John the Younger or John of Denmark ( da, Hans; german: Johann; 25 March 1545 – 9 October 1622) was the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg.

Biography

John was born on 25 March 1545 in

Haderslev Haderslev (; german: Hadersleben ) is a Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark with a population of 22,011 (1 January 2022).Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

as the fourth child and third son of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway and his wife,

Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg (9 July 1511 – 7 October 1571) was queen consort of Denmark and Norway by marriage to King Christian III of Denmark. She was known to having wielded influence upon the affairs of state in Denmark.Jorgensen, Ellen & Sk ...

. When Christian III died in 1559, he left three sons. Where the eldest, Frederick II, had long ago been appointed successor to the thrones of Denmark and Norway, all three brothers were in principle equally entitled to the father's share of the duchies of

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

and

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label= Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germ ...

. To avoid unfortunate divisions of the royal part of the duchies, attempts were made to find suitable positions for the younger brothers elsewhere. The middle brother,

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wi ...

, consequently, gave up his right of inheritance when Frederick II had him placed as prince-bishop of Ösel-Wiek in

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

. However, the plan to secure John the post of the prince-archbishop's successor in the

Archdiocese of Bremen The Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (german: Fürsterzbistum Bremen) — not to be confused with the modern Archdiocese of Hamburg, founded in 1994 — was an ecclesiastical principality (787–1566/1648) of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholi ...

failed due to strong competition from North German princes. Other options abroad were thwarted because Denmark needed the support of the North German princes against Sweden in the

Nordic Seven Years' War The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611), Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denm ...

, and the king could not act as a competitor in acquiring lucrative offices and benefices for his brother. Consequently, Frederick had to agree to share his father's share of the duchies with his youngest brother, and allotted him a portion of the duchies with Sonderburg (today Danish Sønderborg) as his ducal seat. He acted actively in the Danish government, for example supporting his sister-in-law, the Queen, when his nephew,

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mon ...

, was underage. There were plans for him to marry the Dowager Queen in 1588 or 1589, repudiating his second, young wife. John died in

Glücksburg Glücksburg (; da, Lyksborg) is a small town northeast of Flensburg in the district Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and is the northernmost town in Germany. It is situated on the south side of the Flensborg Fjord, an inlet o ...

Family and children

John married twice. Firstly, he married in

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial compani ...

on August 19, 1568 Elisabeth of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (20 March 1550 Salzderhelden – 11 February 1586 Østerholm), daughter of Ernest III, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen and Princess Margarethe of Pommerania-Wolgast (1518–1569). They had the following children: # Dorothea of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (9 October 1569

– 5 July 1593

Legnica Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 19 ...

), married on 23 November 1589 to

Frederick IV, Duke of Legnica Frederick IV, Duke of Legnica (20 April 1552 – 27 March 1596) was Duke of Legnica from 1571 until his death (as a co-ruler of his elder brother during 1571–1576 and 1580–1581). He was the third but second surviving son of Frederick III, ...

. #

Christian, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Ærø Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Ærø (26 November 1570 – 14 June 1633) was the first and only partitioned-off duke of Ærø. As a partitioned-off duke, he did not have sovereignty. He was the eldest son of Duke John II (1545-162 ...

(24 October 1570 – 4 June 1633) # Ernest of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (17 January 1572 – 26 October 1596) #

Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, (20 January 157313 May 1627) was a Danish nobleman. Alexander was born in Sønderborg (German: ''Sonderburg'') in Schleswig, the third son of John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg and Eli ...

(20 January 1573 – 13 May 1627) # August of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (26 July 1574 – 26 October 1596) #

Marie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tro ...

, Abbess of

Itzehoe Itzehoe (; nds, Itzhoe) is a town in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km (31.7 mi) northwest of Hamburg and 24 ...

(22 August 1575 – 6 December 1640) #

John Adolph, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderburg-Norburg John Adolph of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg (german: Johann Adolf or ; 15 September 1576 – 21 February 1624), was a Duke of Norburg at Als. He was the son of John II of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg and his wife Elizabeth of Brunswick ...

(17 September 1576 – 21 February 1624) # Anna of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (7 October 1577 – 30 January 1616), married on 31 May 1601 to

Bogislaw XIII, Duke of Pomerania Bogislaw XIII (Bogusław XIII) of Pomerania (9 August 1544 – 7 March 1606, Stettin; ''Polish'': Szczecin), son of Philip I and Maria of Saxony, was a prince of Stettin and Wolgast, and a member of the Griffins. Bogislaw studied at the Univer ...

. #

Sophia of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg Sophia means "wisdom" in Greek. It may refer to: *Sophia (wisdom) *Sophia (Gnosticism) *Sophia (given name) Places *Niulakita or Sophia, an island of Tuvalu *Sophia, Georgetown, a ward of Georgetown, Guyana *Sophia, North Carolina, an unincorpor ...

(30 May 1579 – 3 June 1658, in Treptow an der Rega, her

dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settlement (law), settled on the bride (being gifted into trust instrument, trust) by agreement at the time of ...

), married on 8 March 1607 to Philip II, Duke of Pomerania-StettinN.N.
"VII. Sophie von Schleswig-Holstein, Witwe Herzog Philipps II. von Pommern, auf dem Schlosse in Treptow an der Rega"
in: ''Baltische Studien'' (1832 to date), vol. 1, Gesellschaft für Pommersche Geschichte und Alterthumskunde and Historische Kommission für Pommern (eds.), vol. 1: Stettin: Friedrich Heinrich Morin, 1832, pp. 247–258, here p. 259. # Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (24 September 1580 – 21 December 1653), married on 19 February 1615 to Bogislaw XIV, Duke of Pomerania (son of her sister Anna's husband, Bogilaw XIII, Duke of Pomerania). # Frederick, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg (26 October 1581 – 22 July 1658), married on 1 August 1627 to Juliana of Saxe-Lauenburg, daughter of Francis II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg. # Margaret of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (24 February 1583 – 20 April 1658), married on 27 August 1603 to

John VII, Count of Nassau-Siegen Count John VII ‘the Middle’ of Nassau-Siegen (7 June 1561 – 27 September 1623), german: Johann VII. ‘der Mittlere’ Graf von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: ''Graf zu Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden und Diez, Herr zu ...

. # Philip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (15 March 1584 – 27 September 1663) # Albrecht of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (16 April 1585 – 30 April 1613) Secondly, he married on 14 February 1588 Princess Agnes Hedwig of Anhalt (12 March 1573

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Ro� ...

– 3 November 1616 Sønderborg), and they had the following children: # Eleonore of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (4 April 1590 – 13 April 1669) #

Anna Sabine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg 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 1221) ...

(7 March 1593 – 18 July 1659), married on 1 January 1618 to Julius Frederick, Duke of Württemberg-Weiltingen. #

Johann Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

(9 February 1594 – 25 January 1613) # Joachim Ernest, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (29 August 1595 – 5 October 1671) # Dorothea Sibylle of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (13 July 1597 – 21 August 1597) # Dorothea Marie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (23 July 1599 – 27 March 1600) # Bernhard of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (12 April 1601 – 26 April 1601) # Agnes Magdalene of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (17 November 1602 – 17 May 1607) # Eleonore Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (24 February 1603 – 5 January 1675), married on 28 February 1624 to

Christian II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg Christian II of Anhalt-Bernburg (11 August 1599, in Amberg – 22 September 1656, in Bernburg), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg. He was the second (but eldest surviving) son of Christi ...

Ancestry

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{Authority control 1545 births 1622 deaths People from Haderslev Municipality House of Oldenburg in Schleswig-Holstein Danish princes Norwegian princes People from the Duchy of Schleswig Children of Christian III of Denmark Sons of kings