Territory in the Holy Roman Empire
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County of East Frisia |
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|---|---|
 Estatist Coat of Arms  Royal Coat of Arms |
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| Motto: Eala Frya Fresena | |
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| Status | |
| Capital |
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| Largest city | Emden |
| Common languages | |
| Religion | Major: Catholicism (until 1528), Lutheranism (in the east), Calvinism (in the west) Minor: Catholicism (from 1528), Zwinglianism, Anabaptism, Judaism |
| Demonym(s) | East Frisians |
| Government | Feudal monarchy |
| Counts and Princes | |
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• 1464–1466 |
Ulrich I (first count) |
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• 1480-1491 |
Enno I |
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• 1491-1528 |
Edzard I |
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• 1528-1540 |
Enno II |
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• 1561-1599 |
Edzard II |
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• 1599-1625 |
Enno III |
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• 1625-1628 |
Rudolf Christian |
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• 1628-1648 |
Ulrich II |
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• 1651-1660 |
Enno Louis |
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• 1660-1665 |
George Christian |
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• 1690-1708 |
Christian Everhard |
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• 1708-1734 |
George Albert |
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• 1734–1744 |
Charles Edzard |
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• 1744–1786 |
Frederick II |
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• 1797-1807 |
Frederick William III (last prince) |
| Chairman of the Estates | |
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• 1717-1744 |
Heinrich Bernhard von Appelle |
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• 1777-1790 |
Edzard Moritz zu Innhausen und Knyphausen |
| Chancellor | |
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• 1503-1530 |
Wilhelm Ubben |
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• 1534-1538 |
Wilhelm Ubben |
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• 1539-1541 |
Henricus Ubbius |
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• 1541-1552 |
Hermann Lenth |
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• 1552-1571 |
Friedrich ter Westen |
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• 1599-1611 |
Thomas Franzius |
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• 1611–1637 |
Dothias Wiarda |
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• 1637-1653 |
Arnold von Bobart |
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• 1659-1664 |
Hermann Höpfner |
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• 1686-1692 |
Johann Heinrich Stamler |
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• 1720–1734 |
Enno Rudolph Brenneysen |
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• 1744–1759 |
Sebastian Anton Homfeld |
| Legislature | East Frisian Estates |
| Historical era | |
| 1 October 1464 | |
| 27 March 1499 | |
| 1514-1517 | |
| 1518 | |
| 1578-1591 | |
| 1595-1603 | |
| 28 January 1600 | |
| 21 May 1611 | |
| 1726-1727 | |
| 14 March 1744 | |
| 25 May 1744 | |
| 9 July 1807 | |
| 1800[1] | 1,800 km2 (690 sq mi) |
| 85,000 | |
| 94,000 | |
|
• 1786 |
103,000 |
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• 1804 |
120,000 |
| Currency | Guilder, Thaler, Groschen, Krumstert, Stuiver, Flinder, Shilling, Albus |
| Today part of | |
The County of East Frisia (German: Grafschaft Ostfriesland; Dutch: Graafschap Oost-Friesland; East Frisian Low Saxon: Gróófskup Oostfräisland; Saterland Frisian: Groafskup Aastfräislound), also known as the County of Emden or the County of Norden, Emden and Emisgonien in East Frisia, was an imperial county of the Holy Roman Empire in the region of East Frisia in the northwest of the present-day state of Lower Saxony in Germany.
History
Foundation of the County (until 1464)
Rise of the Chieftains of Greetsiel
The establishment of East Frisia as an imperial county began with the chieftains of Greetsiel. Enno Edzardisna (c. 1380 – c. 1450) was chieftain of Norden, Greetsiel, Berum, Manslagt and Pilsum. His second wife was Gela Syardsna of Manslagt. After Gela’s only son from her first marriage, Liudward Cirksena, had died, Gela and her cousin, Frauwa Cirksena, were the sole heirs to the rich Cirksena inheritance. Enno Edzardisna managed to secure this rich inheritance by marrying Gela and marrying off his son from his first marriage, Edzard, to Frauwa Cirksena. Enno and Edzard then took the name Cirksena, which laid the foundation for this later so powerful dynasty. The coat of arms of this family, the yellow harpy on a black background, was also adopted. Enno himself had come into possession of Pilsum and Manslagt through his marriage to Gela, while his son Edzard became ruler of Berum. At the beginning of the fifteenth century, a brother of Enno initially resided at the ancestral castle in Greetsiel; Haro Edzardisna. However, he died in 1409 without heirs, causing his property to pass to his younger brother Enno. In 1441, Enno’s first son Edzard Cirksena too died without leaving any heirs, causing the entire inheritance to pass to Enno’s son from his marriage with Gela: Ulrich[4][5].
Struggle in the East Frisian lands
Enno Edzardisna, together with his sons Edzard and Ulrich, watched with dismay as power in East Frisia was seized by ambitious chieftain families who completely ignored the rights of the local chieftains and peasants. First it was the Tom Brok family who established their rule over East Frisia. Then it was the turn of Focko Ukena who had turned against his former comrade in arms and had himself developed aspirations to establish a dynasty in the lordless East Frisia; a system called Frisian freedom. Initially, Enno joined Focko in his fight against Ocko II tom Brok. To his great disappointment, however, Focko did not restore the traditional freedoms to the many chieftains; he strove for power himself. The Cirksena family responded by uniting the free peasants and chieftains of East Frisia in the so-called “Freedom League of the Seven East Frisian lands”. They cornered Focko Ukena. However, to give this chieftain from the Moormerland the final blow, they needed help from outside: the free imperial city of Hamburg. The intervention of this powerful Hanseatic city was decisive in the struggle for power in East Frisia[6].
Hamburg Intervention
The lawlessness and permanent state of war in East Frisia led to unrest in the surrounding areas. The trading interests of the Hanseatic cities were seriously damaged by the theft of merchandise. The city of Hamburg was therefore keen to restore peace to this coastal region on the North Sea. In 1433, Hamburg and the Cirksena family jointly captured the important city of Emden. In the battle of Bargebur, Focko Ukena was finally defeated, which finally put an end to the violence that East Frisia had been suffering from for decades. The price that had to be paid for this was the end of the system of Frisian freedom that had been cherished for centuries. While the Cirksena family secured its possessions and power in the north of East Frisia, troops from Hamburg occupied Emden and the entire south of East Frisia. This occupation of Hamburg and the lawlessness that had prevailed in the previous decades made the East Frisian population realise that without central authority there could be no peace, freedom and rule of law. This insight was of great benefit to the Cirksena family. They had set themselves up as protectors of the freedoms that the East Frisian peasants had enjoyed for centuries. The fear of falling under the influence of a foreign ruler from a distant country also ensured that loyalty to the Cirksena dynasty was strong among the local population.
In 1439, the occupation of the city of Hamburg in southern East Frisia came to an end. The city transferred its rule to the brothers Edzard and Ulrich Cirksena. The fact that power had to be shared by both brothers was not bad for the city. After all, this made it easier for the city to maintain its influence in East Frisia. Formally, the city of Emden remained the property of Hamburg [7]. Edzard began to take over the rule in Emden and Norden while Ulrich concentrated on Aurich and Esens. However, fate struck Edzard in 1441, which meant that Ulrich came to power alone in East Frisia. Ulrich called himself ‘Chieftain in East Frisia’ from 1444 onwards. With this he underlined his ambition to become the sole ruler of East Frisia. However, he avoided violence and arbitrariness and respected the laws and customs of the various East Frisian areas. This clever consideration of the strong sense of justice of the East Frisians and his convincing behavior, strengthened the trust in him and thus his authority enormously.
Legitimation of the Cirksena Dynasty
Ulrich also took on the role of leader in church affairs. The many churches that had been destroyed during the hostilities were restored under his leadership. This gave church life a new impulse. He also left his mark on the administrative level. He established the council of the city of Emden, expanded the Burg of Emden and built an important border fortress in Detern in the south of East Frisia. In doing so, he alienated the city of Hamburg and the Hanseatic city felt compelled to return to East Frisia in 1447. Ulrich initially accepted this event with resignation. However, the population of East Frisia had no intention of accepting this foreign domination. Gradually, the pressure on Ulrich to free the area from Hamburg’s domination increased. This was finally achieved in 1453, although Ulrich had had to make far-reaching political and economic concessions to the Hanseatic city.
In territorial terms, East Frisia was far from a united area. The many villages and towns mostly governed themselves and were merely united under the local laws such as the “Emsiger Landwet”. Ulrich used this to his advantage by slowly taking over the judicial power in the Emsigerland. Other chieftains were sidelined in the process. One by one he made the many chieftain families swear loyalty to him in exchange for his support for their claims to their old possessions that had been taken by the city of Hamburg. In this way the East Frisian chieftains slowly but surely lost their power in East Frisia. Only a few families managed to maintain control over the lower jurisdiction by assigning their territory to Ulrich, after which they received it back as a fief. In the north, Ulrich gave his rule in Esens to his nephew; Sibet Attena[8]. This loyal follower of the Cirksena dynasty had seized power in the entire Harlingerland through marriage politics and warfare. In order to also assert his power in the south, he married Theda Ukena in 1455; a granddaughter of his previous enemy Focko Ukena[9].
Meanwhile, Ulrich continued to try to further weaken Hamburg’s authority in East Frisia. However, it was time for Ulrich to turn to other rulers to strengthen his own position in East Frisia and to finally free his subjects from the yoke of Hamburg. To achieve this, Ulrich therefore turned to the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire: Frederick III. At first, the emperor only recognized his rule in Norden. A second attempt, however, was successful. In exchange for a large sum of money, Ulrich was proclaimed “Count in Norden, Emden and Emisgonien in East Frisia” up to the Weser on October 1, 1464[10]. However, Ulrich had to explicitly recognize the freedoms that his subjects had known for centuries under the guise of Frisian freedom. In return, the East Frisians had to recognize Ulrich as their lord. With this appointment, East Frisia was now better protected against claims from, among others, the Prince-Bishopric of Münster; they had a centuries-old claim to the area. After lengthy negotiations, the claims and demands of Hamburg were also swept off the table once and for all. Ulrich and several other chieftains were knighted later that year in the Franciscan church of Emden. Two years later, in 1466, the life of Ulrich I, the first Count of East Frisia, came to an end. Under his leadership, an area that had been plagued by violence for decades was transformed into a territorially coherent whole that was henceforth ruled by the Cirksena dynasty. He had thereby elevated his family above the many other East Frisian chieftains[11].
Consolidation of East Frisia (1464-1491)
Regency of Theda Ukena and the Battle for Friedeburg
On 27 September 1466, the first count of East Frisia died unexpectedly. Because his three sons, Enno, Edzard and Uko, were still minors, the government of the young county was taken over by his widow Theda Ukena, heir of Focko Ukena. Since the power of the Cirksena dynasty had not yet been fully consolidated, there was fear that the county could fall apart again. However, there was no serious opposition and Theda was supported by the nobles of East Frisia. In particular, Sibet Attena, the ruler of the lordships of Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund, supported her regency. This was on the condition that his own area would retain an autonomous position within East Frisia[12]. To the east of Auricherland existed the small, independent lordship of Friedeburg[13]. The local ruler, Cirk of Friedeburg, had allied himself with the counts of Oldenburg. This was a thorn in the side of East Frisia. Theda Ukena wanted to secure the inheritance of her sons and this included the eastern part of the East Frisian peninsula. Theda allied herself with Sibet Attena to stop the Oldenburg expansion to the north. When Cirk van Friedeburg died in 1474, she acted quickly and had the lordship occupied by troops from the County of East Frisia. In doing so, she outwitted both Count Gerhard VI of Oldenburg and Edo Wiemken the Younger of Jeverland. This resulted in bitter enmity with the rulers of Jever. Hero Maurits Kankena was appointed lord of the castle at Burg Friedeburg. However, he was captured by the Oldenburgers and he could only buy his freedom. Theda gave him the money he needed for this, 5,000 Rhenish guilders, in exchange for his rule in Friedeburg. With this, Friedeburg became a permanent part of the County of East Frisia. The Friedeburg Castle became the administrative centre of the Amt of the same name[14].
From 1480 onwards, Theda’s sons slowly but surely took over the administration of the county. In 1489, her eldest son, Enno I of East Frisia, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land together with Viktor Frese and Folef of Inn- and Knyphausen. In Jerusalem, Enno was knighted. When he returned to his county, he was confronted with a scandal that seriously jeopardized the honor of his dynasty. His young sister, Almuth Cirksena, had been married off by her mother to Count Eric of Holstein-Pinneberg. By entering into such alliances, the dynastic prestige of the Cirksena family was considerably enhanced and they were thus incorporated into the higher nobility of Northern Germany. The local chieftains of East Frisia were henceforth considered to be unequal in status. A nobleman present at the court in Emden, the Westphalian Engelmann von Hörstel, was appointed drost of Friedeburg and he began a secret relationship with Almuth Cirksena and “kidnapped” her to the Burg Friedeburg. Theda responded by besieging the castle and she demanded her daughter back. After returning from the Holy Land, older brother Enno also got involved and invited Engelmann for a conversation outside the castle gates. This confrontation ended in disaster when Enno, pursuing Engelmann, fell through the ice with his heavy equipment and drowned. Engelmann eventually fled the country and Almuth was imprisoned[15].
Rivalry with Oldenburg
Even before the establishment of East Frisia as an imperial county, there had been a long and bitter rivalry between the East Frisians and the Oldenburgers. The Burg Vri-Jade on the Jade River, built at the beginning of the fifteenth century by the Oldenburg counts Dietrich and Christian VI, was soon destroyed by the East Frisians. In the mid-fifteenth century, however, Count Gerhard VI of Oldenburg built a new castle in order to be able to better subjugate the East Frisians. This led to new hostilities between these fierce rivals. Westerstede and Apen went up in flames and the East Frisians in turn were defeated near Burg Mansingen near Westerstede. In 1462, Gerhard VI had a new border fortress built in Neuenburg in a renewed attempt to subdue the East Frisians. The East Frisian town of Varel had also come under Oldenburg’s sphere of influence after the death of the last chieftain of this place. In 1475, the son of Gerhard VI, Adolph, was captured by East Frisia and imprisoned in the castle of Berum. Gerhard VI had made many enemies in the meantime and was severely cornered by surrounding rulers who had had enough of his warfare and piracy. In 1481, Adolph was released in exchange for the western part of the “Friesische Wehde”[16].
Reign of Edzard the Great (1491-1528)
Campaigns in the East
In 1491, the rule of East Frisia was taken over by Ulrich’s second son: Edzard I. Edzard had also undertaken a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he returned home shortly after his older brother. The Cirksena rule was far from consolidated when Edzard came to power. In 1464, his father had received the proclamation in which East Frisia was described as extending from the ‘Westereems eastwards to the Weser’. However, the eastern part of this area fell outside the sphere of influence of the counts of East Frisia. Edzard, like his father, saw the belonging of the eastern areas to the county of East Frisia as a legal fact that had to be translated into political reality. Edzard therefore began campaigns in the east to make these areas an integral part of his county.
Between 1495 and 1497 he attempted to expel Hero Oomkens from Harlingerland and Edo Wiemken from Jeverland. However, these attempts failed because nearby rulers resisted these attempts to strengthen the county of East Frisia. The Prince-Bishop of Münster, the Count of Oldenburg and the city of Bremen had no interest in a strong East Frisia as a neighbour. Moreover, the local populations of Harlingerland and Jeverland remained loyal to their local rulers. These areas therefore remained outside the reach of the East Frisian counts for the time being.
Edzard had more success further east. Count John V of Oldenburg had subjected the free farmers of Butjadingen and Stadland in the former district of Rüstringen to his rule in April 1499[17]. When they revolted in 1500, Edzard supported them. Therefore Butjadingen and Stadland became protectorates of East Frisia and the free peasants submitted to Edzard’s rule. The Butjadingers and Stadlanders were thus freed from Oldenburger tyranny for a while.
The Saxon Feud
Institutional Reform
Subjugation of Harlingerland and Jeverland
Weakening of the Count’s Authority (1528-1611)
The Reformation in East Frisia
Loss of the Eastern part of the Peninsula
The Rise of the East Frisian Estates
Religious Disorder
Fraternal Strife and the Division of the County
The Emden Revolution
Supremacy of the East Frisian Estates (1611-1682)
Annexation of the Harlingerland
Hardships of the Thirty Years’ War
Weak Leadership
Absolutist Tendencies
Downfall of the Cirksena Dynasty (1682-1744)
Brandenburg-Prussia’s Claims to East Frisia
Brief Revival of Princely Authority
Civil War and the Final End of Cirksena Rule
Under Prussian Rule (1744-1807)
Transfer of Power
East Frisia at the Time of the Seven Years’ War
The End of East Frisia as a Sovereign Entity
Government and politics
Government system
Territorial Lord
Chancellery
Privy Council
East Frisian Estates
City of Emden
Administrative divisions
Ämter
Lordships
Law and judiciary
Military
Army
Navy
Fortifications
See also
References
- ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Historisches Lexikon der deutschen Länder. Die deutschen Territorien vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart, Munich, 1995, pp. 451–52
- ^ Enno Eimers: Die Eingliederung Ostfrieslands in den preußischen Staat, in: Baumgart, Integration, S. 119-168.
- ^ Gehrmann, Bevölkerungsgesch., S 461.
- ^ Ubbo Emmius: Friesische Geschichte, Frankfurt am Main, 1980-1982
- ^ Eggerik Beninga: Historie van Oost-Frieslant, Emden, 1723
- ^ Nirrnheim, H. (1890). Hamburg und Ostfriesland in der ersten Hälfte des 15. Jahrhunderts. Ein Beitrag zur hansisch-friesischen Geschichte. Hamburg
- ^ Klaus Brandt, Hajo van Lengen, Heinrich Schmidt, Walter Deeters: Geschichte der Stadt Emden von den Anfängen bis 1611. Verlag Rautenberg, Leer 1994 (Ostfriesland im Schutze des Deiches, Band 10), S. 110.
- ^ Karl Ernst Hermann Krause (1892), “Sibo“, Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 34, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 138–139
- ^ Walter Deeter Theda, in: Biographisches Lexikon für Ostfriesland
- ^ Ostfriesland. (no date). https://web.archive.org/web/20090201105710/http://www.niedersachsen.de/master/C32678_N15042_L20_D0_I198.html
- ^ Hajo van Lengen (2024, 31 juli). Ulrich I. (um 1408-1466). Bibliothek. https://bibliothek.ostfriesischelandschaft.de/cirksena/ulrich-i/
- ^ Walter Deeters (2024, 31 juli). Theda (1432-1494). Bibliothek. https://bibliothek.ostfriesischelandschaft.de/cirksena/theda/
- ^ Heinrich Schmidt: Politische Geschichte Ostfrieslands (Ostfriesland im Schutze des Deiches, Bd. 5), Verlag Rautenberg, Leer 1975, o. ISBN, S. 99.
- ^ Heinrich Schmidt: Politische Geschichte Ostfrieslands (Ostfriesland im Schutze des Deiches, Bd. 5), Verlag Rautenberg, Leer 1975, o. ISBN, S. 119f.
- ^ Walter Deeters (2024, 31 juli). Enno I. (um 1460-1491). Bibliothek. https://bibliothek.ostfriesischelandschaft.de/cirksena/enno-i/
- ^ “Gerhard (Gerd) VI. der Mutige”. Deutsche Biographie. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- ^ Michael Schütz, “Die Konsolidierung des Erzstiftes unter Johann Rode”, in: see references for bibliographical details, vol. II: pp. 263–278, here p. 266. ISBN 978-3-9801919-8-2.
