John the Younger (; ; 25 March 1545 – 9 October 1622) was the duke of

Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg was the name of a branch line of the House of Oldenburg as well as the name of their land. It existed from 1564 until 1668 and was a titular duchy under the King of Denmark, rather than a true territorial dukedom in ...

Biography

John was born on 25 March 1545 at Koldinghus Castle in

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

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 & S ...

. 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 (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...

and

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

. 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 wid ...

, consequently, gave up his right of inheritance when Frederick II had him placed as

prince-bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...

of Ösel-Wiek in

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

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

Archdiocese of Bremen The Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen () was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality (787–1566/1648) of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church that after its definitive secularization in 1648 became the hereditary Bremen-Verden, Duchy of ...

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, 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 (; ) is a Denmark, Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 28,333 (1 January 2025),Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...

, 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.

Marriages and children

John married twice. Firstly, he married in

Kolding Kolding () is a Denmark, Danish seaport city 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 industria ...

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 14 children: # Dorothea of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (9 October 1569

– 5 July 1593

Legnica Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. Le ...

), married on 23 November 1589 to Frederick IV, Duke of Legnica. # Christian, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Ærø (24 October 1570 – 4 June 1633) # Ernest of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (17 January 1572 – 26 October 1596) # Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (20 January 1573 – 13 May 1627) # August of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (26 July 1574 – 26 October 1596) # Marie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, Abbess of

Itzehoe Itzehoe (; ) is a town in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. 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 km (14.9&nb ...

(22 August 1575 – 6 December 1640) # John Adolph, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderburg-Norburg (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. # Sophia of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (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 given into trust instrument, trust) by agreement at the time of t ...

), 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 The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (, ), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296 to 1803 and again from 1814 to 1876 in the extreme southeast region of what is now Schleswig-Holstein. Its territorial centre was in the modern district of Herz ...

, 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. # 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 district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

– 3 November 1616

Sønderborg (; ) is a Denmark, Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 28,333 (1 January 2025),Anna Sabine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (7 March 1593 – 18 July 1659), married on 1 January 1618 to Julius Frederick, Duke of Württemberg-Weiltingen. # Johann Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (9 February 1594 – 25 January 1613) #

Joachim Ernest, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön Joachim Ernest of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (29 August 1595 – October 5, 1671), also ''Joachim Ernest of Schleswig-Holstein-Plön'', was the first Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön, which emerged from a division of the Duchy ...

(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 1625 to Christian II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

Descendants of Johann the Younger of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg
{{Authority control 1545 births 1622 deaths People from Haderslev Municipality House of Oldenburg in Schleswig-Holstein Princes from Denmark–Norway People from the Duchy of Schleswig Children of Christian III of Denmark Sons of kings