Edzard II (24 June 1532 – 1 March 1599) was

Count of East Frisia The counts and princes of East Frisia from the noble East Frisian family Cirksena descended from a line of East Frisian chieftains from Greetsiel. The county came into existence when Emperor Frederick III raised Ulrich I the son of a local chi ...

from 1561 to 1599. He was the son of Enno II of East Frisia and

Anna of Oldenburg Anna of Oldenburg (14 November 150124 September 1575) was a Countess consort of East Frisia as the spouse of Count Enno II of East Frisia. She was the Regent of East Frisia in 1542–1561 as the guardian for her minor sons, Johan II and Edzard II ...

. 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 ...

. 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 ...

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 C ...

. 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 historiograph ...

, 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. 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 Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representati ...

, Edzard founded the High Court in

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 ...

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, Edzard signed on 5 July 1595 the Treaty of

Delfzijl Delfzijl (; gos, Delfsiel) is a city and former municipality with a population of 25,651 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Delfzijl was a sluice between the Delf and the Ems, which became fortified settlement in ...

, which gave Emden a large degree of independence. During Edzard's reign, the Counts of East Frisia definitively lost the Lordship of

Jever Jever () is the capital of the district of Friesland in Lower Saxony, Germany. The name Jever is usually associated with a major brand of beer, Jever Pilsener, which is produced there. The city is also a popular holiday resort. Jever was granted c ...

Maria of Jever Maria of Jever, known in Jeverland as ''Fräulein Maria'', (5 September 1500 – 20 February 1575) was the last ruler of the Lordship of Jever from the Wiemken family. She ruled from 1517 to her death. Early life Maria was the third child of ...

, 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 church. He was buried on 13 May 1599 in the St. Lambert Church in

. 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 and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

. He was the only ruler of East Frisia who ever married a princess. Through this marriage, the

Swedish royal family The Swedish royal family ( sv, Svenska kungafamiljen) since 1818 has consisted of members of the Swedish Royal House of Bernadotte, closely related to the King of Sweden. Today those who are recognized by the government are entitled to royal ti ...

sought to secure their influence on the

North Sea coast The coastline of the North Sea has been evolving since the end of the last ice age. The coastline varies from fjords, river estuaries to mudflats. The eastern and western coasts of the North Sea are jagged, as they were stripped by glaciers d ...

. They had the following children: #Margareta of East Frisia, 1560–1588 # Anna of Ostfriesland, 1562–1621, married: ## in

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

, 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 ...

(1539-1583) ## on 21 December 1585,

Ernest Frederick, Margrave of Baden-Durlach Ernest Frederick of Baden-Durlach (born 17 October 1560 in Durlach – died 14 April 1604 in Remchingen) ruled the northern part of the Margraviate of Baden-Durlach. He came to power when he came of age in 1584. He founded the first Gymnasium ' ...

(1560-1604) ## in

Grabow Grabow () is a town in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the river Elde, 7 km (4.35 mi) southeast of Ludwigslust, and 34 km (21.12 mi) northwest of Wittenberge. It ...

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

Walburgis, Countess of Rietberg Countess Walburgis of Rietberg (1555/56, Rietberg – 26 May 1586, Esens) was 1565–1576 and 1584–1586 Countess of Rietberg. Life Walburgis was the second daughter of Count John II of Rietberg and Agnes of Bentheim-Steinfurt in Rietberg. ...

, 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 15 ...

## 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 h ...

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 ...

, 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, 1569–1636, married: ## on 13 August 1613, Lambertine de Ligne (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 (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 durin ...

and

Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husban ...

.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