Johannes Sering or Johan Seringius (died 1631) was a chaplain to

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

in Scotland and England. He wrote a dedicatory Latin poem for Adrian Damman's ''Bartasias; de mundi creatione'' (Edinburgh: Robert Waldegrave, 1600).

Background

Sering was a graduate of

Rostock University The University of Rostock () is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the List of universities in Germany#Universities by date of establishment, third-oldest university in Germany. It is ...

where he had studied under

David Chytraeus David Chytraeus or Chyträus (26 February 1530 – 25 June 1600) was a German Lutheran theologian, reformer and historian. He was a disciple of Philip Melancthon. He was born at Ingelfingen. His real surname was Kochhafe, which in Classical Gr ...

. His 1585 matriculation record says he was from

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

. He was a member of the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church. He was described as born a subject of the Prince of Weimar (

Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar Johann Wilhelm (11 March 1530 – 2 March 1573) was a duke of Saxe-Weimar. Life He was the second son of Johann Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, and Sibylle of Cleves. At the time of his birth, his father still carried the title Elector of Sax ...

) when he became an English citizen in 1607.

Preacher to the Scottish Queen

As part of the negotiations for the marriage of Anne of Denmark and

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

the Danish Regency council requested that she was allowed the freedom of religion and worship of her choice, and to keep a preacher at the expense of the Scottish exchequer, and recruit a successor as she wishes. The preacher was to be Danish or German. Following Anne of Denmark's marriage by proxy to King James on 20 August 1589, a household was established for her in Denmark as the Scottish Queen. The chief lady in waiting or '' hofmesterinde'' was Fru Ide Ulfstand, and Johannes Sering was her preacher.

Meeting at Oslo

After Anne's ships were delayed by contrary winds, James VI of Scotland sailed to Norway to meet her. On 25 November 1589 he had lunch with Sering and his own preacher David Lindsay, as guests of

Jens Nilssøn Jens Nilssøn (in Latin ''Joannis Nicolai'') (1538–1600) was a Norwegian clergyman, educator, poet and author. He served as the Diocese of Oslo, Bishop of Oslo from 1580 to 1600. Biography Nilssøn was born in Oslo, Norway. After the death of h ...

Bishop of Oslo The Diocese of Oslo is the Church of Norway's bishopric for the municipalities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum. It is one of Norway's five traditional bishoprics and was founded around the year 1070. History Oslo was established as a diocese in 1068. ...

. James VI interviewed Sering, promising him an annual stipend of 200 dalers and another 40 dalers for the wages of two servants for, "the instruction of our Sovereign lady his highness's dearest spouse in the true religion".

Service in Scotland

Sering, as the "Dens minister" (Danish preacher), was paid a yearly fee of £600 in three termly installments from the Scottish exchequer. He was given clothes to suit his role, a hat, a gown and cassock of fine London cloth. David Chrytraeus wrote to Sering in October 1590. Sering may have written frequently to the court of Denmark with news of Scotland and the queen. One of his surviving letters to the Danish council seems to allude to this role. Though both kingdoms had adopted forms of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, Denmark was a

country while Scotland had become

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

. Some historians, including Susan Dunn-Hensley and

Maureen Meikle Maureen M. Meikle (1961-2023) was an academic historian. Her 1988 PhD thesis at the University of Edinburgh was titledLairds and gentlemen: A study of the landed families of the Eastern Anglo-Scottish Borders c.1540-1603. Maureen Meikle was a Fulb ...

, suggest that Anne of Denmark soon secretly converted to the

Catholic faith The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international instituti ...

after coming to Scotland, despite Sering's guiding role. It is suggested that Sering converted to Scottish Calvinism. Other historians, including

Jemma Field Jemma Field is a historian and art historian from New Zealand. She studied for her PhD with Erin Griffey at the University of Auckland. She was subsequently a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellow at Brunel Un ...

, contend that Anne of Denmark did not convert from the Lutheran faith of her upbringing. On 25 May 1595 Sering wrote the Council of Denmark, asking if he could leave Scotland and be a church minister in Denmark. He mentioned that the queen now could now speak Scots as fluently as any noblewoman. However, he stayed in the queen's service and came with her to England in 1603. In April 1597 he attended the baptism of Lucretia, the daughter of George Littlejohn. Sering married Anna Ellis or Ebbes, a Danish servant of the queen on 28 April 1598. The queen paid for their wedding banquet at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has s ...

, and the

household accounts ''Household Accounts'' () is a 2003 Italian mystery-drama film directed by Tonino Cervi. Cast * Gabriele Lavia: Augusto Pavinato * Emanuela Muni: Antonia * Claudio Bigagli: Judge Di Giacomo * David Sebasti: Giuliano Mantegna *Carlo Croccolo: Cav ...

recorded the day as the wedding of "Hairy Hans" and "Little Anna".

In England

Sering went to London at the

Union of the Crowns The Union of the Crowns (; ) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas diplomacy) of the two separate realms under a single ...

with his family. The

Duke of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (; ) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had his County of Holstein-Rendsburg elevated to a duchy by ...

, who visited England in 1605, promised Anna Ebbis she would have an annual pension of £50, but she later had to write a petition for payment. On 25 July 1607, Sering was granted denization in England, and was described as a subject of the

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

. Little Anna died on 26 February 1608, and was buried at

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret the Virgin, Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Pal ...

, where Sering had a ledger stone placed with a Latin epitaph. In 1611 he petitioned for the mastership of the hospital of

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. The town is separated from the rest of the u ...

, which was part of the queen's jointure. Sering, recorded as the "Dutch chaplain" had a royal annuity of £50 per year from 11 February 1621. In 1622 he sent a petition for payment to the

Lord Treasurer The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord ...

, Lionel Cranfield. He received a pension of £80 yearly. In 1626 he wrote a Latin poem for the coronation of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

to accompany another petition for arrears of his pension. He died in 1631 and was buried at St Margaret's, Westminster, leaving a widow, Grace.

Frederick Sering

A man called "Frederick Searing" or "Serings", locksmith or turner (carpenter), also appears in lists of the queen's household. In payments of February 1608, he can be linked with George Davies, a coffer maker, and in 1612 was listed as "Frederick, smith". It is unclear if this man was a relation to Johannes Sering.Folger Shakespeare Library, image
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