John II, nicknamed ''the one-eyed'' (1253–1321) was the ruling count of

Holstein-Kiel The imperial county of Holstein-Kiel was a line of the House of Schauenburg and Holstein from 1261 to 1390. History The County of Holstein was ruled until 1238 by Adolphus IV of Schauenburg and Holstein. When he retired, his sons John I and Ger ...

from 1263 to 1316.

Life

He was younger of the two sons of Count

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I o ...

, from the

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

line of the

House of Schauenburg The House of Schaumburg was a dynasty of German rulers. Until c. 1485, it was also known as the House of Schauenburg. Together with its ancestral possession, the County of Schaumburg, the family also ruled the County of Holstein and its partitions ...

. He divided the county with his uncle, Count

Gerhard I Gerard I may refer to: * Gerard I, Count of Guelders * Gerard I of Isenburg-Kempenich * Gerard I of Durbuy See also *Girard I of Roussillon Gerard I (''Girard'' in French and Catalan, ''Gerardo'' in Spanish), called Guinard, was the count of Rous ...

of Holstein-Itzehoe and his elder brother, Count Adolphus V of

Holstein-Segeberg The County of Holstein-Segeberg was a county in the state of Holstein from 1273 to 1308 and a line of the noble family of Schauenburg and Holstein. The only count of Holstein-Segeberg was Adolphus V, nicknamed ''the Pomeranian'', who was born in 1 ...

, meant to be the

secundogeniture A secundogeniture (from la, secundus "following, second," and "born") was a dependent territory given to a younger son of a princely house and his descendants, creating a cadet branch. This was a special form of inheritance in which the second a ...

for Holstein-Kiel. John II received the area between the

Kiel Fjord Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland pe ...

and the sources of the

Alster The Alster () is a right tributary of the Elbe river in Northern Germany. It has its source near Henstedt-Ulzburg, Schleswig-Holstein, flows somewhat southwards through much of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and joins the Elbe in central ...

and the Pinnau. He took up residence at

Kiel Castle Kiel Castle (german: Kieler Schloss) in Kiel in the north German state of Schleswig-Holstein was one of the secondary residences of the Gottorf dukes. The castle exhibited a very varied architectural history and in the more recent architectural ...

. He was a hapless ruler. In 1308 his second-born son Adolphus VII succeeded John II's brother Adolphus V in Holstein-Segeberg. After the violent death of his two sons, Adolphus VII and Christopher in 1313 and 1315 respectively, his grand-nephews John III of Holstein-Plön and

Gerhard III Gerhard III of Holstein-Rendsburg ( – 1 April 1340), sometimes called Gerhard the Great, and in Denmark also known as ''Count Gert'' or ''den kullede greve'' ("the bald count"), was a German prince from the Schauenburg family who ruled Hol ...

of Holstein-Rendsburg appropriated most of his territory. He lived until his death from the revenues of the city of Kiel and its surroundings. His nickname refers to an accident where he lost the sight in one eye after an unfortunate throw of a chicken bone by his court jester.

Seal

The seal depicted at the top of this article reads:

"Seal of John, Count of Holstein"

Marriage and issue

He married Margaret, the daughter of King

Christopher I of Denmark Christopher I ( da, Christoffer I) (1219 – 29 May 1259) was King of Denmark between 1252 and 1259. He was the son of Valdemar II of Denmark by his second wife, Berengaria of Portugal. He succeeded his brothers Eric IV Plovpenning and Abel of D ...

and had two sons with her: * Christopher died in 1313, due to a fall from a window of the count's castle under unexplained circumstances * Adolphus VII, succeeded his uncle Adolphus V in 1308 as count of

, meant to be Kiel's

, he was slain in his bed in 1315 by a group of knights led by Hartwig

Reventlow Reventlow is the name of a Holstein and Mecklenburg Dano-German noble family, which belongs to the Equites Originarii Schleswig-Holstein. Alternate spellings include Revetlo, Reventlo, Reventlau, Reventlou, Reventlow, Refendtlof and Reffentloff ...

personally at

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

with him House of Schauenburg Counts of Holstein 1253 births 1321 deaths Royalty and nobility with disabilities {{Germany-noble-stub