Edzard Cirksena (born: ''Edzard Edzardisna''; died: 1441) was an East Frisian chieftain at

Greetsiel Greetsiel is a small seaport, port on the bight of Leybucht in western East Frisia, Germany, that was first documented in letters from the year 1388. Since 1972, Greetsiel has been part of the municipality of Krummhörn, which has its administrati ...

Norden Norden is a Scandinavian and German word, directly translated as "the North". It may refer to: Places England * Norden, Basingstoke, a ward of Basingstoke and Deane * Norden, Dorset, a hamlet near Corfe Castle * Norden, Greater Manchester, a vill ...

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

and Brokmerland. Ubbo Emmius: ''Friesische Geschichte'', Frankfurt am Main, 1980-1982Eggerik Beninga: Historie van Oost-Frieslant, Emden, 1723 He and his father Enno Edzardisna had married the last two heiresses of the great family of Syardsna from Berum; Edzard married Frauwa Cirksena; his father married her aunt Gela Cirksena. Enno and Edzard adopted their wives' family name, which was also spelled ''Sirtzena'', ''Syrtza'', or ''Zyertza''. Edzard was probably the first to spell the name as

Cirksena The House of Cirksena was the ruling family of East Frisia (). They descended from a line of East Frisian chieftains from Greetsiel. East Frisia In 1439, in the wake of clashes between different lines of chieftains, the town of Emden was first ...

; this spelling was retained by all later members of the family. From his father he inherited the reign over almost all of

East Frisia East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...

, albeit without the Harlingerland. He died at an advanced age, of the plague, in 1441, one day after his stepmother Gela died.

References

East Frisian chieftains House of Cirksena Year of birth uncertain 1441 deaths 15th-century German nobility 15th-century deaths from plague (disease) {{EastFrisia-stub