran church as the only church allowed in the county. After Johan died in 1591, Edzard finally became the sole ruler of the County of East Frisia, but his authority had been severely hit by the ongoing conflict. This was a substantial factor, which eventually contributed to the so-called '' Emden Revolution''.

References and Sources

* Martin Tielke (ed.): ''Biographisches Lexikon für Ostfriesland''. Ostfriesische Landschaft, Aurich 1993, . Counts of East Frisia 1538 births 1591 deaths People from Aurich {{EastFrisia-stub