Edzard II (24 June 1532 – 1 March 1599) was Count of East Frisia from 1561 to 1599. He was the son of Enno II of East Frisia and Anna of Oldenburg. During his reign, Edzard came into conflict with the city of

Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of E ...

. Edzard was a staunch

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 ...

while the city of Emden was mostly

Calvinistic 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 Calv ...

. In 1595 Emden revolted and, after an intercession by the Calvinistic

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

, Edzard was forced to accept a large degree of independence from Emden.

Life

Edzard II had a dispute with his dominant mother,

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 1221) ...

. She had abolished his right of

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 ...

, in an attempt to curb the influence of the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

royal family. She decreed that Edzard should rule East Frisia jointly with his younger brothers Johan and Christopher. When Christopher died early, Edzard ran into a strong and almost hateful rivalry with his brother

Johan II Johan II may refer to: * Johan II, king of Sweden (1455–1513), Danish king who became king of Sweden during the Kalmar union 1497–1501 * Johan II of East Frisia (1538–1591) See also *Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein Johann II (Johann M ...

. The power struggle between two increasingly hamstrung their government. After Johan died in 1591, Edzard became the sole ruler, but his authority had been severely hit by the ongoing conflict. At the request of the Estates, Edzard founded the High Court in Aurich in 1593. In 1595, the city of Emden revolted. In the course of this

Emden Revolution The Emden Revolution of 18 March 1595 marked the beginning of the status of Emden as a quasi-autonomous city-state. In 1595, after Count Edzard II had increased the tax burden several times and passed new laws, disregarding their effect on the ...

, the Cirksena family were driven out of Emden. Under pressure from the Dutch

States General The word States-General, or Estates-General, may refer to: Currently in use * Estates-General on the Situation and Future of the French Language in Quebec, the name of a commission set up by the government of Quebec on June 29, 2000 * States Genera ...

, Edzard signed on 5 July 1595 the Treaty of Delfzijl, which gave Emden a large degree of independence. During Edzard's reign, the Counts of East Frisia definitively lost the Lordship of Jever. Maria of Jever, the last baroness, died and left her territory to the

Counts of Oldenburg 120px, Shield of the Counts of Oldenburg 120px, Shield of the Counts of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst This is a list of the counts, dukes, grand dukes, and prime ministers of Oldenburg. Counts of Oldenburg * 1088/1101–1108 Elimar I * 1108–1143 ...

. Edzard died on 1 March 1599. The Great Church at Emden refused to allow him to be buried in the Cirksena family vault, because he was a

and it was a

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

church. He was buried on 13 May 1599 in the St. Lambert Church in Aurich. He was the first member of the Cirksena family to be buried there. However, all later family members were buried in this church, until the family died out in 1744.

Marriage and issue

Married to Katarina Vasa, daughter of King Gustav I of Sweden, on October 1, 1559 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. He was the only ruler of East Frisia who ever married a princess. Through this marriage, the Swedish royal family sought to secure their influence on the North Sea coast. They had the following children: #Margareta of East Frisia, 1560–1588 # Anna of Ostfriesland, 1562–1621, married: ## in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, on 12 July 1583,

Louis VI, Elector Palatine Louis VI, Elector Palatine (4 July 1539 in Simmern – 22 October 1583 in Heidelberg), was an Elector from the Palatinate-Simmern branch of the house of Wittelsbach. He was the first-born son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine and Marie of Bra ...

(1539-1583) ## on 21 December 1585, Ernest Frederick, Margrave of Baden-Durlach (1560-1604) ## in Grabow, on 7 March 1617,

Julius Henry, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg Julius Henry (9 April 1586 – 20 November 1665) was duke of Saxe-Lauenburg between 1656 and 1665. Before ascending to the throne he served as Field Marshal in the imperial army. Life Before regency Born at Wolfenbüttel, he was a son of Duke ...

(1586-1665) #

Enno III of East Frisia Enno III of Ostfriesland or Enno III of East Frisia (30 September 1563, Aurich – 19 August 1625) was a Count of Ostfriesland from 1599 to 1625 from the Cirksena family. He was the elder son of Count Edzard II of Ostfriesland and his wife ...

, 1563–1625, married ## on 29 January 1589,

Walburgis, Countess of Rietberg Countess Walburgis of Rietberg (1555/56, Rietberg – 26 May 1586, Esens, Lower Saxony, Esens) was 1565–1576 and 1584–1586 Countess of County of Rietberg, Rietberg. Life Walburgis was the second daughter of Count John II, Count of Rietber ...

, daughter of

John II, Count of Rietberg Count John II "the Mad" of Rietberg (born: after 1523 – died: 11 December 1562 in Cologne), called "the Great," was the son of Count Otto III of Rietberg and his second wife, Onna Esens. After his uncle Balthasar Oomkens von Esens died in 154 ...

## in Esens, on 28 January 1598, Anna of Holstein-Gottorp, daughter of

Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Adolf of Denmark or Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp (25 January 1526 –1 October 1586) was the first Duke of Holstein-Gottorp from the line of Holstein-Gottorp of the House of Oldenburg. He was the third son of King Frederick I of Denmark and hi ...

John III of Rietberg John III of Rietberg (1566, Aurich – 23 January 1625, Rietberg) was a member of the Cirksena family. He founded the Catholic side line of the Cirksena in the Westphalian County of Rietberg, the so-called house of East Frisia. He was a son o ...

, born 1566, died 29 September 1625, married: ## on 4 March 1601, his niece Countess Sabina Catherine of Rietberg, daughter of his brother Enno III #

Christopher of East Frisia Christopher of East Frisia (1569–1636) was an East Frisian nobleman and knight of the Golden Fleece who served as governor of the Duchy of Luxembourg in the Habsburg Netherlands. Early life Born into the ruling House of Cirksena, Christopher wa ...

, 1569–1636, married: ## on 13 August 1613,

Lambertine de Ligne Lambertine de Ligne (1593–1651) was a noblewoman and heiress from the Habsburg Netherlands. Biography Lambertine was born on 22 June 1593, the third daughter and fourth child of Lamoral, Count of Ligne and Anne-Marie de Melun, Marquise de Roubai ...

(1593-1651) #Edzard of East Frisia, 1572?-1573 #Elizabeth of East Frisia, 1572?-1573 #Sophia of East Frisia, 1574–1630 #Karl Otto of East Frisia, 1577-1603. #Maria of East Frisia, 1582–1616, married: ## on 1 September 1614,

Julius Ernst of Braunschweig-Dannenberg Julius Ernest, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg (1571–1636), Prince of Dannenberg, was a son of Henry III, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Ursula of Saxe-Lauenburg. On his father's death in 1598 he inherited the Principality of Dannenberg. He d ...

(1571-1636); she was his first wife Edzard II was an ancestor of Queens

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and Beatrix of the Netherlands.See Talk:Edzard II, Count of East Frisia for the line of descent

Ancestors

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edzard Ii, Count Of East Frisia 1532 births 1599 deaths People from Aurich (district) Counts of East Frisia