Edzard Cirksena was an East Frisian chieftain

East Frisian chieftains

The East Frisian chieftains assumed positions of power in East Frisia during the course of the 14th century, after the force of the old, egalitarian constitution from the time of Frisian Freedom had markedly waned.- Early history :...

 at Greetsiel

Greetsiel

Greetsiel is a small 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 administrative seat in Pewsum...

, Norden

Norden

- Geography :* the Scandinavian name for the Nordic countries.* Norden, Lower Saxony: a town in Lower Saxony, Germany.* Norden Township, Minnesota: a township in Minnesota, United States.* Norden, Greater Manchester: a village near Rochdale, England....

, Emden

Emden

Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...

 and Brokmerland

Brokmerland

The Brokmerland is a landscape and an historic territory, located in western East Frisia, which covers the area in and around the present-day communities of Brookmerland and Südbrookmerland. The Brokmerland borders in the east on the Harlingerland and in the north on the Norderland. The historic...

 .

His father Enno Edzardisna

Enno Edzardisna

Enno Edzardisna was a chieftain of Norden, Greetsiel, Berum and Pilsum in East Frisia. He was the son of the chieftain Edzard II of Appingen-Greetsiel and his wife Doda tom Brok...

 and he 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

Cirksena

The Cirksena are noble East Frisian family descended from a line of East Frisian chieftains from Greetsiel.- The Cirksena in East Frisia :In 1439 in the wake of clashes between different lines of chieftains, the town of Emden was first placed by Hamburg under direct rule and then, in 1453, finally...

; 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

East Frisia or Eastern Friesland is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony....

, albeit without the Harlingerland

Harlingerland

The Harlingerland is a strip of land on the North Sea coast of East Frisia. Whilst, today, the whole of the district of district of Wittmund is usually described as Harlingerland, historically it is specifically used to refer to the northern part of the present district, which formed the old...

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He died at an advanced age, of the plague, in 1441, one day after his stepmother Gela died.