John | |
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Duke of Holstein | |
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Born | 9 July 1583 |
Died | 28 October 1602 | (aged 19)
House | Oldenburg |
Father | Frederick II of Denmark and Norway |
Mother | Sofie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
Johan of Schleswig-Holstein (9 July 1583 – 28 October 1602) was the youngest son of Frederick II of Denmark and Norway and Sophia of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He went to Russia in 1602 as the bridegroom of Boris Godunov's daughter Ksenia (Xenia), but fell ill and died before the marriage could take place.[1] It is possible that Boris Godunov's ministers may have poisoned him. The cancelled marriage between John and Ksenia was an attempt to ally Denmark-Norway with the Russian Empire.
Other notable facts
[edit]- In Alexander Pushkin's chamber drama Boris Godunov and the Mussorgsky opera based on it, Johan is referred to in Boris's monologue "I have attained the highest power":
I thought to make my daughter happy
By wedlock. Like a tempest Death took off
Her bridegroom—and at once a stealthy rumour
Pronounced me guilty of my daughter's grief--
Me, me, the hapless father!
Ancestry
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Carl Frederik Bricka. "Hans, 1583-1602, yngste Søn af Kong Frederik II og Dronning Sophie". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
Other sources
[edit]- "The Muscovite Embassy of 1599 to Emperor Rudolf II of Habsburg," by Isaiah Gruber (1999): page 86 (with footnote 3)
- Büsching, Anton Friedrich (1773). Magazin für die neue Historie und Geographie, VII Theil: VII Archiv-Nachrichten von alten Unterhandlungen welche zwischen dem russischen und danischen hofe von 1554 bis 1677. Halle: Johann Jacob Curt. pp. 316–317.
- Büsching, Anton Friedrich (1773). Magazin für die neue Historie und Geographie, VII Theil: Johannis des jüngern, Herzogs von Denmark Reussische Reise und Einzug zu Moskau 1602. Halle: Johann Jacob Curt. pp. 255–298.
External links
[edit]- Boris Godunov: a drama in verse at Project Gutenberg
- The Muscovite Embassy of 1599 to Emperor Rudolf II of Habsburg (pdf) by Isaiah Gruber