BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
 
 PIERS GAVESTON 
 
 PRESS OPINIONS 
 
 "We can heartily congratulate Mr W. P. Dodge on producing a 
 really excellent monograph in Piers Gaveston, both well written and 
 singularly complete. So painstaking has he been in consulting original 
 authorities, both printed and MS., that his study of seven somewhat 
 obscure years of English history is not likely soon to be superseded. . . . 
 He shows a care for accuracy and a patience of investigation which 
 would do credit to the most experienced historian." — Literature. 
 
 "Mr Dodge's careful portrait of the man, drawn from the contem- 
 porary records, will afford useful material for the future historian of the 
 fourteenth century." — Academy. 
 
 "As a chapter of early history, the work is distinctly valuable, and 
 the student of history will be grateful to Mr Dodge for the care and 
 industry which he has brought to bear on the subject. . . . The book 
 is admirably got up, and contains a number of interesting illustrations." 
 — Publishers' Circular. 
 
 " The book is of undoubted historical interest, and is well and care- 
 fully written."— H^or/^. 
 
 " The monograph is most exact and painstaking, and the view taken 
 is correct." — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 "It is a painstaking and conscientious account of one who was 
 'practically Dictator of England,' and supplies a distinct want in 
 English \i\%\.oxy."— Antiquary. 
 
 " The book deserves very careful reading."— .SZ/awJ^/j Budget. 
 
 " Mr Dodge has produced a work of genuine value."— Z^azTy News.
 
 PRESS OPimONS— continued. 
 
 " Mr Dodge not only gives us such a detailed life of Gaveston as is 
 now compilable, but he gives us also an informing sketch of the 
 development of Constitution during the reign of Edward I." — Literary 
 World. 
 
 *' It may well be doubted whether a professed historian could have 
 made more of the frivolous favourite of King Edward II. than he has 
 done. . . . The suggestive view of Gaveston's character presented by 
 Mr Dodge is supported at all points by a wide and well-digested 
 learning in the original writers of the fourteenth century. . . . No one 
 whi prizes history could regret to read {Piers Gaveston) ; for there is no 
 other book that gives so complete an account of its subject ; few 
 historical monographs so readable." — Scotsman. 
 
 " Mr Dodge's volume is worthy of perusal, both as an interesting 
 narrative and as a careful piece of historical work. . . . Mr Dodge 
 has shown great industry in bringing together the facts of Gaveston's 
 career, and considerable skill in weaving these into a succinct story." — 
 Dundee Advertiser. 
 
 " Mr Dodge's volume is an engrossing record of a strange person- 
 ality." — Aberdeen Free Press. 
 
 " He has made a considerable and careful research, and has pro- 
 duced a book which is a real contribution to the history of our own 
 countr}'," — Baptist Times. 
 
 Illustrated, Demy %vo, cloth, 12s. 
 
 LONDON 
 T. FISHER UNWIN 
 
 PATERNOSTER SQUARE, E.C,
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE
 
 COUNTESS THi;rA, 
 
 .•IKE OK L-I.RK-H Ol' CIUKSENA, MUST COINT OK KAST KHISIA. 
 
 From a porlrait in the 'J own Hall 
 at Auricli | 
 
 [F lonllspiccc.
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO 
 PRINCE 
 
 BEING A HISTORY OF 
 
 THE RISE OF THE HOUSE OF CIRKSENA 
 
 BY 
 
 WALTER PHELPS DODGE 
 
 MIDDLE TEMPLE, BARRISTER-AT-LAW ; FELLOW ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY: 
 FELLOW AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY; AUTHOR OF " PIERS GAVESTON " 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 LONDON 
 
 T. FISHER UNWIN 
 
 I 90 I
 
 [j4// rights resentd].
 
 TO 
 
 MY COUSIN 
 JOHN CHESTER ENO 

 
 CONTENTS 
 
 THE ANCIENT LORDSHIP OF EAST FRISIA 
 EARLY FRISIAN HISTORY . 
 THE ORIGINS OF GOVERNMENT IN FRISIA 
 THE EARLIER COUNTS — ENNO I. 
 
 COUNT EDZARD I 
 
 ENNO n 
 
 THE REIGN OF ENNO II. — {rontinued) 
 EDZARD II., CHRISTOPHER, AND JOHN 
 THE LATER COUNTS — COUNT ENNO III. 
 FRISIA OF TO-DAY .... 
 APPENDIX 
 
 1 
 11 
 
 23 
 37 
 53 
 71 
 
 87 
 105 
 129 
 149 
 159
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PORTRAIT OF COUNTESS THEDA 
 MONUMENT AT UPSTALLSBOOM . 
 PORTRAIT OF ULRICH I. . 
 PORTRAIT OF ENNO I. 
 PORTRAIT OF EDZARD I. (THE GREAT) 
 PORTRAIT OF ENNO II. . 
 GOLD COINS OF EAST FRISIA . 
 TOMB OF ENNO II. . 
 EFFIGY ON TOMB OF ENNO II. 
 SILVER COINS OF EAST FRISIA 
 PORTRAIT OF ENNO III. . 
 ANOTHER PORTRAIT OF ENNO III. 
 
 . Frontispiece 
 
 To face page 26 
 
 41 
 
 51 
 
 63 
 
 74 
 
 85 
 
 96 
 
 102 
 
 117 
 
 132 
 
 143
 
 THE ANCIENT LORDSHIP OF 
 EAST FRISIA
 
 THE ANCIENT LORDSHIP OF EAST 
 FRISIA 
 
 JUTTING out into the North Sea, its low 
 coasts beaten always by the harsh winds 
 and stormy waves of the German Ocean, is the 
 ancient Lordship of East Frisia. Now a part of 
 the ever-widening kingdom of Prussia, memories 
 of its former history as an independent land are 
 growing dim ; and the stout old warriors of the 
 House of Cirksena, Count Ulrich and his 
 descendants, have almost vanished in the mist 
 of the Middle Ages. 
 
 East Frisia, however, as a country, and the 
 Cirksena as its Counts, may claim a place in 
 history, for their qualities as men, as soldiers, 
 and as rulers are worthy of careful consideration. 
 There is something pathetic in the contemplation 
 of this vanished state. Its rulers were men of 
 eminence and renown in their day, and their 
 
 1 A
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 position in the feudal German Empire under the 
 Habsburgs was neither unimportant nor in- 
 considerable. 
 
 The story of the gradual rise of the Chief of 
 Gretsyl, the Head of the House of Cirksena, to 
 the dignity of Count and Prince of East Frisia, is 
 well worthy of study, and is not lacking in 
 elements of romance. 
 
 The origin of the House of Gretsyl or the 
 House of Cirksena, as it is indijfferently called, is 
 referred to by Herr Ehrenreich Gerhard Coldewej^ 
 an East Frisian Councillor and Chancellor, in a 
 rare " poem," written (to celebrate the twenty- 
 sixth birthday of Carl Edzard, the last Count 
 and Prince of East Frisia), on 16th January 
 
 1741. 
 
 According to the author, there is no need to 
 prove " the blameless antiquity of the most 
 noble and princely House of East Frisia." 
 
 The Deriod of time between the accession of 
 Ulrich as Head- Chief in 1441, his appoint- 
 ment as first Count of East Frisia in 1454, and 
 the death of his descendant, Enno III., in 1625, 
 
 is rich in incident and valuable to students of 
 
 2
 
 THE AXCIEXT LORDSHIP OF EAST FRISIA 
 
 history, as illustrating the inevitable forward 
 movement so strongly marked in the German 
 race durincr the sixteenth and seventeenth 
 centuries. 
 
 The rulers of East Frisia knew their people, 
 for they were of them. This, however, did not 
 detract from their dignity. The fact that Enno 
 III. issued, in addition to the ordinary coinage 
 of the time, square coins, or Miijpes, which were 
 both artistic and costly, is in itself significant and 
 valuable as a testimony to his wealth and standing. 
 Such square coins were, as a rule, struck only by 
 Princes whose position and treasure enabled 
 them by this means to satisfy their pride and 
 desire for fame. These klippes were issued by 
 several German Princes, notably by the Prince 
 Archbishop of Salsburg. 
 
 As an independant state in the Holy Ptoman 
 
 Empire, as a Prussian possession after the death 
 
 of the last Prince Carl Edzard in 1744, as a 
 
 conquest of the first Napoleon, as a part of 
 
 Holland, again of Prussia, then of Hanover and 
 
 now finally as a province of Prussia since 1866, 
 
 East Frisia, the modern Ost-Friesland, the 
 
 3
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 Frisia Orientalis of the old coins, is always to 
 be regarded with interest. 
 
 Among its towns, Aurich is quaint and 
 picturesque ; while the smaller islands of 
 Wangeroog and Spiekeroog are curious, and 
 have a flavour of old German life. The Frisian 
 people still preserve the qualities that sent many 
 families (including some allied to the reigning 
 House), in stout assertion of their principles, to 
 England, and to the Connecticut Colony of 1628, 
 when England was literally a sea-girt isle, the 
 conquests of the present day undreamed of, and 
 America was known as but a trackless waste. A 
 study of the admirable series of portraits at 
 Aurich, together with the busts on the Frisian 
 coins, enable one to discover what manner 
 of men were the Counts of the House of 
 Cirksena. 
 
 Strong-featured, square-jawed, with promi- 
 nent nose and haughty air, all show a striking 
 family likeness, from the founder of the line 
 in 1441 to the last Prince in 1744. 
 
 Note. — The Enos of Sinisbury in Connecticut are of Frisian 
 ancestry.
 
 THE AXCIENT LORDSHIP OF EAST FRISIA 
 
 The marriages of the Frisian Counts show 
 in a way not to be mistaken, their position in 
 those courtly days, when birth alone was re- 
 garded, and a morganatic union was held as 
 little less than a crime. 
 
 In that age blood was more than wealth, and 
 the modern Cro?sus had not laid his vulgaris- 
 ing hand upon the marriage bed. Money was 
 then regarded merely as means to an end, and 
 not as the supreme end itself. Men had 
 broader minds, and the modern petty sordid 
 worship of gold for gold's sake was un- 
 known. 
 
 The House of Cirksena was, as a rule, both 
 fortunate and wise in avoiding matrimonial 
 entanglements ; the second Edzard, indeed, 
 aspired to a Eoyal alliance, and married the 
 Princess Catherine of Sweden, daughter of 
 Gustavus I. Their son succeeded, as Enno III., 
 in later days to the Frisian sovereignty. 
 Possibly this strain of the Blood Royal of 
 Sweden may account for the fact that 
 Enno III., although unfortunate, was one 
 of the bravest Counts of his House. Both
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 he and his grandfather, Enno II., stand out 
 notably as warriors in the long succession of 
 Frisian rulers, although Edzard I. was greatest 
 in statesmanship. 
 
 The position of Ost-Friesland, or East Frisia, 
 on the bleak North Sea, wind-swept, and far 
 from rich of soil, necessarily made the struggle 
 for existence within its borders a hard and 
 breathless one, and one in which the strongest 
 could alone survive. This would account for 
 the sturdy physique and great endurance 
 of the Frisians, shown in many a grim cam- 
 paign. 
 
 The country played no small part in the 
 History of Europe, particularly during the 
 Thirty Years' War from 1618 to 1648. Its 
 records teach the value of that thrift which is 
 so peculiarly Teutonic, and the prosperity that 
 may come to a small country fortunate in its 
 rulers, when, as in this case, they were typically 
 German in their sturdy lives, in which the 
 Sturm und drang of existence was not lacking. 
 
 In fact, apart from its Counts, East Frisia 
 had little history ; for men like the first Edzard
 
 THE ANCIENT LORDSHIP OE EAST FEISIA 
 
 and the second Enno were given to saying, like 
 the Great Louis, ''LEtat cest moi," and 
 perhaps with more reason. 
 
 Masterful in temper, wielding over their 
 small dominion a power ample in spite of 
 its limitations, they owned a nominal allegiance 
 to the "Komanorum Imperator," whose bust 
 appears on the reverse of so many of their 
 coins. 
 
 The Counts of East Frisia may be called the 
 Fathers of their people. Their rule was no 
 harsh despotism, it was a system of Government 
 at once benevolent and firm. 
 
 The Frisians from the earliest times have 
 given proof of a sturdy love of liberty, and 
 while they have ever yielded a willing obedience 
 to all reasonable commands of their ruling; 
 House, they could never forget that their 
 Count was originally but Chief of the House of 
 Gretsyl, a noble house in Frisia. 
 
 A leading characteristic of the Frisian people 
 has been their constant but firm opposition to 
 all aggressive interference with what they 
 were wont to consider their rights. It mattered
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 little to them whether this interference came 
 from their enemies or from their kinsfolk. 
 Their resentment in either case was keen, and 
 apt to assume a form dangerous to the offender, 
 although honourable to themselves. 
 
 It is a legitimate subject for speculation 
 whether " the people," that patient mass of good 
 and stupid workers who make a country, alto- 
 gether approve of the changes in East Frisia 
 during the last two hundred years, in which 
 they have been in succession Free Frisians, 
 Prussian, Dutch, French, Hanoverian and 
 Prussian again. If the reigning House had 
 not finally failed of issue in 1744, when the 
 last Count and Prince died, the King of 
 Prussia could not, as he did, have taken pos- 
 session of East Frisia, in consequence of the 
 reversion given to the Electoral House of 
 Brandenburg in 1694 by the Emperor 
 Leopold I. 
 
 There misht still be Princes of Frisia, but for 
 
 a trick of the Bona Dea who presides over 
 
 births; and Carl Edzard, instead of having 
 
 the somewhat dubious distinction of being the 
 
 8
 
 THE ANCIENT LORDSHIP OF EAST FRISIA 
 
 last Prince, might have given a much- wished 
 continuance to the line of Gretsyl, 
 
 East Frisia's record as an independent country 
 is a respectable one. Three hundred years is a 
 long period in which much may happen. There 
 is much in what did happen during a portion 
 of this time, from 1441 to 1625, to repay a 
 little study of the history of the Imperial 
 County; while the deeds of "derring-do" 
 which signalised the reigns of the earlier 
 Counts of the House of Cirksena are worthy 
 to be recorded. 
 
 There is a curious and interesting similarity 
 in the history of the Cirksena in Frisia and 
 the Medici in Florence. Both Houses owed 
 their origin to a noble of the State, the Cirksena 
 to Ulrich, who died in 1466, and the Medici 
 to Giovanni de' Medici, who died in 1428. East 
 Frisia had its Edzard the Great, who died in 
 1528 ; Florence, its Lorenzo the Magnificent, who 
 died in 1492. 
 
 Frisia had its religious reformer in Aportanus, 
 Florence in Savonarola. 
 
 The Frisians rebelled against Enno HI. in
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 1601, as the Florentines had in earlier days 
 rebelled as^ainst Piero de' Medici. 
 
 In 1454 Ulrich was made Imperial Count 
 of East Frisia ; in 1531 Alessandro de' Medici 
 was created hereditary Duke of Florence ; both 
 under the supreme sovereignty of the Emperor. 
 
 In 1654 Count Enno Ijudwig was made 
 Prince of East Frisia, in 1569 Duke Cosimo 
 (de' Medici) was created Grand Duke of 
 Florence. 
 
 The House of Cirksena died out with Carl 
 Edzard, the last Count and Prince of East 
 Frisia in 1744. The line of the Medici became 
 extinct at the death of the Grand Duke Gian 
 Gastone, in 1737. 
 
 The broad outlines of history are made the 
 more distinct by an occasional bit of shading 
 in the form of an historical parenthesis ; and 
 the Edzards and Ennos of the House of Cirksena 
 in East Frisia deserve at least a footnote in the 
 archives of history. 
 
 10
 
 EARLY FRISIAN HISTORY
 
 EARLY FRISIAN HISTORY 
 
 'T^HE first references to Frisia found are, 
 as one would expect, in Tacitus and in 
 the Latin chronicles of the Middle Ages ; they 
 fail, however, to distinguish East Frisia from 
 Frisia as a whole. Indeed, up to the death 
 of Louis the Child in 911 and for some time 
 after, there was no real division into East and 
 West Frisia. 
 
 Of all German peoples, the Frisians, as their 
 national records prove, maintained longest their 
 full birthright of national freedom. They were 
 never slow to ofter resistance to all attempted 
 force and oppression, whether from within or 
 without. 
 
 Their history is a record, often blood-stained, 
 
 of constant struggle and infrec[uent success, and 
 
 yet the indomitable Teutonic spirit is clearly 
 
 visible in all their failures which were more 
 
 13
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 like victories on account of their ignorance of 
 
 the meaning of the word to fail. 
 
 The Frisians (Frisii, in mediseval Latin 
 
 Frisones, in their own language Frisan) were 
 
 originally a number of Germanic tribes who 
 
 lived, at the time of the Roman Conquest, on 
 
 the shores of the North Sea, between the Rhine 
 
 and the Ems, to the east of the Bataver. 
 
 Tacitus speaks of the greater and lesser Frisians, 
 
 without defining their relative positions. "The 
 
 Frisians," says Tacitus, " are an industrious 
 
 people, gaining their living by agriculture as 
 
 well as by fishing." According to Meyer, 
 
 Drusus, on his expedition to the north-west 
 
 coast of Germany, made the Frisians pay tribute 
 
 to Rome ; it appears that they even helped 
 
 Drusus, and afterwards Germanicus, in various 
 
 expeditions. The centurion Olennius, however, 
 
 having ill-treated them, they revolted, and 
 
 defeated the Romans in several engagements. 
 
 Later on the Frisians took possession of some 
 
 small sand isles formed at the mouths of the 
 
 Rhine, Maas, and Schelde. In 57, becoming 
 
 bolder, they took possession of a frontier district 
 
 14
 
 EARLY FRIvSIAN HISTORY 
 
 which the Roman Governor ordered them to 
 
 give up, unless they could obtain a concession 
 
 from the Emperor. In order to obtain this, 
 
 Verritus and Malorix, two Frisian leaders, went 
 
 to Rome, and were so esteemed for their bravery 
 
 and for their self-confidence that Nero made 
 
 them Roman citizens. After bestowing this 
 
 honour upon them, however, he commanded 
 
 them to give up the district which the Frisians 
 
 had annexed. They refused, and returned to 
 
 Frisia to organise an armed resistance, which 
 
 proved futile, as Nero drove them out by force. 
 
 Henceforth the Frisians are seldom mentioned 
 
 by the old chroniclers except now and then 
 
 as bold sea-pirates. They took part in the 
 
 Anglo-Saxon invasion of England, and several 
 
 families settled in that country. In the early 
 
 Middle Ages the name of the tribe spread far to 
 
 the East. Frisia at that time extended along 
 
 the North Sea from the River Sincfal (the 
 
 modern Zwin which runs into the German 
 
 Ocean near Sluis) to the Weser in the East. 
 
 The country was divided into three parts : 
 
 West Frisia, comprising the present provinces 
 
 15
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 of Zeeland, South and North Holland, and a 
 part of Utrecht ; Central Frisia, which was the 
 present province of Frisia ; and East Frisia, 
 which included the present Dutch province of 
 Groningen, the Prussian East Frisia, and part of 
 Oldenburg. The Frisians, who were evidently 
 given to exploration, are also mentioned by 
 Meyer as being present in the West, and on 
 the Isles of Nordstrand and Sylt, while there 
 was a " Frisia Minor " in Denmark. In the 
 sixth century the Frisians were engaged in a long 
 and bloody war with the Franks. Christianity 
 was not established among the Frisians with- 
 out much storm and stress. The King of 
 the Franks, Dagobert (622-638), being anxious 
 for the conversion of the Frisians, founded in 
 Utrecht a mission ; but he seems to have met 
 with little encouragement, for it was soon 
 destroyed. Forty years later the Saxon Wilfred, 
 Archbishop of York, a man of some tact, was 
 more kindly treated by the Frisians, and their 
 Chief, Aldgisl, gave him a grudging permission 
 to preach as a missionary. Ratbod, the son 
 
 and successor of Aldgisl, became involved in 
 
 16
 
 EARLY FRISIAN HISTORY 
 
 a war with Pepin of Heristall, who defeated 
 him at Wyk-te-Duerstede, and forced him to 
 surrender West Frisia in 689. The next year 
 St Willibrord appears to have come as a 
 missionary to Frisia, and is said to have visited 
 the island of Heligoland. After Pepin's death 
 Ratbod, who was sulking under a sense of defeat, 
 tried hard to shake off the hated Prankish 
 supremacy. He regained West Frisia, went up 
 the Rhine, and landed at Cologne. In the year 
 716 he defeated Charles Martell, and returned 
 home with much rich booty. Under the in- 
 fluence of his advisers he destroyed the churches 
 and re-introduced Paganism, quite in the manner 
 of Julian the Apostate. He died in 719, and 
 under his successor, Aldgisl II., West Frisia was 
 again lost, and Willibrord, who had fled during the 
 war, returned in triumph to Utrecht, which now 
 became the seat of the Bishopric for the whole 
 of the Frisian country. 
 
 As yet Christianity had not spread beyond 
 the boundaries of Central Frisia, for the worship 
 of the old gods was stirring in the hearts of the 
 
 people. St Boniface was killed by the Frisians 
 
 17 B
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 at the village of Dokkum, near Leeuwarden, in 
 755. 
 
 In the meanwhile Charles Martell, irritated by 
 his previous repulse, had undertaken a second 
 expedition against Frisia and gained a victory 
 over Poppo, Aldgisl's successor, although the 
 Frisians fought as bravely as usual. After the 
 date of this battle there is no mention for some 
 time of one ruler who controlled all parts of 
 Frisia. At the head of the single districts were 
 Governors chosen by the people, who, it seems, 
 had even then some absurd form of constitution. 
 They were constantly quarrelling among them- 
 selves ; indeed, Charles the Great (Charlemagne) 
 once had to quell an inter-tribal rising among the 
 Frisians who had taken part in the Saxon war, 
 and, as a result of his interference, Frisia was 
 for a time a province of the Frankish realm, 
 and Christianity flourished in spite of strong 
 opposition. 
 
 After the interference of Charlemagne — an 
 
 interference necessary, but regarded by the 
 
 Frisians with dislike — commerce and navigation 
 
 became the chief occupations of the Frisians ; 
 
 18
 
 EAKLY FRISIAN HISTORY 
 
 their ships sailed to foreign countries, and 
 Frisian merchants met in different parts, 
 even in England. Trade flourished, and piracy- 
 gave place to more peaceful methods of 
 gain. 
 
 The Frisians accepted the Governors appointed 
 by Charlemagne only on condition that they 
 should still be governed by Frisian laws. Either 
 at the time of Charlemagne, or perhaps even 
 earlier, the Lex Frisionum, the Frisian code of 
 law, was compiled, a code that may well 
 challenge comparison with that of Edward I., 
 the " English Justinian," although the Frisian 
 code was, of course, less complete. These laws 
 still exist in the Asegahuch in the old Frisian 
 language (which occupies an intermediate posi- 
 tion between Anglo-Saxon and Norse) and in 
 Latin. 
 
 The Carolingian constitution was also intro- 
 duced into Frisia during the period of Frankish 
 domination, but many old customs and institu- 
 tions of the Teutonic order were retained in 
 deference to the strongly-expressed wish of the 
 
 Frisian people. 
 
 19
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 As a result of the curious Treaty of Verdun (in 
 843), Frisia formed for a time part of Lorraine. 
 By the Treaty of Mersen (in 870), the north part 
 of the country became a German province, while 
 the south part remained a French possession ; 
 but in 880 even this south part was united with 
 the German Empire. When in 911 Lorraine 
 was taken from Germany and united with the 
 West Frankish kingdom, Frisia remained 
 faithful to Conrad L The Frisians in all their 
 varied changes of nationality have ever remained 
 consistently Teutonic. 
 
 During the Middle Ages Frisia remained 
 a " special province," the boundaries being 
 the Weser, the Wapel, a straight line to 
 the Ems, and in the south, the Maas and 
 the Rhine. Subsequently West Frisia was 
 separated from the other parts of Frisia, 
 and its history was never again the 
 same. 
 
 The real history of East Frisia begins with the 
 accession of Edzard in 1430 as the first recognised 
 head of nearly all East Frisia and the appoint- 
 ment of LTlrich in 1454 as the first Imperial 
 
 20
 
 EARLY FRISIAX HISTORY 
 
 Count. Before that time a confused mass of 
 legends does duty for historical record. Before, 
 however, considering the work done by the 
 Frisian rulers, it is wise to try to understand 
 how they became rulers, and over what type of 
 people they ruled. 
 
 31
 
 THE ORIGINS OF GOVERNMENT 
 IN FRISIA
 
 THE ORIGINS OF GOVERNMENT IN 
 FRISIA 
 
 T^HE inhabitants of Frisia were from the 
 beginning divided into three distinct 
 classes — nobles, citizens, and peasants — who 
 enjoyed on the whole almost equal rights and 
 privileges in all things. In the course of time 
 and in the interests of order, the people divided 
 the land into districts, and each district elected 
 for itself a ruler, who was called the Chief or 
 Grietmann. This personage administered the 
 law and was responsible for public order. He 
 performed his magisterial duties strictly accord- 
 ing to the ancient Frisian rights and customs, 
 and was obeyed without question, although he 
 claimed no sovereign rights. For the settle- 
 ment of affairs which concerned the whole 
 country, a General Assembly was held every 
 
 year, on Whit Tuesday, at Upstallsboom, a place 
 
 25
 
 FKOM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 hidden in the woods about two miles west of 
 Aurich. Three tall and broad oak-trees origin- 
 ally stood at Upstallsboom and gave the place 
 its name, which may be rendered as "at the 
 planted trees " {ad statutas arhores). A pyra- 
 midal monument at Upstallsboom com- 
 memorates this custom. At this Assembly 
 special enquiries were made as to any 
 disputes among the people, and all such 
 disao-reements were there and then deter- 
 mined. If any one wished for more privi- 
 leges he was allow^ed to state his wish, and 
 if, on investigation, it appeared reasonable, 
 his desire was granted. 
 
 At this time also every year an earnest 
 endeavour was made to lighten as far as 
 possible any heavy burden imposed upon the 
 people of a particular district. For the sake 
 of general safety the seven coast districts 
 made a league for mutual help and protection 
 against the Normans and South Saxons, so 
 that if one district out of the seven should 
 be attacked the other six would come at once 
 to its aid. This league was known as the 
 
 26
 
 MONUMENT AT UPSTALLSBOOM 
 
 TO COMMEMORATE THE ANNUAL ASSEMBLY OS WHIT-TUESDAY. 
 
 From a photograph.] 
 
 { To face page 26.
 
 THE ORIGINS OF GOVERNMENT IN FRISIA 
 
 " Sieben Friesischen Seelande." It was a 
 wise provision of this alliance that in case 
 one of the seven should prove disloyal to 
 the other six, and untrue to the alliance, 
 the remaining six should compel the recal- 
 citrant one to come to an agreement, in order 
 that it might not allow itself to be united 
 to any foreign power, nor be enabled to 
 permit the general enemy to travel by land 
 and water, or to trade freely within its 
 borders. In these ancient privileges the 
 Frisians were confirmed by the Emperor 
 Sigismund in a comprehensive statute issued 
 from Constance on 30th September, 1417, 
 which contained the following provisions : — 
 
 1. That they, " the free Frisians " (as the Emperor 
 explicitly names them), or all the dwellers in 
 East and West Friesland, men and women, 
 young and old, should continue to enjoy in 
 perpetuity all their rights, honours, liberties, 
 favours, and customs, in common with all other 
 loyal and zealous subjects of the Empire ; and 
 that no Emperor should have right and power 
 to take away, cut off, sell, pledge, or in any 
 way aHenate from them the whole or any part 
 of their realm ; also that all previous unlawful 
 27
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 divisions, gifts, sales, or pledgings of the land 
 on what pretexts soever, should be held null 
 and void. 
 
 2. Although this realm (Frisia) might not be bur- 
 
 dened with any rates or taxes either then or in 
 future, it should nevertheless be obliged, in 
 return for the protection afforded to it by the 
 Empire, to pay yearly, on Ascension Day, an 
 Imperial Penny (Kaiser -Groschen) for each 
 hearth or family ; which Imperial Penny 
 should be stamped at Lowarden, and twenty of 
 which should equal in value a half noble, and 
 sixteen a Ehenish gold gulden. The Chiefs 
 (Grrietmdnfier) were strictly to levy this tribute 
 in their districts and deliver it to the Imperial 
 Treasury. 
 
 3. In return the Emperor promised, to quote his own 
 
 exact words : " We hereby promise that we will 
 never place over or give as ruler or governor 
 to the dwellers in or inhabitants of Friesland a 
 prince either spiritual or secular, count, baron, 
 nobleman, knight, or knightly person, patrician 
 or plebeian, or any other person whatsoever, of 
 what condition or under any circumstances 
 whatever, but we hereby do confirm to them 
 the full liberty to be ruled by their own Chiefs 
 {Grietmdnner), judges, and officials, according to 
 their ancient customs and laws, as they have 
 been preserved to this day." 
 So Sigismund pledged his Imperial word. 
 28
 
 THE ORIGINS OF GOVERNMEXT IX FRISIA 
 
 The Chancellor Brenneysen, indeed, in his 
 very confused and biassed " History of Ost 
 Friesland" (vol. i. bk. ii. ch. 17, p. 32), 
 attempts to weaken the meaning of this 
 Imperial statute by stating that it applied 
 only to West Frisia. It is impossible, how- 
 ever, to mistake the words : "To all our 
 honoured and chosen dwellers in, and inhabi- 
 tants of, both East and West Frisia, 
 commonly known as the free Frisians," which 
 occur quite at the beginning. This writer has 
 ignored the word " East," apparently on account 
 of his prejudice against the East Frisian rights 
 and customs. He is also in error in attribut- 
 ing to the Frisian Chiefs (or Grietmdnner) of 
 that time an authority in their districts as 
 great, if not greater, than that exercised by 
 the counts and lords of other places in Ger- 
 many. He asserts, too, that this authority 
 was ratified by the statute. As a matter of 
 fact, the statute confirmed the title of each 
 and every inhabitant of the land to their 
 ancient liberties and lawful rights. Had the 
 
 Chiefs really been reigning lords, the Emperor 
 
 29
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 would Dot have been able to promise the 
 Frisians never to set a Governor over them. 
 Where the Emperor could place a Governor 
 there could have been no reigning lord. If 
 the Chiefs of that time, whose very names 
 the Emperor did not hold worthy of mention, 
 had been the hereditary lords of the free 
 Frisians, the Emperor would hardly say, as 
 he did, " And because we believed it to be 
 worthy, right, and reasonable that the before- 
 named dwellers in and inhabitants of East 
 Frisia, who form a part, and indeed a 
 worthy and important part, of our empire, 
 should recognise and reverence ourselves and 
 our successors as their true, natural, and law- 
 ful lords, in token of their veneration and 
 submission as subjects of the Empire, etc." 
 One would hardly care to accuse the Emperor, 
 in so many words, of untruthfulness, yet this 
 is what the learned Chancellor practically 
 does. The fact that the Imperial tribute was 
 not paid by the Frisians direct to the Emperor, 
 but first to the Chief, and by him passed on, 
 
 is also brought forward by Brenneysen as a 
 
 30
 
 THE ORIGINS OF GOVERNMENT IN FRISIA 
 
 proof that the Chiefs were sovereign lords 
 like the Counts and Princes of the Empire, 
 This, however, no more makes these Chiefs 
 sovereign lords than it does the State Treasurer, 
 It is rather absurd to consider these East 
 Frisian country squires, for that was really 
 the rank of the district Chiefs, as the equals 
 of the Counts of the Empire ! If the con- 
 tention of the Chancellor is true, these Chiefs, 
 equally with the Count of Oldenburg, must 
 have been addressed as " Noble Sir." This 
 was certainly not the case, and the Count 
 of Oldenburg would have been quick to 
 resent any such attempt to assume equality 
 on the part of Frisian Grietmdniier. As a 
 matter of fact, there was no Chief of all 
 Frisia before 1430 or 1441. Prior to that 
 time the district Chiefs exercised all needed 
 authority. After the many local rulers had 
 fallen into the greatest possible discord among 
 themselves, a discord that gave rise to feuds 
 destructive to the interests of the country, 
 the faults of the early system became very 
 
 patent, and the need of a more centralised 
 
 31
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 system of government was evident. The 
 
 gradual disappearance of several powerful 
 
 families gave to the remaining houses a 
 
 marked increase of property and wealth, either 
 
 through inheritance or by marriage. Under 
 
 such circumstances, the family of the Chief 
 
 of Gretsyl, the House of Cirksena, already of 
 
 great influence, became important above all 
 
 others. Gretsyl was a castle with a small 
 
 estate, lying on the sea-coast, far to the 
 
 north, in the district of Aurich. Its lords 
 
 had, partly by marriage, partly by inheritance, 
 
 and in various other ways, some say by force 
 
 of arms, obtained the estates of difierent Chiefs, 
 
 and were therefore, of all the Frisian nobles, 
 
 the strongest and most feared. As the internal 
 
 disorders continually increased, and the need 
 
 for some remedy became daily more pressing, 
 
 the nobles and heads of households in the 
 
 land of Ems, of whom the more important 
 
 were Enno Edzardna, Okie Imelen, Sibrant, 
 
 Wiart, Grimersum, Edelsum, Uphusen, and 
 
 Carrelspel, with other leading men of the 
 
 land of Skaveren beyond the Jade, met on 
 
 32
 
 THE ORIGINS OF GOVERNMENT IN FRISIA 
 
 St Martin's Eve, 1430, and united together to 
 
 protect themselves by mutual help against all 
 
 enemies. In this movement Enno appears 
 
 to have been the leader ; given the necessity 
 
 the man usually appears, and in this alliance 
 
 undertaken for the good of the whole land, 
 
 Enno's eldest son Edzard proved himself to 
 
 be both wise and brave ; therefore he was 
 
 accepted by certain nobles and some districts 
 
 as their Chief. He was succeeded, in 1441, 
 
 by his younger brother Ulrich, to whom was 
 
 entrusted, in 1453, the administration of justice, 
 
 the subduing of the unruly, the preservation 
 
 of the common peace, and the right to make 
 
 war for the good of the land. Upon this, 
 
 the Chiefs of Osterhusen and Jever, with some 
 
 others jealous of Ulrich, attempted to make 
 
 trouble, and to obtain support from the Duke 
 
 of Burgundy. This persecution compelled 
 
 Ulrich to place in the hands of the Emperor 
 
 Frederick III., as a fief, his various possessions, 
 
 castles, and towns of Emden, Norden, Gretsyl, 
 
 Behrun, Esens, Jever, Friedeburg, Aurich, 
 
 Ehrort, and Stickhausen. The Emperor made 
 
 33 c
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 the fief into a "County" of the Holy Roman 
 Empire, on the Monday after Michaelmas, 
 1454, and appointed Ulrich Count. It is, 
 however, to be noted that the Emperor 
 declared that the land of East Frisia should 
 retain unencroached upon and uninjured the 
 rights and liberties properly belonging to it, 
 and given by his predecessors in the Empire, 
 " in nothing diminished, but in substance un- 
 changeable." 
 
 The growth of East Frisia was also the 
 growth of the House of Gretsyl. Within two 
 and a half hundred years, from a country 
 nobleman of the House of Cirksena, had grown 
 a Count, and later a Prince of East Frisia. Such 
 were the origins of the princely dignity con- 
 ferred upon the House in 1654. It is well to 
 note that the greater rulers of Frisia were 
 Counts, and that the title of Prince was not 
 conferred until both the country and the ruling 
 House had fallen upon evil days, and were 
 declining into the sere and yellow leaf. 
 
 It is not too much to say that the rulers 
 
 of the Frisians were exceptional men. Count 
 
 34
 
 THE ORIGINS OF GOVERNMENT IN FRISIA 
 
 Ulrich not only founded a line but a country. 
 The history of ruler and subject alike proves 
 that the Frisians were brave men bravely led. 
 The Count of East Frisia was in one sense a 
 patriarchal ruler, for he was expected to enter 
 into the family life of the meanest of his subjects. 
 The Count was a mirror of the County, and the 
 County was less than a reflection of its Count. 
 East Frisia sneezed to a man when the Reichs- 
 graf took snuff, and who is bold enough to say 
 its head was not cleared by the process? The 
 record of East Frisia is found in the lives of 
 its Counts, and in considering the one it is 
 necessary to study the other. 
 
 3$
 
 THE EARLIER COUNTS.— ENNO I.
 
 THE EARLIER COUNTS.— ENNO I. 
 
 nPHE long line of Counts and Princes of 'Easi 
 
 Frisia, which died out with the last Prince 
 
 (Carl Edzard), on the 25th of May 1744, sprang 
 
 from Count Ulrich I., the real founder of the 
 
 Cirksena sovereignty. The House of Cirksena 
 
 flourished in all about three hundred and 
 
 fifteen years (from the time of Edzard, the 
 
 brother of Ulrich L, who was accepted as 
 
 ruler by the greater part of East Friesland in 
 
 1430), and produced eight Counts and five 
 
 Princes of the Holy Roman Empire. The 
 
 ancient origin of this family has been clearly 
 
 shown by Eilhard Loringa in his genealogical 
 
 table, where he states that one Cirksena, a 
 
 member of an old patrician family of Norden, 
 
 who afterwards became Lord of Norden and 
 
 Gretsyl, had a brave son Edzard, who, as the 
 
 leader of a large troop of Frisians, fought with 
 
 39
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 King Louis IX. in the crusade of 1249, and 
 
 as a reward received from him the lilies 
 
 quartered on his coat of arms. 
 
 The House of Gretsyl, from the earliest days, 
 
 appears to have enjoyed a certain degree of 
 
 eminence in East Frisia. In rather later times 
 
 the head of the House was " Enno Cirksena, 
 
 Chief in Gretsyl." To him succeeded Edzard, 
 
 who died in 1406, and who married the heiress 
 
 Doda-ten-Brook of Brookmerland ; and Enno 
 
 Edzardna, who flourished between 1406 and 
 
 1450. His wife was Gela Benniga of Manslagt. 
 
 Then came Edzard, the first Chief of part of 
 
 East Frisia, who was chosen in 1430 and died 
 
 in 1441. It is said by a contemporary writer 
 
 that he "dealt out peace to his people." With 
 
 the death of this Edzard, the history proper 
 
 of East Frisia begins, for on his death he was 
 
 succeeded by his brother Ulrich, the first 
 
 Chief of all East Frisia. Ulrich was, after his 
 
 brother's funeral, elected "Regent" by the 
 
 East Frisian States, and was made Lord of 
 
 Emden, Aurich, and Norden. He was later 
 
 (in 1454) created Count of the Empire {Reichs- 
 
 40
 
 
 
 COrXT ILRICH I., 
 
 l--OfN:>KR OF THE CIRKSKNA SOVEREIGNTY. 
 
 I~ioiii an old pyint.] 
 
 To face pa.^c 41.
 
 THE EARLIER COUNTS.— EXNO I. 
 
 graf) by the Emperor, when East Frisia was 
 made a County of the Holy Roman Empire. 
 
 Ulrich, who was courageous, handsome, 
 eloquent, and clever, espoused first the daughter 
 and heiress of the gallant Wibeth of Stedesdorf, 
 the beautiful Lady Foelke, the widow of Hero 
 Omken of Esens. Of this marriage there was, 
 however, no issue, to the grief of both Ulrich 
 and his wife, and to the regret of the 
 people. 
 
 Owing to continual and unfortunate quarrels 
 with Hamburg, Ulrich was compelled, in 1446, 
 to give up temporarily the town of Emden, 
 a measure that did not commend itself to the 
 townspeople. At Aurich he built a square 
 fortress with four towers, which was rebuilt 
 later as a palace. This building no longer 
 exists. To reward his nephew Sibeth Attena 
 of Wittmund, who had fought on his side, 
 Ulrich married him to his own step-daughter 
 Onna. This caused a certain amount of un- 
 favourable criticism. To put a stop to malicious 
 comment, several rebellious nobles who had 
 
 been defeated by Ulrich were allowed to 
 
 41
 
 FROM SQUIEE TO PRINCE 
 
 return about 1453, on condition that they gave 
 up their right of jurisdiction, and promised to act 
 as became loyal and true subjects of the Count. 
 
 About the same time the nobles agreed to 
 regard Ulrich as their supreme Lord as long 
 as he would honour their existing rights. 
 When Ulrich had been a widower and childless 
 for thirteen years, his nobles begged him to 
 marry as his second wife Theda, the heiress of 
 the House of Ukena, the daughter of Uko, and 
 grand-daughter of Focko Ukena of Moormerland. 
 The Pope gave him a dispensation, although 
 Ulrich and Theda were related, and the wedding 
 took place at the Castle of Berum in 1453, the 
 long family feud between the Cirksena and the 
 Ukena thus coming to an end. These families 
 had been the Guelfs and Ghibellines of Frisia. 
 Ulrich, after many diplomatic negotiations, and 
 w^ith the consent of the Frisians, informed the 
 Emperor Frederick III. that he would hold East 
 Frisia as an Imperial fief, if the Emperor would 
 make him a Count of the Empire. The Emperor 
 was willing, and in 1454, Ulrich became 
 Imperial Count and nominal master of Emden, 
 
 42
 
 THE EARLIER COUXTS.— EXXO I. 
 
 as well as Lord of Norden, Gretsyl, Berum, 
 Esens, Jever, Aurich, Leerort, Stickhausen, all the 
 land up to the Weser, with Budjadingerland and 
 Stadland, and all islands near the coast. The 
 Letter of Investiture also bestows similar rank 
 upon his wife and his children, both male and 
 female. Ulrich, who appears to have been a 
 good son of the Church, built churches, and 
 reformed several monasteries. He also, as at 
 Aurich, built a fortress at Berum. His nephew, 
 Sibeth, who was a favourite of his, defeated 
 several rebellious nobles, and became (in 1458) 
 master of Harlingerland. As he was on very 
 friendly terms with Sibeth, Ulrich did not 
 require of him the ordinary Oath of Allegiance, 
 and this omission in later years led to much 
 warfare, and was a fruitful source of trouble. 
 Sirk von Friedeburg, a powerful noble, wished 
 to be independent of Ulrich, and the Count 
 thinking peace necessary for his country, made 
 several concessions both to him and to others in 
 order to prevent civil war. The Emperor re- 
 newed the grant of East Frisia as an Imperial 
 
 fief to Ulrich as Imperial Count in 1464, and to 
 
 43
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 mark the occasion the Imperial Ambassador, 
 
 Palenstein, gave Count Ulrich a sword and a 
 
 flag as emblems of the enfeoffment. This 
 
 enfeoffment cost Ulrich 18,000 gulden, 9000 for 
 
 the Letter of Enfeoffment, and 9000 for the 
 
 Ambassador ; a large sum at that time. Ulrich 
 
 during his reign built many important castles ; 
 
 his expenditure, it appears, was considerable. 
 
 His private means, however, were large. A 
 
 writer of the time says of Ulrich : " He has 
 
 transformed the sword into the plough-share, 
 
 and by his wisdom he has laid the foundation of 
 
 a well-governed state. He has worked for his 
 
 House, but his w^ork and that of his House tend 
 
 to peace, order, public welfare, and education." 
 
 He died at Emden, regretted deeply by his 
 
 people, in 1466. • His corpse was taken to 
 
 Norden and interred with much ceremony in 
 
 the monastery of Marienthal. At his coffin 
 
 stood Grafin Theda with six children all under 
 
 age, a pathetic group enough, but as after 
 
 events proved, Countess Theda craved no man's 
 
 pity. 
 
 As the first recognised ruler of all East Frisia 
 44
 
 THE EARLIER COUXTS.— ENNO I. 
 
 Ulrich deserves a word of praise. He governed, 
 as he fought, wisely and well, and his memory- 
 is still held in reverence by the sturdy inhabi- 
 tants of his country. 
 
 Ulrich made his wdfe, Graiin Theda, as 
 well as his nephew, Sibeth of Harlinger- 
 land, guardians of his children, of whom the 
 eldest was his son Enno, six years old. This 
 proved to be a most wise provision of the 
 late Count, for Theda proved to be an admir- 
 able ruler, and there was peace in the land. 
 The Emperor Frederick III. renewed the fief 
 of Ulrich to his sons. East Frisia thus became 
 a defined County of the Empire, and was 
 separated from West Frisia except in times 
 of danger. 
 
 Gerhard of Oldenburg, a bold soldier, anxious 
 
 for conquest, invaded East Frisia in 1473, 
 
 during the Kegency of Countess Theda. He 
 
 was defeated on his victorious home-march 
 
 by Siweke of Heisfelde, and lost about a 
 
 thousand men. His invasion was renewed in 
 
 the following year w^ith small success. In 
 
 revenge Grafin Theda, with the help of Henry 
 
 45
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 of Schwarzburg, and the Bishops of Bremen 
 
 and Miinster, invaded the enemy's country and 
 
 came as far as Oldenburg. Gerhard then allied 
 
 himself with Duke Charles of Burgundy, and 
 
 again invaded, in 1474, East Frisia. In the 
 
 course of this expedition his son was taken 
 
 prisoner, but he himself escaped. Sirk von 
 
 Friedeburg, a dangerous neighbour of Grafin 
 
 Theda, who had given Ulrich much trouble, 
 
 died at this time. Friedeburg, after protracted 
 
 negotiations, was given up by treaty to Grafin 
 
 Theda. During her Regency commerce as well 
 
 as arms did much for the country, the canal 
 
 between Etzel and Jade was enlarged, and 
 
 ships were enabled to go as far as Friedeburg. 
 
 In 1476 the severity of the season was such 
 
 that seals were often found in inland moats. 
 
 During this winter the excessive cold caused 
 
 great suffering among the poor. After the 
 
 death of Ulrich, the Hansa claimed from Grafin 
 
 Theda the towns of Emden and Leerort, but 
 
 were induced, to make peace. From 1481 
 
 Count Enno took part in the aff'airs of state, 
 
 and soon became sole ruler. Before settling 
 
 46
 
 THE EAELIER COUXTS.— ENNO I. 
 
 down, he wished to see the world, and went 
 to the Holy Land, where he became a Knight 
 of the Holy Sepulchre. Before leaving, the 
 chiefs of the country did homage to him and 
 his brothers Edzard and Uko. Enno started 
 in May 1489, accompanied by Folef von Knip- 
 hausen, and Victor Frese, a descendant of the 
 family Frese von Weyhe of Bremen, who had 
 come to East Frisia a short time before. 
 During Enno's absence a romantic incident 
 occurred in his family. Engelmann of Friede- 
 burg, a brave knight, whom Theda had made 
 Warden of the Castle, had fallen in love with. 
 the Lady Almuth, Enno's youngest sister, and 
 a beautiful girl. As Countess Theda was 
 strongly against this match, Almuth fled 
 wdth her maid, in the w^inter of 1490, to 
 Engelmann, and reached him at Friedeburg 
 before Grafin Theda heard of her flisjht. 
 The Countess w^as much enraged against her 
 daughter, and tried in vain to persuade 
 Almuth to return, but met wdth a stubborn 
 refusal. In despair she gathered her forces 
 
 and besieged Friedeburg. Enno about this 
 
 47
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 time returned unexpectedly and marched 
 against Engelmann, who had boasted that 
 Enno had promised to give him his sister 
 in marriage. Enno was very angry at this, 
 and challenged Engelmann to make his state- 
 ment good. Engelmann repeated his words 
 to Enno when he met him on the frozen moat 
 before the Castle of Friedeburg. Enno was 
 in armour, Engelmann was not, and during 
 the dispute the ice of the moat which bore 
 Engelmann broke under Enno, and he was 
 drowned. The corpse was dragged out of the 
 water and buried amid universal mourning. 
 Grafin Theda having in this way lost two of 
 her children, was eager for revenge, and lost 
 no time in making ready to attack the man 
 she accounted her son's slayer. Engelmann, 
 feeling unsafe, fled to West Frisia, and Friede- 
 burg was retaken by Grafin Theda, while the 
 Lady Almuth was sent to Gretsyl. She was 
 undismayed, however, and escaped in beggar's 
 clothes. After some wandering she returned 
 to Engelmann, to whom she was devoted. 
 
 Engelmann now served under the Bishop of 
 
 48
 
 THE EARLIER COUNTS.— ENXO I. 
 
 Miinster against his mother-in-law, and made 
 
 constant inroads into East Frisia. There is 
 
 no record that he ever became reconciled to 
 
 the Countess Theda. 
 
 Enno's brother Edzard, born in 1462, was 
 
 now heir to the Imperial fief. At the time 
 
 of his birth a might)^ whale had been thrown 
 
 on shore by the waves, and the wise people 
 
 of Frisia had prophesied that he was destined 
 
 for great things. He also, following his 
 
 brother's example, went to the Holy Land, 
 
 in 1491, with Victor Frese and Hicke von 
 
 -Dornum, returning in 1492, a mature man. 
 
 The Bishop of Miinster, a bold ecclesiastic, 
 
 about this time laid claim to the customs 
 
 and mint of the town of Emden. He invaded 
 
 the country, spoilt Weener b}'' fire, and stole 
 
 the treasures of the religious houses. He was 
 
 a good soldier and a firm believer in the Church 
 
 Militant. Count Edzard hurried home, but 
 
 the Bishop had returned to his country with 
 
 the spoils of his sword, and Edzard was obliged 
 
 to leave him in quiet for the time. Peace 
 
 ensued for a few j^ears. 
 
 49 D
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 In 1493 Edzard and his brother Uko con- 
 sulted with the Town Council of Hamburg 
 and with the Biirgonieister at Groningen in 
 order to put an end to all strife as to the 
 possession of Emden and Leerort. They de- 
 cided that East Frisia should take the two 
 cities, and as compensation pay 10,000 marks, 
 a very reasonable sum, having regard to the 
 trade of Emden alone. 
 
 The accompanying conditions were these : 
 That Emden should keep all existing privi- 
 leges ; that on Hamburg beer, which was the 
 chief article of export, a duty of no more 
 than one gulden a barrel should be levied ; 
 that all wreckage should be sold to the ship- 
 wrecked people ; and that the Hamburg 
 fishermen should be allowed to fish on the 
 Frisian coast, paying a certain sum for the 
 privilege. The citizens of Hamburg believed 
 that the Biirgomeister Langenbeck had been 
 bribed by East Frisia, on account of the 
 favourable conditions granted to the Frisians. 
 
 Grafin Theda died in 1494, amid wide- 
 spread sorrow, for she was much loved. There 
 
 50
 
 COUNT ENN'O I. 
 
 Fioiii a portrait in the Town //all 
 at Auricli.] 
 
 [To face page 51.
 
 THE EARLIER COUNTS.— ENNO I. 
 
 is a portrait of her in the Town Hall at 
 Aurich, which shows a strong will. Among 
 other wise acts, she added by treaty to the 
 possession of the House the Fortress of Friede- 
 burg, an acquisition that was to prove of 
 great value in the stirring times that were 
 close at hand. 
 
 Grafin Theda deserved the gratitude of the 
 Frisians, for she had ruled well as Regent. 
 The loss of her son Enno was a great blow 
 to her, cominoj as it did so soon after the 
 flight of her daughter, but there is evidence 
 to show that she sacrificed her own feelings 
 in order to work for the welfare of her people, 
 and for the purpose of increasing the rich 
 heritage of her sons. 
 
 51
 
 COUNT EDZARD I.
 
 COUNT EDZARD I. 
 
 AT the death of Griifin Theda, the nobility, 
 the clergy, and the people, gladly did 
 homage to Edzard and his brother Uko, but 
 as Edzard was the more powerful, Uko is 
 not often mentioned in the chronicles of the 
 day. Edzard is described as being tall and 
 dif^nified, keen in matters of statecraft, and 
 very shrewd. It is important to note that 
 at this period in East Frisia, the right of 
 inheritance did not include the right of primo- 
 geniture ; the reigning Count was as a rule 
 chosen by the three estates of the realm. At 
 this time there was no hint of the contentions 
 between the reigning House and the people 
 which began later, to the great disadvantage 
 of both Count and country. 
 
 Edzard at once sought an alliance with the 
 
 Butjadings, and required of them that they 
 
 55
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 should build a stronghold, which would be 
 
 of mutual advantage. They refused, and 
 
 later repented of their refusal, for Edzard 
 
 compelled them to do as he wished. Edzard 
 
 gained much from an alliance he made w^ith 
 
 the turbulent peasants of Ditmarschen, who 
 
 were noted for their bravery. In the early 
 
 part of his reign Edzard had much trouble 
 
 with his nobles, among others his cousins 
 
 Edo Wimken of Jever and Hero Omken of 
 
 Harlingen, refused to do him homage. At 
 
 that time the Count w\as occupied in taxing 
 
 the value of the current coins of East Frisia 
 
 (which were unusually artistic in design and 
 
 execution) and in damming one of the branches 
 
 of the river Ems. Edzard, irritated at this 
 
 refusal to recognise his paramount authority, 
 
 and being not without some fear of its effect 
 
 upon his other nobles, at once led his forces 
 
 against the recalcitrants, took mercenaries into 
 
 his service, and marched on to Jever. Hearing 
 
 of the approach of this formidable force, Edo 
 
 and Hero fled to Jever, and called, being in 
 
 despair of any nearer assistance, upon the 
 
 56
 
 COUNT EDZARD I. 
 
 Bishop of Miinster to help them, but the 
 
 troops of Edzard broke down the bridges, 
 
 pierced the dykes, and forced the Bishop to 
 
 return home with his allies. In 1495 peace 
 
 was declared between Edzard and the Bishop 
 
 of Miinster, who was anxious to return to the 
 
 management of his own affairs. Edzard wishing 
 
 to punish Hero Omken, besieged the fortress of 
 
 Westerholt. His servant Hans seeins; a gun 
 
 aimed at his master, saved Count Edzard's 
 
 life, but in doing so lost a leg. He lived, 
 
 and later on appeared with a wooden leg at 
 
 the Court of Edzard, where he gained the 
 
 nickname of "Hans up den Trippen." He 
 
 exercised much influence over the Count, who 
 
 could never forget that he owed his life to 
 
 his faithful servant. Edo made peace and 
 
 acknowledged Edzard as overlord, but Hero 
 
 was destined to give more trouble. 
 
 The Bishop of Miinster dying, Graf Conrad 
 
 of Eitberg was chosen in his place. This was 
 
 eminently pleasing to Edzard, for the new 
 
 Bishop was a friend of his ; indeed Edzard 
 
 married Conrad's sister, Elizabeth von Eitberg, 
 
 57
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 in 1498. The wedding took place at Emden 
 with great ceremony. 
 
 In the year 1500 the West Frisians declared 
 war against the Emperor. Edzard, as in duty 
 bound, took the side of his Suzerain, and the 
 Frisians of the West were routed with great 
 slaughter, owing chiefly to the assistance 
 rendered by Edzard. The booty was so plenti- 
 ful that the soldiers sold a sheep for a silver 
 piece, newly coined by the Count of East Frisia. 
 These coins still retain the name of " Sheep 
 Thaler." The leader of the Imperial forces, 
 Duke Albrecht of Saxony, died soon after in 
 the old mint at Emden ; in dying he expressed 
 the wish that his sons should always listen 
 to the advice of Count Edzard, whom he much 
 admired. The heart of Duke Albrecht was 
 buried in the " Grosse Kirche " in Emden, and 
 his corpse was interred at Meissen. After 
 Albrecht's death Freiherr v. Thorn was made 
 Governor of W^est Frisia until the Reichskam- 
 mergericht should decide the fate of the country. 
 V. Thorn gave Count Edzard full power over 
 
 the West Frisians, who appear to have resented 
 
 58
 
 COUNT EDZARD I. 
 
 this summary assignment of themselves and 
 their destinies to the East Frisian ruler. They 
 rose in arms against Edzard in 1501, but were 
 completely defeated. 
 
 While Edzard was fighting in the West the 
 Count of Oldenburg took possession of the 
 district of Budjadingerland, but had to give it 
 up in the following year, and after that time 
 no Oldenburger was to be seen on Frisian soil. 
 
 Edzard was made General-in-Chief of the 
 army of the Duke of Saxony in 1504. After 
 some minor engagements he led the army against 
 the town of Groningen, which surrendered in 
 1506. Edzard secured to the citizens safety 
 for their lives and possessions, and in return 
 they gave him a piece of land on which he 
 was to build a stronghold for himself. He 
 held the town from 1506 until 1514. In 1507 
 his brother Uko died unmarried, and without 
 lawful heirs. In 1512 died Elizabeth of Ritberg, 
 Edzard's wife, a somewhat colourless individuality 
 in public life, although personally attractive. 
 She left three sons, Ulrich, Enno, and John, 
 and several daughters. The o-rief of Edzard 
 
 o o 
 
 59
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 over his wife's death was so great that he 
 declared he would soon die also, but time 
 appears to have given him consolation. As he 
 did not wish to divide the land of East Frisia 
 among his three sons for fear of disputes and 
 war, he introduced a new law of inheritance. 
 He called his Councillors to Aurich, asked them 
 to settle an appanage on the younger sons 
 and acknowledge the right of primogeniture, 
 which they did with some little demur. 
 
 During Edzard's reign there were several 
 calamities. The sea pierced the dykes and 
 flooded the country, and in 1508 Norden was 
 burned to the ground. The material condition 
 of the people, however, apart from these visita- 
 tions of nature, was good, especially in Emden. 
 Edzard had tried for some time in vain to 
 improve the laws of the country, which were 
 in need of amendment. As yet the office of 
 judge was hereditary, for the Frisians clung to 
 this old custom, not on account of any intrinsic 
 excellence, for many of the judges were bad, 
 but on account of the innate conservatism of 
 
 the people. Edzard in the first years of his 
 
 60
 
 COUNT EDZARD I. 
 
 reign did not attempt to change this practice, 
 but waited until he had gained the love of his 
 people, in order that they might understand 
 that he meant well by them, in any changes 
 he might institute. The old laws had in 
 many respects been greatly altered, partly 
 by the influence of the Eoman Law and partly 
 by the system of government. Edzard did not 
 wish to give his subjects a new code, but was 
 anxious to revise the old laws and to add what 
 the times required. This revised code was 
 compiled about 1515, but was not printed 
 until 1746. 
 
 To Edzard's distress the old feud with Hero 
 Omken again broke out at Esens, and after 
 another crushing defeat, Hero again promised 
 allegiance to Edzard at the altar. 
 
 A quarrel as to the possession of the town 
 
 of Groningen now broke out between Edzard 
 
 and the Duke of Saxony. The Pope sided with 
 
 the Duke, and cited Edzard to appear before him 
 
 at Loven, but Edzard took no notice of the Papal 
 
 command. At a meeting at Paderborn and 
 
 Mlinster, the Count was in 1513 advised by 
 
 61
 
 FEOM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 his friends to accept the conditions imposed 
 by the Emperor in this quarrel, to give up 
 Groningen and retain West Frisia as a fief. 
 Edzard, however, did not wish to give up the 
 town to the revenge of the Duke of Saxony, 
 and would not consent to the well - meant 
 proposal. 
 
 The Emperor then commanded Edzard to 
 receive East Frisia as a fief at the hands of 
 the Duke of Saxony, who should henceforth 
 be his overlord. As the Emperor deliberately 
 ignored in this order the statute of Sigismund 
 of 1417, Edzard very naturally refused com- 
 pliance. In case of disobedience the Emperor 
 threatened that he should be outlawed and 
 regarded as a rebel. A terrible war raged 
 until 1515, as a consequence of Edzard's refusal, 
 between the Saxons and their allies on the one 
 side, and Edzard on the other. During a truce 
 of a year, Edzard sought help or mediation at 
 the Burgundian Court, and from the Emperor 
 Maximilian. Whenever and wherever he 
 appeared in person he won all hearts by the 
 
 grace and charm of his manner as well as 
 
 62
 
 COUNT EDZARD I. 
 
 "KDZARD THE GREAT." 
 
 From a portrait in the 7'o:cn Halt 
 (it A iiricli.] 
 
 To face p.jgc 6 J.
 
 COUNT EDZARD I. 
 
 by his gallant bearing. The threatened out- 
 lawry was finally withdrawn, and Edzard gained 
 nearly everything for which he fought. The 
 Emperor made him Governor of the country 
 around Groningen, with a pension of 4000 
 gulden a year, while his eldest son, Ulrich, be- 
 came Chamberlain in the service of the King 
 of Spain, with a yearly gage of 1000 gulden. 
 
 Edzard returned home in 1517. His subjects, 
 who had been plunged in distress at having 
 heard that their Count had been beheaded at 
 Brussels, received him with great rejoicing and 
 with grateful hearts. They refused to agree to 
 the proposal of the Emperor that Edzard should 
 hold his laud as a fief of any noble, however 
 great, a proposal objected to by Edzard himself. 
 Charles of Burgundy, however, became Emperor 
 in 1521, and acknowledged and confirmed the 
 Letter of Enfeoffment given to Count Ulrich in 
 1454. Edzard re- took the Fortress of Friedeburg 
 in 1517. Looking about for fresh conquests, 
 Edzard resolved that the town of Jever, which 
 until now had been in the hands of his enemy, 
 
 Christopher von Jever, must be taken. 
 
 63
 
 FEOM SQUIKE TO PRINCE 
 
 Christopher died suddenly, some say of poison, 
 
 and left three daughters, co-heiresses. Edzard 
 
 asked the three girls in marriage for his three 
 
 sons, and himself proposed to govern Jever until 
 
 the marriages should take place. In this way 
 
 ended a war which all historians of the day 
 
 speak of as one that inflicted heavy burdens on 
 
 East Frisia, and one which it would have been 
 
 impossible for Edzard to carry on, had he not 
 
 been able to depend absolutely upon his people. 
 
 The war cost the Count of East Frisia some 
 
 800,000 gulden ; but Edzard did not raise the 
 
 taxes, and did not leave any debts. He was his 
 
 own Chancellor of the Exchequer, and possessed 
 
 financial abilities of no mean order. 
 
 The Frisian had always been a free man, 
 
 free as a farmer, free in the town, free in the 
 
 country, and only uniting with his folk in 
 
 time of war, but towards the end of Edzard's 
 
 reign the old order changed, giving place to the 
 
 new ; as the old Frisian language began to give 
 
 way to the platt Deutsch. The old tongue, 
 
 however, somewhat changed, is still used in 
 
 the smaller North Frisian islands. 
 
 64
 
 COUNT EDZARD I. 
 
 Edzard had made a study of religion, and 
 gave much attention at different times both 
 to the polemics of Martin Luther and to the 
 replies of his opponents. After some hesitation 
 he appeared, however, to favour the tenets of 
 the Reformer-monk, but he was cautious in his 
 declaration of adherence to the reformed faith. 
 The convents were, at that time, said to be 
 hot-beds of vice, and Edzard, following the 
 example of Ulrich, endeavoured to reform 
 them. He sent his daughter Theda as a nun 
 to the Convent of Marienthal in 1512, a 
 somewhat dangerous experiment it would seem. 
 A certain Ulrich von Dornum is quoted as say- 
 ing a few years later, that the cloisters were 
 worse than robbers' dens, and that monks 
 were greater heathen than the Turks. 
 
 Count Edzard's people were good sons of 
 the Church, but they were not devoted to 
 their Bishops, or to the somewhat domineering 
 priests of the land. 
 
 As the thunders of Luther's eloquence began 
 to penetrate to Frisian firesides, a strong cur- 
 rent of rather demagogic prejudice against the 
 
 65 B
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 hierarchy of the Church soon set in. Orators 
 
 like Johann Wessel became famous, and the 
 
 monks were forced in many instances to leave 
 
 their villages hurriedly. Edzard encouraged this 
 
 agitation against the priesthood from motives 
 
 resembling those that animated Henry VIII. 
 
 of England in a like struggle. Among others 
 
 who took a prominent part in these discussions 
 
 was Eudolf Agricola, who was a native of 
 
 Groningen. His brother was a Privy Councillor 
 
 of Countess Theda and of Count Edzard, and 
 
 the family was possessed of some influence. 
 
 Edzard, who was a good Latin scholar, wrote 
 
 to Luther in either 1521 or 1522, and requested 
 
 the Reformer to send him a learned clergyman 
 
 who was capable of exerting some influence 
 
 among the people. Luther sent him Jurgen- 
 
 van-der Dare, who became the tutor of Edzard's 
 
 children, and who proved to be a strong man. 
 
 Jurgen, after the fashion of the day, changed 
 
 his name to Aportanus, the Latin form. 
 
 Aportanus, believing in the ideas of the 
 
 Reformation, was refused permission to preach 
 
 in a church by other clergymen, not so liberal. 
 
 66
 
 COUNT EDZAED I. 
 
 Undismayed by this refusal, Aportanus preaclied 
 in the open air, Count Edzard sending him 
 a troop of horse as a body-guard. The Refor- 
 mation was in the early days of the movement 
 accepted by the people, later by the nobles, 
 who at first had scorned it. Ulrich von 
 Dornum, the chief supporter of the Protestant 
 faith, wrote an exact account of the religious 
 dispute at Oldersum between Roman Catholics 
 and Protestants in platt Deutsch, and gave it 
 to Count Edzard and his three sons, Ulrich, 
 Enno, and John, to read. This pamphlet is 
 supposed to have had much influence with 
 the reigning family. The Count and his 
 family, after some hesitation, favoured the 
 Reformation. No one at the time foresaw 
 that these religious differences would, at a 
 period soon to arrive, divide the country into 
 two religious camps. 
 
 In the year 1522, Hero Omken, Edzard's 
 cousin and bitter enemy, died, but his son 
 Balthasar inherited the hatred of his father 
 for the House of Cirksena. Balthasar, having 
 
 signalised his accession by robbing and plunder- 
 
 67
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 ing wherever he could, Edzard, in 1525, be- 
 sieged the town of Esens, and forced Balthasar 
 to make peace and to promise amendment in 
 his ways, a promise he was destined to make 
 and break often in the future. 
 
 In 1527 Edzard felt death approach, for 
 he was a worn-out man, and longed ardently 
 for a peaceful end. He endeavoured in vain 
 to avoid a final war, and in 1527 his two 
 sons, Enno and John, attacked the tow^n of 
 Jever. According to an old agreement, they 
 were to look upon Anna and Maria, the 
 daughters of the dead Christopher (Dorothea, 
 the third sister, had died), as their future 
 wives. They took, however, little notice of 
 the expectant brides, but on capturing Jever 
 made Boynck of Oldersum Warden of the 
 town. Edzard had made an agreement, fifteen 
 years before this date, with his subjects for 
 the acknowledgment of primogeniture, but in 
 the meanwhile Ulrich, his eldest son, had 
 become weak-minded while in Spain. The 
 exact cause of his insanity is unknown, but 
 
 popular report said it was through a love- 
 
 G8
 
 COUNT EDZARD I. 
 
 potion given him by a dark-eyed Spanish 
 
 beauty, whose love he had slighted. On 
 
 account of this misfortune Edzard called the 
 
 Council together again in 1527, and asked 
 
 them to acknowledge his second son, Enno, as 
 
 their Lord, because he was himself too ill to 
 
 continue to reign, and because his eldest son 
 
 was neither willing nor able to undertake all 
 
 the duties of Government. An agreement to 
 
 this effect between Couut and people was 
 
 drawn up, the document being signed by 
 
 Ulrich, Enno, and John. 
 
 At Emden, shortly before his death, Edzard 
 
 gave his sons the following wise advice : To 
 
 adhere to the Protestant faith, not to impose 
 
 taxes on the country which had been drained 
 
 by many wars, and to keep peace with, their 
 
 neighbours. His strength decreased, and on 
 
 the 14th of February 1528, he said: "Lord, 
 
 now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace," 
 
 and died at the age of sixty-six. His tomb 
 
 is in the cloisters of Marienthal, at Norden, 
 
 near that of his parents, Ulrich and Theda. 
 
 No Count of East Frisia was mourned as 
 69
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 was Edzard I. He loved his people and 
 was beloved by them ; economical and tem- 
 perate, both in private and public life, he had 
 before the Saxon war taken no taxes, and 
 did so only after the campaign, when he saw 
 there was no other way to meet the necessary 
 expenses of his Government. His people 
 called him their father ; he listened to the 
 needy and helpless, and a love of justice was 
 his chief characteristic. Evenness of mind 
 in joy and sorrow was his distinguishing 
 quality. He was very fond of his country, 
 and hated foreigners or foreign servants. Ubbo 
 Emmius writes of him : " Amabatur plus paene 
 quam par erat." His subjects received the 
 Eeformation at his hands, and he seems to 
 have deserved well of his people. East Frisia 
 called Edzard " The Great," and if the love 
 of his subjects is any measure of the greatness 
 of a Prince, Edzard may in every way claim 
 this name. A grateful country long remem- 
 bered his brilliant reign. 
 
 70
 
 ENNO 11.
 
 ENNO II. 
 
 'T^HE record of tlie reign of Edzard I. was 
 a noble one, and one indeed which 
 rendered the task of his successor peculiarly 
 difficult. This successor, Count Enno II., 
 was the second son of Count Edzard I., by 
 his wife, the Lady Elizabeth, and was born 
 in 1505. When Enno's brother, Ulrich, after 
 his return from Spain, had become imbecile, 
 their father proclaimed Enno in his will of 
 the 6th December 1527, as his heir and 
 successor. Count Edzard, however, left 
 directions that all his coined and uncoined 
 gold and silver, as well as his magnificent 
 plate, should be retained for the benefit of 
 his land and his people. His strictly personal 
 possessions, however, including clothing, jewel- 
 lery, horses, and harness, were, by his order, 
 
 to be divided equally between his three sons, 
 
 73 
 V
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 Ulrich, Enno, and John. With regard to his 
 eldest son, he stated in this will that Count 
 Ulrich, although indeed highly fitted for the 
 position of ruler, was not inclined to under- 
 take the duties of the post, on account of the 
 poor condition of his health, which unfitted 
 him for the manifold difficulties, troubles, and 
 unpleasantnesses inseparably connected with 
 the government of the Frisian people. 
 
 Count Enno succeeded to his inheritance on 
 15th February 1528. After the remains of 
 the late ruler were interred, the new Count 
 was proclaimed as Enno II., and was duly 
 acknowledged by the nobles at Norden. As his 
 Chief Councillors, Count Enno chose Ulrich von 
 Dornum, Hicke von Dornum, Omko Eipperda 
 von Hinte, Fox von Pewsum, Poppo Manninga, 
 and Folef von Kniphausen. Enno was at this 
 time twenty-four years old, and apparently a 
 man of parts. He passed through every town 
 of his dominions to receive homage, and was 
 then solemnly acknowledged as Lord of the 
 Imperial County of East Frisia. In September 
 
 1528 the Emperor Charles renewed to Enno 
 
 74
 
 COUNT EXXO II. 
 
 From a portrait in the Town Hal! 
 at Aurich.] 
 
 I To face page 74
 
 ENNO II. 
 
 the enfeoflfment given to Count Ulrich in 
 
 1454. 
 
 En no's first care was to improve and enlarge 
 
 the strongholds of his country, and several 
 
 towns were fortified. The Ems was dammed in 
 
 at Weener, and Aurich was surrounded by both 
 
 wall and moat, traces of which still remain. 
 
 Enno's next step would not have commended 
 
 itself to his father. At this time the old faith 
 
 (Catholicism) was not altogether destroyed, and 
 
 the new doctrine (Protestantism) had not been 
 
 completely established. This unstable state of 
 
 afiairs Enuo made use of for his own purpose. 
 
 All the cloisters and monasteries were robbed 
 
 of their silver, altar silks, and even of their 
 
 money, and in order to prevent popular clamour 
 
 the minds of the people were pacified by the 
 
 statement that the treasures of the Church were 
 
 only collected for use in case war or any great 
 
 calamity should break out, an explanation that 
 
 satisfied their simple minds. At the Town Hall 
 
 of Emden stood a heavy iron-clad chest, which 
 
 now received the treasures of the religious 
 
 houses. At a later period this treasure was 
 
 75
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 lost, and at the same time many valuable 
 documents also disappeared. The monks were 
 compelled to leave the empty monasteries, and 
 Enno and his brothers took them for their own 
 use. Enno rebuilt the Dominican Monastery at 
 Norden, and lived there for some time. John 
 chose the Monastery of Ihlo ; the organ was 
 taken to Aurich and the monastery was trans- 
 ferred into a hunting-box. Some years later 
 it was rebuilt by Enno III. Poor weak-minded 
 Ulrich, who had formerly been of such brilliant 
 promise, lived until his death in the Monastery 
 of Hasselt of St John. These deeds were in 
 East Frisia the painful consequences of the 
 Keformation. The stolen treasures of the 
 monasteries had been given or bequeathed to 
 them to be used for charitable purposes, either 
 for the sick and poor, or to give the people 
 a better education. In taking the money away 
 from the monasteries, these purposes were, of 
 course, defeated, and the minds of the people 
 were sorely vexed. Only at Emden and at 
 Norden was the money taken used for the good 
 
 of the people. 
 
 76
 
 EN^O II. 
 
 This legalised robbery was not done all at 
 once. Bishops and priests were to be heard of 
 as late as 1540, during the reign of Grafin 
 A.nna, who gave the last seven monks in the 
 country money, and sent them away from East 
 Frisia. Emmius states that there were formerly 
 thirty monasteries in Frisia. 
 
 A storm was brewing in a different direction. 
 Luther had sent, among others, one Steevens 
 to Norden, but he had proved to be a man of 
 little influence. The more important German 
 clergymen w^ere grouped about Luther at 
 Wittenberg, while, as a rule, the west of 
 Germany followed separate leaders. Aportanus 
 was the man of most influence among the 
 East Frisians, He believed in non-substantia- 
 tion, following Zwingli's doctrine, and not 
 that of Luther, who believed in con-substantia- 
 tion. Aportanus gave the Communion accord- 
 ing to his doctrine. As Count Edzard had 
 been always in close intercourse with Aportanus, 
 who was his spiritual adviser, it is to be 
 assumed that he shared his ideas ; Enno's 
 
 views were not so clearly known. In addition 
 
 77
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 to Aportanus, Keese and Rhode, who taught 
 the same doctrines, distinguished themselves as 
 religious leaders. The strife between the 
 followers of Aportanus on the one side and 
 the Catholics and Lutherans on the other, did 
 not break out openly, but existed in an under- 
 ground state, in families and schools. Many 
 of the followers of Aportanus who misunder- 
 stood his doctrine gave up going to Holy 
 Communion altogether, and did not even have 
 their children baptised, an omission that was 
 a ground for scandalous attacks on their 
 tenets. 
 
 Their creed, consisting of thirty-three Articles, 
 was published in 1528 ; Aportanus and his 
 followers signed it, and added necessary ex- 
 planations to each Article. After this publica- 
 tion criticism grew less keen, as the real views 
 of Aportanus became known. 
 
 The bitter feeling caused by this religious 
 strife continued for some time in East Frisia, 
 and had far-reaching consequences. 
 
 Of the character of the reigning Count there 
 is little recorded. Count Enno was young and
 
 ENNO II. 
 
 loved pleasure. He was fond of the chase and 
 of sports generally, in which he excelled. He 
 was brave and clever as well as good-hearted 
 and easily led. He highly esteemed and loved 
 his former tutor, Aportanus, and gave him a 
 house and a small yearly revenue, but he 
 took personally little part in the religious con- 
 troversies of Aportanus and his followers. He 
 would willingly have ignored the niceties of 
 theological discussion had not the exigencies 
 of politics required his mediation. Enno at 
 this time was not sure which side he should 
 favour ; strong reasons made him wish to side 
 with the Lutherans, for he knew that if the 
 Emperor should decide to re-establish the 
 Roman Catholic religion, the Lutherans would 
 rejoin him. In addition to this reason, another, 
 equally strong, existed : Duke Charles of 
 Gueldres and the town of Groningen were 
 strongly Lutheran, and Enno did not feel 
 that the support of his nobles in the event 
 of war would be powerful enough to enable 
 him to oppose Duke Charles, especially as he 
 
 knew that Balthasar of Esens was his bitter 
 
 79
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 enemy, and was on the watch to catch him 
 
 ofl' his guard. On the other hand, Enno 
 
 wished to support Aportanus, his old tutor. 
 
 Ulrich von Dornum, like a clever politician, 
 
 advised Count Enno to get Luther's friend 
 
 Bugenhagen, a very gentle and peace-loving 
 
 man, to preach in East Frisia, in order to 
 
 reconcile the two parties. Enno invited 
 
 Bugenhagen to come to Frisia, and in the 
 
 meanwhile went to the Diet at Speier, in 
 
 order to consult the Landgraf Philip of Hesse, 
 
 who urged him to put an end to party strife. 
 
 Bugenhagen, however, for some reason, did 
 
 not come in response to Enno's invitation, 
 
 and gradually East Frisia came to be looked 
 
 upon as a sort of no man's land, a retreat 
 
 for all those who sided neither with Luther 
 
 nor with the Catholic party. Among them 
 
 was one Carlstadt, a miserable fanatic, who 
 
 had tried in many places to raise a storm 
 
 against the Lutherans. He had first wanted to 
 
 preach in Emden, but this was not allowed, and 
 
 he was responsible for much ill-feeling. Enno 
 
 wished to harmonise all the discordant elements, 
 
 80
 
 EXXO II. 
 
 but before attempting this he resolved to wait 
 for the resolution of the dispute at Marburg. 
 Other affairs, however, troubled Enno, and he 
 was compelled to let theology and doctrine go b}^ 
 the board for the moment. The enmity betw^een 
 the Cirksena and Oldenburg still existed, chiefly 
 because Oldenburg held the Budjadingerland, 
 which really belonged to Enno. 
 
 Oldenburg felt insulted because Enno had 
 appointed a Warden at Jever, thus ignoring the 
 fact that to Oldenburg belonged the guardianship 
 of the Countesses of Jever. Balthasar of Esens, 
 the son of Hero Omken, whose mother was an 
 Oldenburg Princess, seized this opportunity, and 
 of course sided with his mother's relatives 
 against his hereditary enemies, the Cirksena. 
 The fugitive Danish King, Christian II., a near 
 relative of Oldenburg, and Floris von Biiren, 
 with Count Egmond, the Statthalter of the 
 Netherlands, a great friend of the old Count 
 Edzard, wished to avert the chance of war, and 
 endeavoured to act as mediators. The Arch- 
 bishop of Bremen thought this a favourable time 
 to complain that Enno had taken away his 
 
 81 F
 
 FKOM SQUIEE TO PRINCE 
 
 monastery revenues. By the advice of Floris, 
 Enno and John made a treaty with the Arch- 
 bishop of Bremen, and gave him back his revenues, 
 until a Church Council should decide the matter. 
 The exiled King of Denmark, hoping to 
 regain his throne, wished to gain the friendship 
 of Enno, so that in case of war he might make 
 use of the harbours of East Frisia. After 
 discussions many and bitter a marriage seemed 
 to be the best way of arrangement. The 
 Ambassadors met at Utrecht, on the 26th 
 October 1529, and it was agreed that Count 
 Enno should marry Anna of Oldenburg, and the 
 Count Anton of Oldenburg should marry Anna 
 of East Frisia. The dowTy of the brides was to 
 be 10,000 gulden each, and Enno, in addition, 
 settled on Anna the old mint at Emden for her 
 dower. Enno gave up all claims on Budja- 
 dingerland, and Anton abandoned his claim on 
 Jever. Enno promised to the two Countesses, 
 Anna and Maria of Jever, a sum of money ; to 
 Maria, being the youngest, 6000 gulden, and 
 to Anna 3000 gulden. According to Frisian 
 
 law, the younger received the greater sum. The 
 
 82
 
 ENNO II. 
 
 two Countesses feeling wronged, sought the aid of 
 a stronsfer arm, bul met with little satisfaction. 
 
 As far as the religious struggle was concerned, 
 Enno had read the document drawn up by the 
 Lutheran clergymen, and had signed it in 1529. 
 He called all the clergymen together for a 
 Council on the 13th January 1530, and had the 
 edict read to them, saying that he wished them 
 to sign it at once. The ministers begged for 
 time to consider the matter, and asked to have a 
 copy of the edict, a reasonable request, which was 
 refused. They would not sign everything that 
 the edict contained, although Enno wished them 
 to agree to all the clauses ; Ulrich von Dornum, 
 however, wisely kept the Count from using 
 severe measures. Many clergymen, as a result 
 of this discussion, were driven out of the country, 
 among them Carlstadt, who joined Zwingli at 
 Zurich. The Landgraf of Hesse also begged 
 Enno to treat the clergymen more kindly. The 
 Count swerved from one side to the other, but at 
 last fairly went over to Aportanus. He soon, in- 
 deed, took little interest in these religious disputes, 
 
 as more worldly matters demanded his attention. 
 
 83
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 In March 1530 Enno went with sixty 
 followers to Oldenburg, where he made fierce 
 love to his bride-elect. The marriage was 
 solemnised, and Enno and Anna returned to 
 Aurich, where the wedding festivities began. 
 Countess Anna made Enno a good wife, and 
 was " loved of the people." 
 
 Enno, wishing to follow in his father's 
 
 steps, and to become a hero in battle, was 
 
 anxious to find some pretext for war. His 
 
 Councillors endeavoured to dissuade him from 
 
 anything rash, but Enno wished to prove 
 
 himself independent. Balthasar at this time, 
 
 having grievously ill-treated some East 
 
 Frisians, gave cause to Enno for a declara- 
 
 tion of war. A troop of East Frisians under 
 
 Enno's command took the Castle of Wittmund 
 
 by surprise ; then Enno drew up his forces 
 
 and marched against Esens, the town and 
 
 stronghold of Balthasar. Enno encamped near 
 
 Esens at Nordorf. There seems to have been 
 
 some lack of watchfulness in Enno's army, 
 
 for Balthasar stormed the camp and inflicted 
 
 a defeat for the time on Enno. Enno, how- 
 
 84
 
 GOLD "EN'NO" COINS OF EAST IRISIA. 
 
 (By pcrtnission of John C. Eno, Esq.) 
 
 Note — The inscription on the Gold-gulden of Enno I. in the upper ri^ht- 
 hand corner is in Gothic characters, and reads, " Mo. Eno. Co. i. Fsie. oie!," 
 meaning Moncta Enonis Comitis Frisia' OricntaUs. The figure is St. John the 
 Baptist. The remaining four Gold-gulden are of^Enno TL, where the name is 
 spelt with two n's. 
 
 I To facc'paac 85.
 
 EA^KO II. 
 
 ever, at once levied new forces, especially 
 paid soldiers ; in order to do this he was 
 compelled to open the chest of stolen Church 
 treasure at Emden. Even his brother John, 
 who in the meanwhile had been at the Bur- 
 gundian Court, and had gone with the Emperor 
 Charles V. to Italy, could not give Enno enough 
 help to enable him to take Esens. After Enno 
 had lost some 800 Frisians he gave up all 
 attempts to storm the town. Determined to 
 succeed, Enno changed his plans, and cut olF 
 the roads leading to Esens, in order that he 
 might starve the inhabitants ; and Balthasar 
 at last surrendered. On St Michael's Day, in 
 1530, Balthasar gave up his cannon, and Enno 
 and John entered the town in triumph. 
 
 The conditions imposed on Balthasar by the 
 victorious Count of East Frisia were onerous 
 but necessary. Enno obtained the promise 
 of Balthasar to hold Esens as a fief of East 
 Frisia, and he furthermore agreed to be, like 
 other nobles of the land, faithful, peace- 
 able, and obedient ; he pledged his word not 
 
 to write himself as "we," but *'I," and 
 
 85
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 placed himself under the Count's jurisdiction. 
 Balthasar also promised that in case of his death 
 without legitimate male heirs, the Lordship of 
 Esens should revert to the Count of East 
 Frisia as the rightful overlord. He further 
 agreed that of the Esens possessions, the Isle 
 of Harling, and the four parishes of Wester- 
 holz, Ochtersund, Dumm, and Wittum should 
 remain in the hands of the Count. Balthasar 
 was also compelled to give up Wittmund 
 House, and to pay a sum of 18,000 Philip 
 Thalers before Count Enno would completely 
 withdraw his forces. Balthasar agreed to these 
 terms with outward complaisance, but with 
 hatred in his heart. 
 
 The short space of a year sufficed to prove 
 the quality of his sincerity. 
 
 86
 
 THE REIGN OF ENNO II.— (Cont.)
 
 THE REIGN OF ENNO IL— {continued) 
 
 TN the year 1531 Enno resolved to pay a 
 visit to the Burgundian Court at Brussels. 
 Seeing in this proposed absence of Enno a 
 long-sought opportunity, Balthasar, under pre- 
 tence of paying a visit to his brother-in-law 
 in Westphalia, went part of the way with 
 Enno in apparent amity. Upon leaving him, 
 however, Balthasar, who was labouring under 
 a sense of injustice, sought help from the 
 Duke of Gueldres at Arnheim. The citizens 
 of Esens had, meanwhile, secretly rebuilt the 
 fortress wall, and John sent the Warden of 
 Friedeburg to Esens to preserve order, and to 
 see that the treaty stipulations were observed. 
 He was shot, and the war broke out afresh. 
 Then Balthasar spread the rumour that Enno 
 had fallen into disgrace at Brussels, and that 
 
 Folef of Kniphausen, his trusted friend, had 
 
 89
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 died of fever. The East Frisians, on hearing 
 these evil reports, appear to have lost courage, 
 and if Balthasar could have marched at once 
 against Emden, he might have scored a victory 
 with far-reaching consequences. He tried to 
 collect money and soldiers, but men would 
 not follow a landless Chief. To encourage his 
 soldiers, Balthasar showed them a letter from 
 Maria of Jever, in which she promised them 
 they should have the Castle of Jever as a 
 place of refuge in case of need. Maria was 
 angry at what she considered Enno's perfidy, 
 and showed an unbecoming readiness to em- 
 barrass him in any way possible. The Lady 
 Maria of Jever was evidently a woman of some 
 spirit ; she secretly got together fifty Lands- 
 knechts (troopers armed with a lance), and 
 stole a march on Enno by making Boy nek of 
 Oldersum, whom Enno had appointed Warden 
 of her castle, her own Warden, promising to 
 marry him if they were successful. Enno, 
 having heard of these doings at Brussels, 
 hurried home, in order to prevent the dan- 
 gerous foe of his house, Balthasar, from passing 
 
 90
 
 THE REIGN OF ENXO 11.— (continued) 
 
 through Frisia to Esens ; but in this short 
 campaign Enno's soldiers fought badly, and 
 the expedition was unsuccessful. Balthasar 
 took the church at Wittmund, and burnt the 
 monasteries at Norden. An old chronicler 
 says that the church tower at Norden, with 
 its high spire, which could be seen far up 
 the Elbe, was burnt down, " in spite of the 
 woe-cries of the inhabitants," who loved it. 
 The foundation stones were to be seen two 
 centuries later. Enno, in Emden, for some 
 time saw the sky reddened every night, by 
 the many fires which Balthasar had lit. John 
 in return invaded the country round Esens, 
 pillaging, plundering, and burning wherever 
 he could. 
 
 The Danish King, Christian, who wished to 
 regain his country, and who for this purpose 
 was anxious to take the Frisian soldiers into 
 his own service, begged Queen Marie, the 
 Statthalter of the Emperor Charles V. in 
 Brussels, to mediate for peace. Her efforts 
 were successful, and the treaty of peace re- 
 stored, as such treaties usually do, the status 
 
 91
 
 FEOM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 quo ante, and gave to Enno, as well as to 
 Baltliasar, what they had had before the war. 
 As soon as peace was declared, anxious for 
 revenge, Enno sent Ubbo, the son of Folef 
 von Kniphausen, to punish Boynck, the dis- 
 loyal Warden of Jever. The burghers of 
 Jever sought refuge in the castle and burned 
 their own houses, in order to prevent Enno's 
 troops from occupying them. Boynck escaped 
 from the castle, and sought an audience at 
 the Court of Queen Marie, where he made 
 bitter complaints against Enno and John. 
 Enno was forbidden, as a consequence of 
 these complaints, to undertake any war against 
 Jever for the next six years, a prohibition which 
 he regarded with a light heart. Boynck and 
 Marie, not feeling safe, begged the Emperor, 
 Charles V., in 1532, to give Jever to Maria 
 as an Imperial fief, Maria claiming the right, 
 if she died childless, to leave it to whom she 
 pleased. 
 
 Balthasar in Esens, with the Cirksena as 
 near neighbours, not feeling safe, exchanged 
 
 Esens for the fief of Bosande in Gueldres. 
 
 92
 
 THE REIGX OF EXXO IL— (continued) 
 
 In this way the Duke of Gueldres became 
 master of Esens ; without loss of time he sent 
 Hackfort, who is described as a cruel, hard- 
 hearted man, to fortify the town. Enno ob- 
 jected to this exchange, but his remonstrances 
 were of no avail. In 1532 there was much 
 excitement among the common people, caused 
 by several unusual physical phenomena. A 
 flood swamped the land and produced great 
 misery, while the people believed that a fiery 
 comet in the sky foreboded great misfortune 
 both to themselves and the reigning House. 
 
 Hackfort, without excuse, made two East 
 Frisian nobles prisoners ; Enno, as usual, was 
 anxious to take revenge, and the inevitable 
 war broke out again. Meinhard von Hamm 
 marched against Enno, and there was a fierce 
 battle fought on the 12th October, 1533. 
 Enno and John almost lost their lives on the 
 field. Meinhard then pillaged the country, 
 captured and sacked Leer, Oldersum, Petkum 
 and Ihlo ; passed by Aurich, which had been 
 warned, and then went on to Gretsyl, the 
 
 weU-stored and well-fortified castle of the 
 
 93
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 Cirksena. The Warden was Albert of Bake- 
 
 raoor, who was indebted to Enno for everything. 
 
 This man, however, had no courage, and after 
 
 the siege had lasted some time, he surrendered 
 
 in spite of the remonstrances of the soldiers, 
 
 who beo-ged him to wait. Albert and his 
 
 friends were later condemned to death by 
 
 Enno, w^ho could not forgive the loss of his 
 
 family seat. To put an end to the war, Enno 
 
 begged the Flirstenbund (Union of Princes) 
 
 to pass upon the merits of the dispute. A 
 
 Council was called at Hoxter, where Enno 
 
 hastened, giving John plenary powers to 
 
 make peace with Balthasar. John wisely 
 
 made peace, however, with Duke Charles of 
 
 Gueldres, the master and friend of Balthasar, 
 
 whom he knew he could trust. Duke Charles 
 
 then claimed 12,000 gulden for war expenses, 
 
 and Wittmund for his vassal, Balthasar. In 
 
 return he promised to give ujd Gretsyl. It 
 
 was further agreed that Count Enno was to 
 
 aid Duke Charles in every war, except in 
 
 contests against the Emperor or the Empire ; 
 
 while, on the other hand, it was understood 
 
 94
 
 THE REIGN OF EXNO 11.— (continued) 
 
 that the Duke was to help Enno in any war 
 in which he might become involved as soon 
 as the Duke felt convinced that the cause 
 was a just one. Emden was to be the price, 
 in case the treaty was broken. 
 
 It is certain that Enno gained little from 
 his constant and bitter quarrels with Balthasar, 
 who was evidently a man, shrewd, and of 
 some skill in arms. At this time Enno's 
 attention was again called to the internal 
 disputes of a religious character that threatened 
 his country. 
 
 When Enno in 1530 had given up all 
 
 attempts to force his clergymen to adopt 
 
 the Lutheran theses of the Council of Bremen, 
 
 these clergymen had gone on their own 
 
 way, and a new sect was gradually evolved. 
 
 The members of this party were neither 
 
 followers of Luther nor of Zwingli. They 
 
 were apparently Anabaptists, teaching that 
 
 Christ will return and establish a new earthly 
 
 kingdom, and that Christians must be baptised 
 
 again to show themselves worthy of being 
 
 His follow^ers. These people are first 
 
 95
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 mentioned as present in East Frisia in the 
 year 1528. Tlie chief Anabaptist was Melchior 
 Hofmann, a furrier by trade. He was a man 
 of some little learning, and apjDears to have 
 possessed great eloquence. In some way he 
 had gained the favour of the Emperor, who 
 made him a clergyman. He caused much 
 trouble, and was driven away from many 
 places ; he finally settled in East Frisia. 
 The religious situation in Frisia at this time 
 was peculiar, many giving themselves up to 
 every form of unbridled pleasure and vice, 
 while others looked upon the most harmless 
 joy as sin. The latter party objected to the 
 following proclamation of Count Enno, v\^ho 
 was anxious to preserve the Frisian customs : 
 
 " We command that all our subjects dress 
 their children according to the old Frisian 
 manner, and adorn them with silver 
 ornaments." 
 
 The edict was interpreted by the more 
 
 liberal party as conceived in their interest, and 
 
 as directed against the stern and gloomy zealots 
 
 w^ho saw wrong in any innocent amusement. 
 
 96
 
 THE REIGN OF ENNO U.— (continued) 
 
 When Hofmann appeared at Emden in 1530, 
 Count Enno took too little interest in religious 
 matters to oppose him, and Aportanus was 
 dead. Hofmann, having no opponent, by his 
 fantastic preaching gained many hearts, and 
 it is recorded that three hundred men were 
 re-baptised in one day. Enno, upon hearing 
 of Hofmann's success, sent for him, and it 
 is said that the eloquent words of Hofmann 
 moved him to tears. Hofmann came for the 
 last time to Emden in 1533, for upon going 
 to Strassburg he was imprisoned until he 
 died. Emden, where the Anabaptists had 
 never gained a very strong footing, and w^hich 
 never became over-fanatical, may be regarded 
 as the foundation-stone of the present Dutch 
 Church. 
 
 Enno upon his return from Hoxter confirmed 
 
 the treaty which John had made with the Duke 
 
 of Gueldres. Then turning his attention once 
 
 more to religion, he wrote to Duke Ernst of 
 
 Liineburg, who was the brother-in-hiw of the 
 
 Duke of Gueldres, asking him to send to East 
 
 Frisia some Lutheran clergymen. These men 
 
 97 G
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 strengthened the practice of the Lutheran 
 doctrine in the land, and any minister unwilling 
 to sign the papers of the Church Council was 
 forced to give up his parish. More clergymen 
 preferred rather to give up their religious 
 convictions than their rich livinsfs, 
 
 Enno and John both hoped by the re-intro- 
 duction of the Lutheran doctrine to pacify the 
 land, although in later years John became a 
 Roman Catholic. Up to this time the brothers 
 had agreed in all important points. 
 
 According to the will of Count Edzard, Enno 
 was to govern alone, but John, who was masterful 
 in temper, had always taken part in the govern- 
 ment, and Enno had always hesitated to assert 
 his claim to the position of sole ruler. Enno, 
 however, now wished to govern alone, and in 
 order to gain his point asked Queen Marie's aid. 
 She promised, at Enno's suggestion, to give John 
 the County of Falkenburg, if the "Commons of 
 East Frisia " would give him a considerable sum 
 of money as compensation. This instance is the 
 first in which " Commons " are referred to in a 
 
 state document. After having considered the 
 
 98
 
 THE REIGN OF ENNO U.—{contimied) 
 
 matter, the Commons at Aurich, in 1537, decided 
 
 to give John the sum required, i.e. 42,000 
 
 gulden, if he would for all time give up his 
 
 claim to East Frisia, and if the ruling House 
 
 would agree not to regard this incident as a 
 
 precedent. Enno, who was glad to get rid of 
 
 his brother, himself gave John a revenue of 2000 
 
 gulden, a generous provision. John, however, 
 
 was not content, and in 1538, Enno called a 
 
 Council at the Monastery of Sielmonken, where 
 
 he asked the Commons to raise the sum given to 
 
 John from 42,000 to 100,000 gulden, as Queen 
 
 Marie wished him to marry Dorothea, the 
 
 beautiful but illegitimate daughter of the 
 
 Emperor Maximilian. The Council at last 
 
 consented, after much discussion, on condition 
 
 that John agreed to give up all claims on Frisia 
 
 for himself and his children for ever. As a sign 
 
 of gratitude, Enno, in 1539, raised Aurich from 
 
 the position of a hamlet to the rank of a town, 
 
 with town privileges. 
 
 Count Enno had lonsr wished to regain 
 
 Harlingerland, but he preferred peaceful 
 
 measures. An ingenious idea occurred to his 
 
 99
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 mind, and he sought the help of his wife in 
 order to carry it out. Countess Anna, who was 
 related to Balthasar, suggested to the old enemy 
 of the Cirksena that he should marry Enno's 
 sister, the Lady Armgard of East Frisia. 
 Balthasar, who was rather astonished at the 
 proposal, was willing, but insisted that Count 
 Enno should first give him back the cannon 
 which he and John had captured. Enno 
 promised to do so after the marriage, as he had 
 a wholesome distrust of Balthasar's promises, 
 derived from bitter experience. But Balthasar 
 was obstinate, and would not yield, and Enno 
 sent the cannon back to Aurich. 
 
 Balthasar, always turbulent, even in time of 
 peace, having captured two ships belonging to 
 Bremen, was outlawed by the Imperial Council. 
 On account of this check, he wished to form an 
 alliance with East Frisia, yet in spite of his evil 
 plight he first reclaimed his captured cannon, 
 and then secretly collected a troop of some 1500 
 soldiers in order to carry out a long-planned 
 expedition against Jever. 
 
 Maria of Jever had rebuilt the town of Jever, 
 100
 
 THE REIGX OF EXNO 11.— (cctntinued) 
 
 had governed it with wisdom and care, and 
 although a Roman Catholic, had taken some 
 interest in the Lutheran teachings, and had 
 not attempted to prevent their spread in her 
 dominions. As age drew on, and the healing in- 
 fluence of time increased, Maria's hatred against 
 Enno gradually diminished in intensity, while 
 the Count of East Frisia had long wished to 
 do away with the misunderstandings between 
 the Chatelaine of Jever and himself. A meet- 
 ing was arranged by mutual desire at Aurich, 
 where the rival rulers met. Here, for the first 
 time, Enno heard that Jever was regarded as a 
 Burgundian fief. This meeting was productive 
 of much good, and Enno promised to assist Jever 
 if necessary. He was soon called upon to make 
 good his promise, for Balthasar, eager for action, 
 invaded Jever, and Maria applied to Enno for 
 help. Enno at once sent his soldiers, while 
 Balthasar retreated to the frontier. When Jever 
 was again at peace, Maria made a treaty with 
 Enno, promising to require of her heir that he 
 should marry a Countess of the House of Cirksena. 
 
 Enno, foreseeing fresh difficulties which might 
 
 101
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 arise for his children by means of this treaty, 
 
 wished to refuse, but Von Kniphausen, one of 
 
 his nobles, persuaded him to accept in order 
 
 to secure peace as soon as possible. 
 
 Balthasar died in October 1540, just after 
 
 his cousin and life-long enemy had passed away, 
 
 for Count Enno died at Emden on the 25th 
 
 of September 1540, while still a young man, in 
 
 the thirty-sixth year of his life, and in the 
 
 twelfth year of his reign. He left a widow, 
 
 the Countess Anna, and six children; three 
 
 sons, Edzard, Christopher, and John, and three 
 
 daughters. His body was buried in the Great 
 
 Church at Emden, where a marble monument 
 
 to his memory is to be seen. Anna at once 
 
 assumed the reins of government, but with 
 
 anxious thoughts of the times to come, for her 
 
 husband's brother, John, called, after his county, 
 
 John of Falkenburg, had taken up his residence 
 
 at Emden, and lived there in splendour with 
 
 a suite of fifty persons. He now claimed, on 
 
 somewhat doubtful grounds, to be the guardian 
 
 of his brother's children. He had become a 
 
 Roman Catholic, and was not popular with the 
 
 102
 
 THE REIGN OF ENNO U.— (continued) 
 
 Frisians, whom he had renounced, but Charles 
 V. and Queen Marie, the Statthalter of the 
 Netherlands, favoured his cause. 
 
 The reign of Enno II., although short, was 
 eventful, and his success as a war-lord was never 
 in doubt. He compelled Balthasar to leave 
 Esens, and he secured East Frisia for himself 
 and his children, to the exclusion of his brother 
 John and his heirs. He continued the work 
 of the Reformation begun by his father, and 
 died at an early age, mourned by his people ; 
 as a chronicler of the time aptly sums up his 
 life work — Bene fecit. 
 
 103
 
 EDZARD IL, CHRISTOPHER, 
 AND JOHN
 
 EDZAED II., CHKISTOPHER, AND JOHN 
 
 JOHN, of Falkenburg, the brother of Enno IL, 
 until the coming of age of his nephews, was 
 at first regarded as the acknowledged feudal Lord 
 of East Frisia by command of the Emperor. 
 He lived at this time in Emden in splendid 
 style. Upon the death of Count Enno, how- 
 ever, the Commons, Prelates, and Officers at 
 Aurich took the Oath of Allegiance to Countess 
 Anna and her sons, ignoring John. John tried 
 in many ways and often to force the East 
 Frisians to acknowledge him as their supreme 
 Lord, but without avail, for these people re- 
 membered that he had renounced all his rights 
 on receiving a large sum of money some years 
 before. John a Lasco, born in 1499, a Pole 
 and a fugitive from his country, was favoured 
 by the Countess Anna, and being a man of 
 
 some learning, eventually reformed the Church 
 
 107
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 of East Frisia, which retains to-day as its 
 doctrines those laid down by a Lasco. While 
 John a Lasco was reforming the Church, 
 Countess Anna turned her attention to legal 
 matters, and reformed the civil laws of her 
 country. Among other additions and improve- 
 ments she introduced in 1545 the so-called 
 " Police Laws of Countess Anna," which were 
 designed to increase the power of the ruling 
 House. Anna's eldest daughter, Elizabeth, 
 married Count Johann von Schaumburg in 
 1555. In 1557, at Cologne, John of Falken- 
 burg died a madman, made so by thwarted 
 ambition and disappointed pride. Anna gave 
 much attention to the education of her sons, 
 and made one Gnaphseus the tutor of the 
 young Counts, who studied at the University 
 of Strassburg. In 1558, Edzard, the eldest, 
 came of age. Anna preferred John, her 
 youngest son, to his brothers, and begged 
 the Emperor to make all three sons the Lords 
 of the land. This was against the principle 
 of primogeniture, recognised by Edzard I., 
 
 in the agreement of 1527. The Emperor 
 
 108
 
 EDZARD II, CHRISTOPHER, AND JOHN 
 
 consented on condition that the Countess was 
 to govern until the Council should choose one 
 of the sons to be the reigning Count. Soon 
 the question of Edzard's marriage began to 
 be discussed. Duke Franz von Sachsen- 
 Lauenburg, who was connected with the 
 House of Cirksena as well as with the 
 Swedish House, wished Edzard to marry the 
 Swedish Princess Catherine, the daughter of 
 Gustavus I., and in 1557 several Swedish 
 Ambassadors were sent to East Frisia to 
 negotiate the marriage settlement, and to 
 arrange a commercial treaty. During this 
 visit Edzard was asked by the Embassy to 
 come to Sweden. Edzard's personality pleased 
 the Swedish Eoyal House, as he was un- 
 usually attractive. The marriage contract 
 contained a provision to the effect that 
 Edzard's eldest son should be his eventual 
 successor. The Princess's dowry was agreed 
 on as 100,000 thalers and many jewels. 
 Xorden and Berum were to be her dower 
 (widow's portion), as well as a revenue of 
 
 6000 thalers. 
 
 109
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 John went with Edzard, his brother, to 
 Sweden, and there fell in love with the gay 
 Cecilia, Catherine's fair sister, who was a 
 precocious girl The ardent lover, then a 
 youth of twenty, climbed into her room late 
 one night through the window, some say 
 by invitation, and was caught by Cecilia's 
 eldest brother, Eric. He was thrown into 
 prison and his life threatened, for Eric had 
 reported all to his father, King Gustavus. 
 Although Edzard begged to be imprisoned with 
 his brother, John was hurried away to a castle 
 far away in the country, where he was im- 
 prisoned. There is no doubt that much of 
 the indignation of the Koyal Family of Sweden 
 was assumed, in order to place them in a 
 better position in respect of the negotiations 
 for Catherine's marriage with Edzard. Coun- 
 tess Anna was in despair at the plight of her 
 favourite son, and begged all the Princes for 
 help, especially the Elector of Brandenburg, at 
 whose Court John had been staying. After 
 much pleading John was set at liberty within 
 
 the space of three months, on his promising 
 
 110
 
 EDZARD II., CHRISTOPHER, AXD JOHN 
 
 not to take any revenge. This unhappy 
 experience of his early life made him earnest 
 and quiet, and a hater of women. Cecilia, 
 foro-etful of her first lover, married a Markcrraf 
 of Baden, and became a Koman Catholic. John 
 returned to his mother, who was anxiously 
 awaitino- him, and then went to the Court at 
 Brandenburg. The marriage of Count Edzard 
 and Catherine took place in 1559. Edzard's 
 wife stayed in Sweden until peace was restored 
 between the Cirksena and the Swedish Court. 
 Indeed, her first child, Margaret, was born in 
 Sweden. Then coming with her husband to 
 East Frisia, the postponed marriage festivities 
 took place at Aurich, when the Lady Heilwig 
 of Cirksena was betrothed to Duke Otto of 
 Liineburgr. Catherine was a strict Lutheran, 
 and very narrow in her views. Having come 
 from a country that boasted but few towns 
 and villages, she was astonished to see the 
 Frisian cities with big houses, and a popula- 
 tion comparatively dense. John returned to 
 East Frisia in 1561, and from this date, state 
 
 documents and coins bear the names of the 
 
 111
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 three Counts, " Edzard, Christopher, und 
 Johann." Christopher went to join in a 
 crusade against the Turks, and unfortunately 
 died of dysentery at Comorn, in Hungary, in 
 
 1566. Edzard and John were then anew 
 enfeoffed, although as yet Anna was regarded 
 by her two sons as the ruler of the country. 
 Edzard obeyed her on account of her intel- 
 lectual superiority and habit, John rather 
 from inclination and sympathy. 
 
 East Frisia, to a certain extent, now became 
 involved in the war raging in the Low Coun- 
 tries. Alba was sent to the Netherlands in 
 
 1567, where he was opposed by Prince William 
 
 of Orange (called "the Silent"), the future 
 
 founder of the independence of the Netherlands. 
 
 This affected East Frisia to an important degree, 
 
 because William's brother, Ludwig of Nassau, 
 
 collected about him at Emden the Netherland 
 
 fugitives. Alba, in order to disperse this 
 
 embryonic force, sent Count Aremburg against 
 
 Ludwig. Aremburg was defeated, and both 
 
 he and Ludwig's brother, Adolf of Nassau, 
 
 were slain, as report had it, by each other's 
 
 112
 
 EDZARD II., CHRISTOPHER, A2CD JOHN 
 
 sword. At the battle of Jemgum, however, 
 Alba defeated Ludwig, who escaped in a boat 
 to Emden. As a result of Ludwig's defeat, 
 Alba took sixteen cannon. The Counts Edzard 
 and John asked the Emperor for a compensatory 
 sum of 300,000 gulden, for the harm done by 
 AJba's soldiers during this campaign, but there 
 is no record of the payment of any such sum. 
 
 Terrible floods took place in 1570, and much 
 of the work of Countess Anna's Regency in the 
 buildings of dams and dykes was undone. 
 
 English cloth had long been exported to East 
 Frisia, and at this time many cloth-weavers, 
 banished by Queen Mary I. of England, on 
 account of their adherence to the Protestant 
 faith, came to Emden. Anna, by the ill- 
 advised favour which she had constantly 
 shown towards Count John, her younger son, 
 wrought much ill-feeling between the brothers. 
 The Swedish Princess Catherine, Edzard's wife, 
 who was a proud and haughty woman, refused 
 to give way to the younger brother. A war 
 broke out in 1570, as a consequence of this 
 dispute, between Edzard and John. A series 
 
 113 H
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 of brotherly quarrels seemed hereditary in the 
 
 House of Cirksena. 
 
 Edzard 11. was tall, well-mannered, and good 
 
 at all sports, but he stammered in his speech, 
 
 and was not quick at thinking. His wife, 
 
 the Princess, gradually gained greater influence 
 
 over him, and he became a Lutheran, while 
 
 John remained an adherent of the reformed 
 
 religion. The dissensions in the land were 
 
 now represented by the two brothers. Edzard 
 
 wished his brother John to give up his claims 
 
 to the country, and, like his Uncle John, 
 
 to take as a compensation a sum of money. 
 
 John refused, for in his own interest he wished 
 
 the country to be divided. The brothers went 
 
 with their dispute to the Imperial Court at 
 
 Speier. The Court desired the brothers to 
 
 equally share in the duties of state. Edzard, not 
 
 satisfied with this compromise, asked the King 
 
 of Sweden to mediate. The Diet meanwhile 
 
 announced that Edzard w^as sole heir, and that 
 
 to divide the country would be to ruin it. 
 
 Countess Anna died at Gretsyl in 1575. 
 
 Edzard was not at her deathbed, for the 
 
 114
 
 EDZART) II., CHRISTOPHER, AND JOHN 
 
 relations between mother and son, never very 
 cordial, had of late become much strained. 
 She lies buried in the Great Church at Emden, 
 where rest so many of the Cirksena. Edzard's 
 wife came to the funeral, which was conducted 
 with great ceremony. After Anna's death 
 John became Lord of Gretsyl, Stickhausen, and 
 Leerort. He fortified these towns and claimed 
 half of the customs money levied at Emden. 
 Edzard objected to these claims, particularly 
 to the payment of any part of the customs 
 dues, and asked the Emperor, Rudolf 11. , to help 
 in this dispute. The Emperor, however, re- 
 ferred him to the Diet. The Diet, after some 
 discussion, divided the country between the 
 brothers, John keeping his three towns. 
 Edzard asked the Hansa in 1576 to add 
 Emden to their Union, which they, however, 
 refused to do. 
 
 Maria of Jever died in 1575, and by the 
 terms of her will Count John of Oldenburg 
 became her heir. She stated that she wished 
 Jever never to become the property of the 
 
 House of Cirksena, forgetful of her promise to 
 
 115
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRmCE 
 
 Count Enno II. Since then Jever lias always 
 
 belonged to Oldenburg, in accordance with 
 
 Countess Maria's dying wish. 
 
 Balthasar's sister, Onna, Countess of Ritberg, 
 
 had left a son, John, called "The Madman." 
 
 He died in prison. His wife, Agnes or Agneta, 
 
 a gentle patient woman, held his inheritance 
 
 for her two daughters : Armgard (who became 
 
 the wife of Count Erich of Hoya, and inherited 
 
 the County of Ritberg), and Walburg, who 
 
 was heir to Harlingerland. Edzard asked the 
 
 Lady Walburg in marriage for his eldest son, 
 
 Enno. After some discussion this union was 
 
 agreed to, and Enno, when eighteen years old, 
 
 married Walburg and lived at Esens. Edzard, 
 
 wishing to mark this day as a special festival, 
 
 entered Esens at the head of three hundred 
 
 riders, a sight not altogether pleasing to the 
 
 shade of Balthasar. 
 
 The Lady Armgard of Hoya died soon after, 
 
 and Walburg inherited Ritberg. As a result 
 
 of this inheritance, Enno was made Lord of 
 
 the County of Ritberg by the Laudgraf, William 
 
 of Hesse. In 1586 the Lady Walburg bore 
 
 116
 
 m
 
 EDZAED II., CHRISTOPHER, AND JOHN 
 
 a son, who died after a few days. Walburg 
 did not live long after this unfortunate event, 
 and, dying suddenly, left two daughters. East 
 Frisia was a fief, and recognised only male 
 inheritance, Harlingerland, on the other hand, 
 was heritable by females, so that the provinces 
 threatened to be again divided. The death 
 of Walburg was a hard blow for Edzard and 
 Enno. A rumour spread that Walbui-g had 
 been poisoned, and three women were tortured 
 to death to gain a confession, but in vain. 
 She probably died from natural causes. 
 
 Edzard had his two younger sons brought 
 up in the Eoman Catholic faith. Religious 
 discussions were growing more violent in the 
 Netherlands at this time, and the Emperor 
 advised the East Frisians not to favour 
 the Netherlanders, Rumours spread that 
 Edzard was in the paid service of King Philip 
 II. of Spain, a report that injured the Count 
 both with the Emperor and with his own 
 subjects. In 1581 Count John sought help 
 from Queen Elizabeth, who, with her well- 
 known love of meddling in foreign politics.
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 tried to reconcile the two brothers, but their 
 religious opinions kept them apart. Margaret, 
 the eldest daughter of Count Edzard, died in 
 1588, and her body was brought to the " Grosse 
 Kirche " of Emden to be interred. The Lutheran 
 clergymen, by Edzard's command, attempted 
 to read the service in the church. The con- 
 gregation, however, forbade him to go up the 
 chancel, and he had to officiate in the private 
 chapel. Edzard was now convinced that in 
 religious matters he could not force his subjects 
 to follow his own ideas, and at length abandoned 
 the attempt in disgust. 
 
 Count Edzard, instead of choosing his Coun- 
 cillors from among his people, as his ancestors 
 had done, took foreigners as his advisers. 
 The Frisian nobles hated this practice, and 
 would have little to do with the strangers. 
 Edzard, nothing daunted, insisted upon the 
 fulfilment of his orders, as he wished to show 
 that he was supreme lord. This was due to 
 the influence of his wife, Catherine, the Swedish 
 Princess, who, after the manner of women 
 
 in all times, and ever mindful that she was 
 
 118
 
 EDZAED II, CHRISTOPHER, AND JOHN 
 
 a King's daughter, could not forget that her 
 husband was only a Count. Her brother often 
 scoffed at her about her small country, and 
 this appears to have touched her pride. The 
 chronicles of the time call Catherine a 
 "mischief-making woman." There is no evi- 
 dence to show, however, any malice in her 
 acts. 
 
 Edzard's daughter, Anna, whose first husband 
 had been the Elector Palatine, wished to marry 
 again, and Edzard asked the Council in 1582 
 to settle on her 20,000 gulden. The Commons 
 asked Edzard to sign an agreement that this 
 sum should only be paid once, a measure of 
 precaution the Commons seem to have adopted 
 as a habit. 
 
 Besides the civil war intermittently raging 
 between Edzard and John, strife in the Nether- 
 lands threatened to break out again, and the 
 Council, in despair at the divided state of the 
 land, begged the brothers to arrange a recon- 
 ciliation. This appeared impossible, in spite 
 of much talk, and the two turned to the 
 
 Emperor for help, as usual. In September 
 
 119
 
 FROM SQUIEE TO PRINCE 
 
 1587 Edzard's two elder sons, Enno and 
 
 John, took possession of the fortress of 
 
 Stickhausen. Count John, the uncle, was so 
 
 enraged at this act, that Enno went to Leerort 
 
 to pacify him, but he was not admitted to 
 
 his uncle's presence. Menso Alting, by Enno's 
 
 wish, visited Count John who was ill and 
 
 melancholy, and was assured by John that 
 
 he only wished for a just decision of the 
 
 dispute between Edzard and himself. Edzard, 
 
 still in some fear, however, forbade the gates 
 
 of Emden to be opened to John in case he 
 
 should come to the town. In 1589 Duke 
 
 Julius of Braunschweig-Detmold and Count 
 
 Simon of Lippe were selected to be the 
 
 arbitrators in the quarrels of the two brothers. 
 
 The Emperor's decree confirming their decision, 
 
 which was really a compromise, is the first 
 
 document in the East Frisian records. 
 
 The Spaniards at this time made inroads 
 
 into Frisia, but the East Frisian Council would 
 
 not grant money to levy soldiers, and the 
 
 country remained unprotected. Edzard 
 
 neglected to carry out the conditions of the 
 
 120
 
 EDZARD II., CHRISTOPHER, AND JOHN 
 
 compromise of 1589, and new troubles 
 threatened to arise. 
 
 Count John, the brother of Edzard II., died 
 on St Michael's Day at Stickhausen, in 1591, 
 His portrait is that of a handsome man, with 
 an air of melancholy. About midnight the 
 news of his death came to Aurich, and two 
 hours later Edzard was on his way to Stick- 
 hausen, while his son John hurried to Leerort 
 to fortify the castles. Enno's whereabouts 
 at the time of his uncle's death is not 
 stated. 
 
 The corpse of John was brought to Emden, 
 and Edzard and his wife, the Princess Catherine, 
 went to the funeral. Menso Alting, the 
 clergyman of the reformed party, preached, 
 and hoped by his sermon to make an im- 
 pression on Enno, a hope in which he was 
 not destined to succeed, as Enno was not 
 present ; undismayed, Menso Alting had his 
 sermon printed, and dedicated it to the heir. 
 Enno, who liked clever men, enjoyed Menso's 
 society, and spent much time with him. 
 
 Menso hoped to win the future ruler over 
 
 121
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 to the reformed cause, but Count Edzard, after 
 John's death, expelled the reformed clergy- 
 men, and replaced them by Lutherans. 
 Menso tried to influence Edzard through 
 his son, Enno, but in vain. As time went 
 on, Edzard grew more despotic. He even 
 imprisoned six burghers without due cause, 
 and set them at liberty only when compelled 
 by the Emperor's commands. Among other 
 arbitrary acts, he levied high taxes. For his 
 Chief Councillor he chose one Ficinus, a man 
 hated by the people, who believed him to be 
 a Jesuit. Edzard wished the Council to settle 
 a certain dowry on his daughters, but the 
 Commons refused, and, as usual, the Emperor 
 was asked to mediate. He called a Council 
 at Norden, in 1593, but Edzard did not come 
 himself, and in his place sent Enno. At this 
 Council the taxes were fixed, and a poll-tax 
 was required, but the people refused to pay. 
 
 After several more instances of the despotic 
 use of his power the people began to be afraid 
 that Catherine and Edzard inclined towards 
 
 the Roman Catholic religion, and rumour 
 
 122
 
 EDZARD IT., CHRISTOPHER, AND JOHN 
 
 declared that Edzard's younger sons were 
 
 Roman Catholics. This rumour created much 
 
 excited opposition, which was helped by the 
 
 writings of Menso Alting, who had been asked 
 
 by the Diet of Groningen to reform their 
 
 Church. Edzard wished to depose him, but 
 
 he refused, saying that the Church of Emden 
 
 had elected him, not the Count of East Frisia. 
 
 The Magistracy could do nothing in the affair, 
 
 although urged by Edzard to take some step. 
 
 Menso said that if the Church wished him 
 
 to give up his post, he would do so at once. 
 
 In order to settle the difficulty Enno came 
 
 to Emden, invited Menso several times to 
 
 meet him, and tried to gather his view of the 
 
 affair. Enno found that malcontents w^ere 
 
 numerous, and seeing that mediation was 
 
 impossible, he returned to Aurich, and from 
 
 there, washing his hands of the affair, went 
 
 on a journey. As the Emden burghers did 
 
 not fulfil Edzard's wish by expelling Menso, 
 
 Edzard and Catherine sought aid from their 
 
 relation, the King of Sweden, who promised 
 
 to allow no Emden ship in the harbour of 
 
 123
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 Danzig. Upon hearing this the Diet of Emden 
 called upon the Emperor for help. Ficinus, 
 who appeared before the Emperor at Prague, 
 succeeded in winning him over to Edzard's 
 side, and a warrant was sent against the 
 burghers of Emden ; but even yet the obstinate 
 burghers would not give in. Edzard claimed 
 the alms collected in the churches, but the 
 Church Council refused to give him the money. 
 He called a Council together, but without 
 avail. The famous Emden insurrection broke 
 out on 18th of March 1595. All things at 
 this time were of bad omen for Edzard. The 
 Town Council was deposed and a new one 
 chosen. The nobles assembled at Oldersum, 
 and advised the Count to appear at a Council in 
 person, and not to send his Councillors. They 
 begged him, in addition, not to levy foreign 
 troops, but this he refused. A new complaint, 
 trivial in its nature, against Edzard, was sent 
 to the Emperor at Prague. The Emperor by 
 this time must have been rather tired of the 
 unruly East Frisian people. Edzard, not to 
 be outdone, asked the Netherlands to mediate. 
 
 124
 
 EDZARD II, CHRISTOPHER, AXD JOHN 
 
 At last the Treaty of Delfzyl gave peace for a 
 time to both Emden and the Count. Emden, 
 until then a small commercial harbour, now 
 increased continually in importance. 
 
 Enno wished to wed Princess Anna of 
 Holstein after the death of his first wife, and 
 negotiations for the marriage were duly carried 
 out, so that Enno went, in June 1598, to marry 
 the Princess of his choice. 
 
 The plague raged in Emden, Aurich, and 
 Norden in 1597, an omen regarded as evil 
 for the marriage of the Heir Apparent. Count 
 Edzard had been unwell for some time, and 
 on the 27th February 1599 had his relatives 
 called to his deathbed. When they were all 
 present he raised his head and blessed his 
 children and grandchildren, making the sign 
 of a cross. He asked his children for the sake 
 of the love and duty they owed him to live 
 in peace with their mother. Two days later, 
 on the 1st of March 1599, he died, unregretted 
 by his people. 
 
 When Edzard took the Government of the 
 
 country into his hands, the people were 
 
 125
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 attached to their Reigning House by a cen- 
 tury of joy and sorrow which they had spent 
 together. Enno II., although brave and popular, 
 had been thoughtless and careless, but Countess 
 Anna's protecting hand after his death had 
 restored peace and prosperity to the country. 
 She, however, by unduly favouring her younger 
 son, had sown the seeds of dissension, and 
 peace was destroyed. Of the Princess Catherine, 
 who bore Count Edzard eleven children, it is 
 said that she " abode until old age in the 
 fear of the Lord." She established a Home 
 for Widows at Haag. The people who had 
 called Edzard I. their father, had little love 
 for Catherine, and none for Edzard II. They 
 had but small confidence in him as their ruler 
 and lord. The Frisians looked on him rather 
 as a stepfather, and regarded his lightest act 
 with distrust. Edzard himself is described as 
 '* generous, pious, and learned." He ruled, 
 co-jointly with his mother and brothers, for 
 nearly forty-one years. Experience, however, 
 shows that it is wiser to have a single head 
 
 to a state. In this case Edzard and John 
 
 126
 
 EDZARD II., CHRISTOPHER, AND JOHN 
 
 (after Christopher's death) separated, and 
 divided not only land, power, and religion, 
 but also the hearts of their people. After 
 John's death, the lands torn away rightly 
 returned to Edzard, but in no sense can he 
 be regarded as a great or even as a successful 
 ruler. 
 
 It was a characteristic of the Frisian people 
 to trust absolutely until they found their 
 trust betrayed ; when that happened, they 
 were unsparing in condemnation. Slow to 
 anger ; when aroused, their passion was at 
 white heat, and they showed neither mercy 
 nor charity. " Nemo me impune lacessit," 
 appeared to be their motto, and the man 
 who disregarded its warning, did so to his 
 sorrow. 
 
 127
 
 THE LATER COUNTS.— ENNO III.
 
 THE LATER COUNTS.— ENNO III. 
 
 AA/'HEN the five sons of Edzard 11. came 
 
 together after their father's death, in 
 
 order to sign the Treaty of Delfzyl, the people 
 
 saw that, having regard to the state of things 
 
 during former reigns, their brotherly love was 
 
 very marked. After their father's death not 
 
 one of the brothers thought of disclaimino^ 
 
 their eldest brother Enno as their Lord. This 
 
 was partly due to their mother's influence. 
 
 The people hoped that Enno would really 
 
 restore peace in his country ; and were ready 
 
 to receive him with open arms. Enno was 
 
 in the prime of manhood at the time of his 
 
 accession ; he is described as brave, handsome, 
 
 and charming in manner. The chronicles say 
 
 that he often regretted his father's severity 
 
 in dealing with the Commons, and that he 
 
 had never approved the heavy taxes so 
 
 131
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 arbitrarily levied by Count Edzard 11. His 
 adversaries complained of Enno's severity in 
 Harlingerland, but the Harlingers, on the 
 other hand, called him kind and indulgent. 
 He was liberal in his views, and was respected 
 by his enemies. In days of peace it is likely 
 that his reign would have been a happy one, 
 but the inheritance of strife and dissension 
 left by his father carried its own punishment. 
 It appeared to Enno necessary, that as punish- 
 ment for the rebellion of its citizens, some 
 measure of humiliation should be meted out 
 to the town of Emden. Edzard had treated 
 the three estates of Nobles, Clergy, and People 
 with so little consideration, that the nobles 
 still felt aggrieved, but Enno knew that their 
 ambition would make them willing to join 
 his cause. The nobles begged Count Enno 
 to bring the corpse of Edzard to Emden, but 
 they also required Enno to dismiss the foreign 
 troops sent by his father. At the same time, 
 the people of Emden begged the Count to 
 help them punish certain pirates ; the leader 
 
 of the band was taken prisoner, but escaped, 
 
 132
 
 COUNT EXXO III. 
 
 From a portrait in the Tou<n Hall 
 at Aunch ] 
 
 7 'o face page 132
 
 THE LATER COUNTS.— EXXO III. 
 
 some say by the Count's connivance. A 
 deputation was sent to Count Enno, but he 
 received it coldly, and affairs began again to 
 wear an evil look in Emden. A new insur- 
 rection broke out, and a Council was called 
 on the 2nd of June 1599. Several questions 
 were discussed, among others the following. 
 
 Enno, as the first-born, and according to the 
 system of primogeniture, called himself horn 
 Count. The Council would not agree to this 
 assumption, and wished his title to be elected 
 Count. Much time was lost in this trivial 
 discussion, but at last the Assembly had to 
 give up their preference for the word elected. 
 Then followed a host of complaints, nearly all 
 petty, relating to meadow-right, cattle, water, 
 and other unimportant matters. In September 
 1599, the Concord of Emden was signed, but 
 although the Assembly promised Enno 100,000 
 thalers, the peace secured was only temporary. 
 The nobles did homage to Enno, and in Novem- 
 ber 1599, Enno entered Emden in triumph with 
 thirty knights and twenty-two carriages. Menso 
 Alting, now an old man, preached at the service
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 held on the day of homage, and, with pointed 
 
 reference to the new Count, chose David as the 
 
 type of a good king. Enno and his brother 
 
 Gustavus after the service, went to the new 
 
 market, and Franzius, the Chancellor, made a 
 
 speech in reply to the address of Menso Alting, 
 
 in which he referred pointedly to the duty of 
 
 subjects. Then the procession went to the 
 
 Town Hall, where a banquet was held. In the 
 
 evening bonfires were lit in front of the houses, 
 
 and there was general rejoicing. The town 
 
 of Emden gave as a gift the sum of 10,000 
 
 thalers to the Countess Anna, Enno's wife. 
 
 Enno made William of Kniphausen Warden of 
 
 Emden, an appointment that was popular. In 
 
 many ways Enno tried to gain the love of his 
 
 burghers ; he often visited the citizens and 
 
 dined with them. Enno, among other plans, 
 
 hoped still to regain Jever from the House of 
 
 Oldenburg. He also tried once more to arrange 
 
 a reconciliation between the two religious parties 
 
 in Frisia, but in vain. An indirect tax on corn, 
 
 wheat, and salt, was levied, and, as a consequence, 
 
 the people became more or less discontented. 
 
 134
 
 THE LATER COUNTS.— ENNO Til. 
 
 Princess Catherine, Enno's mother, had as a 
 
 widow's portion Norden and Berum, where at 
 
 least she was supreme mistress, and was not 
 
 obliged to carry out Enno's wishes. She appears 
 
 to have wished to exercise little influence on 
 
 Frisian affairs after her husband's death. 
 
 Enno's two daughters were called Sabina 
 
 Catherine, and Agnes. The Lady Sabina loved her 
 
 uncle, John, Enno's brother, and did not hesitate 
 
 to show her preference. Enno did not at once 
 
 decide whether he could allow such a marriage, 
 
 but he knew that as John was a Roman Catholic, 
 
 the Pope could give a dispensation. Enno, in order 
 
 to simplify matters, gave to his two daughters 
 
 as guardians his two brothers ; he then gave up 
 
 all claims on Ritberg, and promised his daughters 
 
 each 200,000 thalers as their dowry. His 
 
 daughters in return gave him Harlingerland. 
 
 The Pope sanctioned the marriage of Sabina and 
 
 John, on condition that they should bring Ritberg 
 
 back to the Roman Catholic Church. Sabina, it 
 
 appears, espoused the Roman Catholic faith 
 
 zealously ; she was fond of her people and hoped 
 
 to make them happier by bringing them back 
 
 135
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 to the old faith. This change of tenets was 
 
 gradually secured, and Kitberg became once more 
 
 Roman Catholic. The Lady Sabina was very 
 
 popular and much beloved in her country. 
 
 East Frisia was a country with a sea-coast, 
 
 although a navy had been neglected in early 
 
 days. Enno had always loved the sea. In 
 
 the harbour of Emden ships of all nations found 
 
 shelter; but in case of war, Enno could not 
 
 defend himself and Germany, on account of 
 
 his lack of ships, against the naval enemy. 
 
 Enno proposed, in order to remedy this danger, 
 
 to build men-of-war. The Chancellor Franzius, 
 
 wdio had oTeat influence with his master, had 
 
 long wished the Emperor to make Enno 
 
 Imperial Admiral. He said, in proposing this 
 
 appointment, that Count Enno was a man 
 
 learned in naval matters, and that East Frisia 
 
 had a river with good natural harbours, not far 
 
 from the sea, which could be made useful 
 
 to Germany. The Emperor favoured the 
 
 Chancellor's ideas, but this platonic approval 
 
 was all the help given by the Emperor to the 
 
 proposed Frisian fleet. The Chancellor, who 
 
 136
 
 THE LATER COUNTS.— ENNO III. 
 
 disliked the Countess Dowager, advised Enno 
 not to allow his mother too many privileges, 
 as his father had done, for he pointed out, 
 "It is not good to have two masters governing." 
 The nobles were now at peace with Enno, as 
 he had chosen his Councillors from among them. 
 Franzius advised Enno to hear and remedy 
 the complaints of the reformed party, advice 
 which Enno wisely took. Emden mistrusted 
 Enno, mindful always of his father's faults, and 
 Enno was unwise enough to tax chimneys in 
 1601. At once a storm arose in Emden, and 
 Enno tried to justify himself in a speech at 
 the Town Hall, but in vain. The usual re- 
 bellion broke out at Emden, while Norden, the 
 residence of Catherine, refused to acknowledge 
 Enno as its master. The Emperor, after hearing 
 Enno's complaint, gave the rebellious Nordeners 
 thirty days' grace, when they were forced to 
 acknowledge Enno. Emden suffered the same 
 fate, but only after a very long and cruel war, 
 which was ended by the Treaty of the Hague 
 in 1603. The Treaty of the Hague unfortun- 
 ately restored peace for a short time only. 
 
 137
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 Many Emden ships were captured by Spain, 
 and Enno was held responsible, on account of 
 certain documents with his seal, which proved 
 him to be the author of passports given to the 
 enemies. Many think Franzius acted without 
 Enno's knowledge in this matter. He did 
 not dismiss his Chancellor in spite of many 
 complaints and requests, and in this way gave 
 his enemies cause to believe that he wished 
 the Spaniards to act as they had doue. After 
 repeated disputes, the chief magistrate of Emden 
 seized the Emden possessions of the Count, 
 a measure unwarranted by circumstances, and 
 satisfied the claims of those harmed by the 
 Spaniards ; at the same time, he forbade burghers 
 to receive passports from the Count, or to ac- 
 knowledge Enno as their master. A document 
 embodying these impudent assertions of 
 sovereignty was sent to Enno in May 1608. 
 
 Countess Anna, Enno's wife, whom the 
 
 constant worry had made ill, consulted about 
 
 this time a doctor at Emden, and there had 
 
 a confidential conversation with Menso Alting, 
 
 in which she informed him that Enno would 
 
 138
 
 THE LATEK COU^^TS.— ENNO III. 
 
 gladly make peace with the city. Menso told 
 her that Enno could only regain Emden by 
 reforming the jurisdiction and showing confi- 
 dence in the good-will of the burghers. Anna, 
 who had spoken only of her own accord, found 
 Enno "hard-necked," according to a writer 
 of the time; he hoped to gain help from 
 the Hague, and intended going there himself, 
 but the death of his brother prevented the 
 journey. Enno was like wax in the hands 
 of Franzius, whose influence overweighed that 
 of Anna. The rebellious garrison of Emden 
 attacked Aurich, which w^as still loyal, and 
 acknowledged Enno as its Lord. The soldiers 
 plundered the castle of the Count, took docu- 
 ments, plate, and jewels, and brought them 
 to Emden ; on this foray they captured several 
 of the nobles as well as the son of Franzius, 
 the Chancellor. Rendered reckless by their 
 successful rebellion they took Gretsyl. These 
 acts of violence and robbery caused many of 
 the subjects of Enno to return to their 
 allegiance. Count Enno was meanwhile in 
 
 safety at Leerort. After a long illness, Countess 
 
 139
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 Anna died there in the spring of 1610 at the 
 age of thirty-six. Enno was deeply grieved, 
 but neither he nor his sons risked going with 
 the corpse to Aurich, as it was in the hands 
 of the rebels. The promises of his relations, 
 on which he had relied when daring to under- 
 take so many exj)editions, had failed of ful- 
 filment, but he still hoped that peace would 
 be restored by means of the mediation of 
 the Hague ; but he hoped in vain. At last, 
 in despair, Enno promised to give Leerort 
 for five years to the Netherlands, and they 
 tried at last to restore peace. The Osterhusische 
 Accord, dated May 1611, is one of the important 
 documents in the history of East Frisia. This 
 treaty arranged all questions at issue between 
 the Count and his subjects, as to taxes, income, 
 and laws, while Count Enno got back all his 
 castles except Leerort, which was alienated 
 for five years. This treaty was the foundation 
 of the future constitution of the country. As 
 a consequence of the signature of this conven- 
 tion, Enno dismissed Franzius, the Chancellor, 
 
 whom the people hated mortally, and it seemed 
 
 140
 
 THE LATER COUNTS.— ENXO I IT. 
 
 for the time that Enno and his subjects were 
 henceforth to be on better terms with each 
 other than ever before. He was often at 
 Emden, and especially sought the society of 
 Menso Alting, w^io was a man of great influence. 
 This ecclesiastic, however, soon died, and wdth 
 him Ubbo Emmius, one of the most celebrated 
 learned men of his time, a theologian and 
 historian. Fabricius, a celebrated astronomer, 
 lived about the same time. In 1614 the lord 
 of Oldersum died, and Enno laid claim to the 
 castle through an old treaty made betw^een 
 his uncle and the former owner of Oldersum. 
 The dispute was to be decided at Speier, 
 where stood the Imperial Law Court, but Enno 
 took the law into his own hands, and w-ith 
 his soldiers took possession of Oldersum. After 
 several quarrels wdth his nobles, they rebelled 
 against Enno, and he saw that he would have 
 to give in. In revenge, however, he asked 
 the States General (Netherlands) to incor- 
 porate his country with theirs. The nobles 
 and Emden, both rightly indignant at Enno's 
 
 treachery, then united against the Count, and 
 
 Ul
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 he was taken prisoner at his own castle in 
 Emden. When, however, news came that 
 Enno's sons and brothers were approaching, 
 he was set at liberty. This was in 1619. 
 
 The Thirty Years' War broke out in 1618. 
 In spite of much temptation, Enno decided 
 to remain neutral. In the year 1622, how- 
 ever, some Emden ships were captured by 
 the Spanish, and Enno, with his usual ill- 
 fortune, was again regarded as having aided 
 the Spaniards. In revenge. General Mansfeld 
 ravaged East Frisia, and Enno was captured 
 and held until he should pay the heavy ransom 
 of 600,000 thalers. The Diet declared that it 
 was impossible to raise such a sum, and in 
 despair Enno sent his eldest son Rudolf- 
 Christian to the Hague, but it is not improb- 
 able that the plight of their Count was the 
 cause of less sorrow to the East Frisians than he 
 imagined. Nothing was gained, and the soldiers 
 of Mansfeld were, in the meantime, treating the 
 people shamefully and cruelly. Emden alone 
 had withstood Mansfeld. At last, in June 1623, 
 
 some burghers, relying upon promises of reward, 
 
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 [To face pa^c 143.
 
 THE LATER COUNTS.— ENNO III. 
 
 helped Enno to escape, and he went to 
 Emden, quite happy to be in personal safety. 
 The Duke of Oldenburg, more fortunate than 
 Enno, knew how to keep Mansfeld and his 
 legions out of his lands, and Enno regarded 
 him with unconcealed envy. Tilly, the new- 
 General of the Roman Catholic party, wished 
 to drive Mansfeld out of East Frisia, to occup)^ 
 Emden, and from here take possession of the 
 Netherlands. As a result of all these campaigns 
 the land was bare of all food. Fourteen months 
 of Mansfeld's pillaging and plundering in East 
 Frisia had ruined the country. 
 
 On the 19th of August, 1625, Enno III., at 
 the age of sixty-two, died at Leerort, amid the 
 lamentations of the few subjects still faithful 
 to his fortunes. His life was a long succession 
 of misfortunes, and every hard fate that can 
 befall a monarch burdened this unfortunate 
 Count, who was, after all, brave and loyal 
 to his friends. He was unfortunate rather 
 than foolish. His reign, apart from the purely 
 personal ill-luck that followed him, was most 
 
 important for the development of the East 
 
 143
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 Frisian constitution, and even in the present 
 day, the record of Enno's reign is to be found 
 in the religious and communal systems of East 
 Frisia, as well as in the law of landed property. 
 Enno was disposed to favour the Spanish cause, 
 and for this predilection he received much cen- 
 sure. He cannot, however, be reproached for 
 this. It is apparent that he needed a strong 
 ally, when both Emperor and Empire had 
 forsaken him, and when he was fighting 
 against his rebellious town of Emden. He 
 was quite within his rights in what he did, 
 however much his way of doing it is open to 
 criticism. 
 
 Enno III.'s son, Rudolf Christian, called after 
 the King of Denmark, was twenty- three at the 
 time of his father's death. Norden and Aurich 
 did homage to him, but Emden, ever rebellious, 
 at first refused on account of the presence of 
 Spanish troops within its walls. Imperial soldiers 
 were now often quartered in East Frisia, and 
 their presence cowed the burghers of Emden. 
 Rudolf Christian, in the year 1628, was on a visit 
 
 to a certain Count Gallas, when some dispute 
 
 144
 
 THE LATER COUNTS.— EXNO III. 
 
 arose, more by accident than by real intention. 
 The Count and his suite were in a meadow 
 when the quarrel began, where there was a great 
 crowd. In order to avoid further trouble, one 
 Lieutenant Streif was sent to drive the people 
 away. He did his duty, but so ardently, that, 
 hastening with his sword to report to the 
 Count, he came directly in front of Rudolph, 
 who, not noticing the point, was stabbed 
 through the eye, and soon after died, when 
 but twenty-eight years of age. Rudolf was 
 gentle and wise. He was anxious to give 
 peace to his land above all things, and his 
 reign promised well. He was betrothed to 
 Anne Auguste of Brunswick, but died un- 
 married and without legitimate heirs. His 
 brother Ulrich, who married the beautiful 
 Juliane of Hesse-Darmstadt, succeeded him. 
 The reigns of the later Counts chronicle few 
 events of interest, and may be lightly passed 
 over. 
 
 To Ulrich, who died in 1648, succeeded his 
 son, Enno Ludwig, who was created first Prince 
 
 of East Frisia in 1654, just two hundred years 
 
 145 K
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 after his ancestor, Ulrich L, had been made 
 
 Count of East Frisia. He died in 1660, and was 
 
 succeeded by his brother, George Christian, who 
 
 reigned from 1660 to 1665, and who left a son, 
 
 Christian Eberhard, who died in 1708 ; he in 
 
 time was succeeded by his son, George Albert, 
 
 who was not unlike Edzard I., and who reigned 
 
 from 1708 to 1734; and then came the last 
 
 Prince and Count of East Frisia, Carl Edzard, 
 
 who died without issue in 1744. After his 
 
 death Frederick the Great, the then King of 
 
 Prussia, took possession of East Frisia, in 
 
 consequence of the reversion given to the 
 
 Electoral House of Brandenburg by the 
 
 Emperor Leopold I., in 1694. The last of 
 
 his race, Carl Edzard is a pathetic figure. 
 
 The inheritor of the glorious traditions of the 
 
 House of Cirksena, he committed the one 
 
 unpardonable sin in the eyes of his people, 
 
 the failure, although married, to give the 
 
 country an heir. The inscription on his 
 
 coffin in the Mausoleum at Aurich, *' Ite actum 
 
 est," has a sinister significance to his House. 
 
 The Principality was held by Prussia until 
 
 146
 
 THE LATER COUNTS.— EXNO III. 
 
 the conquest of Germany by the Great 
 Napoleon. East Frisia was given to Holland 
 in 1808 (Frisian coins are extant bearing the 
 head of Louis Napoleon); but in 1810 it was 
 united to France as the Department of East 
 Ems. In November 1813 East Frisia was 
 again taken by Prussia, but was given up to 
 Hanover in 1815. It formed part of the 
 dominions of George IV. and William IV. 
 of England, as belonging to their kingdom of 
 Hanover. In 1866 it was again united to 
 Prussia as an indirect consequence of the 
 Battle of Sadowa. Its next] change of 
 country is still in abeyance, but if, as some- 
 times happens, the history of its past is 
 repeated in its future, the end of East Frisia 
 is not yet. 
 
 147
 
 FRISIA OF TO-DAY
 
 FRISIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 TTHE modern tourist is almost unknown in 
 East Frisia, and no personally con- 
 ducted excursions vex the soul of the quiet 
 burofhers of Emden and Aurich. Peaceful, 
 uneventful lives are those led by the Frisians 
 of the twentieth century, although they are 
 not unmindful of the stirring past. As his 
 country is incorporated in the kingdom of 
 Prussia, the East Frisian is by law a Prussian, 
 but he is none the less a Frisian, and he 
 seldom omits the Ost-Friesland that follows 
 the name of his town, in writing his infrequent 
 letters. 
 
 East Frisia, geographically considered, is a 
 flat and fertile stretch of country that borders 
 on the North Sea ; it is reached from Bremen 
 in about four hours, or from Cologne in a 
 
 day. Emden, once so rebellious, and some- 
 
 151
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 what assertive in defence of its " rights," as 
 Enno III. knew to his cost, is now a 
 quiet, somewhat dingy town, existing chiefly 
 on account of its harbour. 
 
 It is distressingly modern, taken as a whole, 
 this Frisian town, with occasional redeeming 
 touches in an old house of quaint design, or 
 in an unexpected glimpse of the sixteenth - 
 century Rathaus. The chief note in Emden, 
 however, is its modernity. There is a curious 
 suo-ofestion of both Venice and Amsterdam in 
 its canals, and the mental picture of dark 
 alleys and mysteriously winding streets sug- 
 gested by early Frisian history, gives place 
 to the reality of a fussy little tug on a dirty 
 stream. In Emden the people are indifferent 
 to the history of their country, and betray a 
 o-reater interest in their new harbour and in 
 a promised visit of the Kaiser, than in their 
 storied past. The views of Emden on old 
 Frisian coins and medals suggest a metropolis 
 with vast streets and towering cathedrals. The 
 suggestion is hardly realised in the small 
 seaport of barely fifteen thousand inhabitants. 
 
 152
 
 FRISIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 The " Grosse Kirclie " in Emden, with the 
 large marble tomb of Enno II., which bears 
 the effigy of the Count with the traditional 
 hound at his feet, is worth a visit. There is 
 a museum with a small collection of East 
 Frisian coins, and with the shift of Grafin 
 Anna; but the Church, the Museum, and 
 the Rathaus, once seen, there is little else 
 of interest. Emden was ever a thorn in the 
 side of the Cirksena, and the languid interest 
 shown by the modern burgher in his former 
 sovereigns is the present-day form of the old 
 hate and feud felt by the greedy traders of 
 the sordid little town. Emden was in East 
 Frisia, but never of it. 
 
 It is not until one gets to the charming 
 little town of Aurich, in the very centre of 
 Ost-Friesland, that one begins to realise what 
 the Cirksena were to the country. Everything 
 in Aurich is redolent of the lost dynasty — from 
 the UlHacum, to the Mausoleum in the Cemetery, 
 and the portraits in the Landshaft. This is 
 as it should be. Aurich was the favourite resi- 
 dence of the Cirksena, and — Aurich does not 
 
 153
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRINCE 
 
 forget. Here one finds the real Ost-Frieslander 
 to whom the Kaiser is not the Kaiser, or even 
 the King of Prussia, but Fiirst vo7i Ost-Fries- 
 land, by inheritance. 
 
 A small town, with but six thousand 
 citizens, bowered in trees and surrounded by 
 cool woods, in the midst of a fertile plain, 
 Aurich is a delightful bit of still life. No 
 factories poison the air, which blows in fresh 
 from the distant sea, no throng of noisy 
 travellers troubles the quiet of the shady 
 streets, and no rattling wheels disturb the still- 
 ness of the night-watches. A peaceful, drowsy, 
 restful place, keeping watch and ward over its 
 dead Princes, Aurich is in the country of the 
 lotus-eaters, where the pulse of life beats slow. 
 It is the German "Poppyland," the land oi rest, 
 where weltschmerz is unknown, and worry is not. 
 
 The horde of tourists that rushes every 
 
 summer to the Frisian Isles of Borkum and 
 
 Nordeney go through Emden and leave Aurich 
 
 untouched. Happy Aurich, for ever "off the 
 
 . main line," and secure in its cheerful 
 
 inconspicuousness ! 
 
 154
 
 FRISIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 A shaded walk between blossoming hedges 
 brings one to the quaint and peaceful graveyard 
 (or Friedhof),wh.eTe, in a huge domed Mausoleum, 
 each in a silvered coffin, in a separate niche, lie 
 the dead and gone rulers of the country that 
 was once marked as an independent state on the 
 map. 
 
 They are all here (all but a few who are 
 buried at Emden and Norden), from Enno III., 
 who was the reputed father of a thousand 
 children, to the wickedly beautiful Juliane of 
 Hesse-Darmstadt, and the last weak prince, Carl 
 Edzard. 
 
 The coffins are unusually large and heavy, 
 and it is possible to observe the inscriptions and 
 artistic carvings on the sides of several that are 
 in a state of good preservation. 
 
 It is sadly impressive to stand among the 
 bodies of this race that has passed — this House 
 that rose and fell and has vanished like a dream, 
 but which still reigns in the hearts of the people. 
 The portraits in the Landshaft are fascinating — 
 there it is possible to see the counterfeit present- 
 ments of all the Frisian rulers — a complete 
 
 155
 
 FROM SQUIRE TO PRmCE 
 
 series, ranging from Count Ulrich and Countess 
 
 Theda, the founders of the line, down to the last 
 
 of his line, Carl Edzard ; and then Frederick 
 
 the Great, and William IV. of England, who, 
 
 as King of Hanover, was overlord of East 
 
 Frisia. 
 
 They are all there — the strong crafty face of 
 
 the Great Edzard — the melancholy Enno, the 
 
 first of that name, with more than a hint of his 
 
 early doom in his gloomy air, the brave 
 
 reckless features of the Second Enno, Countess 
 
 Anna, who looks like a nun, the haughty 
 
 Catherine of Sweden, the saturnine and sensual 
 
 Second Ulrich, and the dark-browed Edzard 
 
 "The Little." Masterful men were the men of 
 
 the House of Cirksena. They found a few small 
 
 tribes without cohesion, in a poor country. 
 
 They left a compact and flourishing state. It 
 
 deserves its place in the History of Civilisation, 
 
 does the House of Cirksena, aud Posterity, 
 
 always just, has so decided. Without the 
 
 House, the State were no State. With all its 
 
 faults, the House of Cirksena, of the line of 
 
 Gretsyl, with its Edzards, its Ennos, and its 
 
 156
 
 FRISIA OF TO-DAY 
 
 Ulxichs, did well for the state, the country, and 
 for mankind. 
 
 In obedience to the inexorable law of nature, 
 the House of Cirksena, having accomplished its 
 destiny, and having done its work, disappeared 
 from the scene. 
 
 Its work, however, was well done. 
 
 THE END 
 
 167
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 LIST OF AUTHOEITIES ON EAST FEISIA 
 
 1616. Ubo Emmius. 
 
 Rerwm Fnsicarum Historia. 
 
 1622. Pirius Winsemius. 
 
 Chronique qfte Historische Geschiedenisse van 
 Vriesland. 
 
 Sjved Pietar. 
 
 De Frmorum Antiquitate et Origine. 
 
 1699. AnncUium Phrisicorum. 
 
 1744. Koliler. 
 
 Wochenilichen Historischen. 
 Munz Bdvstigung. 
 
 1846. Klopp 0. 
 
 Geschichte Ost/riesland's. 
 159
 
 APPENDIX A 
 
 1847-54. 
 
 Friesisches Archiv {Oldenburg). 
 Friedldnder Ostfriesisckes Urkundenbuch. 
 
 1874. Graf Edzard II., Osffriesisches Lamlrechf, 1515 
 (Emden). 
 
 1868. Die Bitter von Schtdthess — Rechberg'sche Munz iind 
 Medaillen Sammhmg {Dresden). 
 
 1877. H. Grote. 
 
 Stammtafeln {Liepsic). 
 
 1886. Diinkmann. 
 
 Das Mausoleum der Ost/riesiscTien Fiinrsten. 
 {Aurich). 
 
 PRINTED AT THE EDINBURGH PRESS, 9 AND II YOl-iNG STRKET
 
 :merlan 
 
 Isna, 
 bk. 
 
 CHIEFS OF JEVER. 
 
 (Ostringen, Rustringen, Wangerland). 
 ^th Wimken Papinga, 1330. 
 
 DWimken (senior), 1353-1410. 
 m. Edzi I 
 
 in Mrouwa, ra. Liibbe Sibeth, 
 
 »f Budjadingerland. + 1419. 
 
 Enno 
 
 ^a, 
 
 ml 
 
 ja. 
 
 pistine Loui| 
 iJohn Lewis] 
 Adolphus, 
 pf Wied Rui 
 
 Hayo Harles, 
 1433-1442. 
 
 I 
 Tanne Duren, 
 1442-1468. 
 
 Edo Wimken (junior), 
 1468-1511. 
 
 WflOfv/edfj
 
 CHIEFS OF OBETSYL 
 HonAs of CirkBena. 
 
 J. ., 
 
 Enno Edzardnn, 1406-50- 
 
 m Gcla Bcnni^ of UaiialAgL 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 CHIEFS AND PRINCES OF EAST FRISIA. 
 
 CHIEFS OF MOOBMEBLAND. 
 
 Uko, Chief in Ederraoor, 
 Focko UkenB. + 1435. 
 
 m. Ulrich, Count of E. Frisu 
 (Moormerland : Distrie 
 
 CHIEFS OF BBOOEMERLAND. 
 
 Chief in Brook. 
 
 Kcno ten Brook, 
 
 Ocko Un Brook, 
 
 CHIEFS IN HARLINGEBLAIO). 
 
 Dorniu 
 
 in 1 
 and Wit 
 
 Sibctti Ailena. 
 
 m. OnnttOmken. 
 
 Hero Omkcn, 
 
 Esens. 
 
 SUdeedorf. 
 
 
 Wib«lL + MI7. 
 
 
 
 1.. FOlkt. 
 
 
 1 
 
 otE«n>. 
 
 
 S. Hlhch 
 
 
 
 
 Friiia. 
 
 m. Sibcth Atuu. 
 
 
 
 Anva, 
 
 
 B I 
 
 CHIEFS OP JEVEB. 
 
 (OBtiinsen, Bostriogen, Wancerluid). 
 
 SibeOi Wimken Papinga, 1330. 
 
 Edo Winikcn (senior), 1363-1410. 
 
 Frouwn, m. Lubbp Sibeth, 
 Chief of ButHjftdiiigcrland. + 1419. 
 
 1410-1433. 
 m. Tclt* ton 
 
 
 mken (jnmor). 
 of Oldenburg 
 
 Christoplier 
 
 1517-1676 (who 
 K-ft Jovir hy 
 TeatAment to 
 OldJnbiirgX 
 
 (tCount of Ewt 
 
 ARMS. 
 
 1. B. Fpiflift.-Crowiiod Harpy EugU 
 
 (Virgin Eagle), surrounded in 
 the corners of the escutcheon 
 by four rowels, gold in silver. 
 Helmet : Crown, two ostrich 
 fcAthcrs, black ; between lily, 
 gold. 
 
 2. Ukena of Moormerland. — Lion 
 
 3. Zum Brook. — Eagit 
 licAd and wings. 
 Hi^lmtl : Three c 
 
 Enno III. 
 
 1699-16£». 
 m. 1. Walborg, 
 
 John III,, 
 Count of 
 Ritberg. 
 
 
 daughter of Emperor Uaxiiuilian I. 
 Maximilian, Count of Dilrbuy. 
 
 Dorothy. + 1604. 
 m. Jomo* t'SercWA, 
 
 , Stbino, CouDt«8S ( 
 
 (Durbuy a in the Onnd Duchy of Luxembourg.) 
 ARua: (1) Ea«tFruia; (2) Crowned Lions, 
 
 5. Wittmond, — Two chained whips, 
 
 goU in blue. Helmet: Crown 
 .'hculcheon ; in the middle, lily 
 blue. 
 
 6. Jever.— Lion, gold in blue. Hel- 
 
 met : Crown, three ostrich 
 feathery blue gold. 
 
 7. Haiula^. — Beam covered with 
 
 rhombs Alternatively, gold and 
 whit«, red in white, accompanied 
 by three upturned crescents. 
 B. Bitberg.— Eagle, gold in red. Hel- 
 met : Escutcheon (on the helmet) 
 
 of Wiirtemberg- 
 Chrifitiun Eberhard, 
 
 OBIOHINOEN. 
 
 Ediard Ferdinand, 
 m. Anne Dorothy, 
 
 inget 
 Fre-k-ri 
 
 Ulrich. 
 
 Vlar.v ETiiLV<t>De, 
 
 n. Maximilian Ulrich, 
 Count of Kauniti, 1689-1746. 
 
 IVencealas Anthony, 1746-1794, 
 Prince, 1764. 
 
 Dominique Andrew, 1704-IBIS.
 
 *JM^