Count John II "the Mad" of Rietberg (born: after 1523 – died: 11 December 1562 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

), called "the Great," was the son of Count

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...

of Rietberg and his second wife, Onna Esens. After his uncle Balthasar Oomkens von Esens died in 1540 without a male heir, John and his mother inherited the

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 ...

n Lordship of

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, ...

and John assumed the title of ''Lord of Esens,

Stedesdorf Stedesdorf is a municipality in the district of Wittmund, 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, ...

and

Wittmund Wittmund is a town and capital of the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Wittmund is a town of 21,000 inhabitants located in Germany's historic coastal district of East Frisia, between the towns of Aurich and Jever. The ...

''. When his father died in 1535, John had to share 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 ...

with his older half-brother

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

. After Otto IV died childless in 1553, John II ruled Rietberg alone. In 1556, John illegally beheaded one of his own officials in Rietberg and schemed against the victim's relatives who had profited from the official's misbehaviour. The relatives fled to the neighbouring

County of Lippe Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a historical state in Germany, ruled by the House of Lippe. It was located between the Weser river and the southeast part of the Teutoburg Forest. It was founded in the 1640s under a separ ...

. From there, they and a few faithful raided Rietberg. John then moved his mercenaries from Esens to Rietberg and attacked Count Bernhard VIII of Lippe. The army of Lippe responded by laying siege to the town of Rietberg. The

Bishopric of Paderborn The Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn (german: Fürstbistum Paderborn; Hochstift Paderborn) was an ecclesiastical principality (Hochstift) of the Holy Roman Empire from 1281 to 1802. History The Diocese of Paderborn was founded in 799 by Pope ...

joined the attack on Rietberg. Lippe, Paderborn and East Frisia also sued each other in the court of the

Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eig ...

. The Court found John guilty of a

breach of the peace Breach of the peace, or disturbing the peace, is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the several jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct. Public ord ...

. John refused to give in. Imperial troops joined the siege of Rietberg and in June 1557, the city was starved and had to capitulate. John was taken prisoner. Initially, he was held at the Imperial castle at Büderich (near

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...

); in 1560, he was transferred to

, where he died in captivity in 1562 and was buried. His pugnacity and power struggles earned him he nickname "John the Mad".

Marriage and issue

John married Countess Agnes of Bentheim-Steinfurt. They had two daughters: * Armgard (died: 1584), Countess of Rietberg, married: Count Simon VI of Lippe * Walburgis (born: in

Rietberg Rietberg () is a town in the district of Gütersloh in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 10 km south of Gütersloh and 25 km north-west of Paderborn in the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The town is lo ...

– died: 26 May 1586 in Esens), Countess of Harlingerland, married Count Enno III of East Frisia John II was thus the last male ruler of Rietberg from the Werl-Arnsberg-Cuyk family. After his death, his widow acted as regent for his daughters until 1557, when the inheritance was divided: Armgard received Rietberg and Walburgis received the Harlingerland.

External links

Hermann tom Ring 1564: Portrait of the family of Count Johann II of Rietberg (Fig. 4)

{{DEFAULTSORT:John 02 of Rietberg Counts of Rietberg Year of birth uncertain 16th-century births 1562 deaths