The Lordships of Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund (German: Herrlichkeiten Esens, Wittmund und Stedesdorf) formed a contiguous area in the old district of Harlingerland in the north of the East Frisian peninsula. As in the other areas of East Frisia, the system of the old Frisian freedom in Harlingerland came under increasing pressure due to the rise of the chieftains. In Harlingerland they owned castles in places such as Dornum, Esens, Stedesdorf, Werdum and Wittmund. All these strongholds came one by one into the hands of the powerful chieftain family Attena in the fifteenth century. The first to call himself 'Chieftain of Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund' was Sibet Attena in 1455; a loyal follower of Ulrich Cirksena, the later founder of the County of East Frisia. His son, Hero Oomkens, on the other hand, turned away from the Cirksena dynasty and its claims over the entire East Frisian peninsula. A long and bitter struggle followed in which the counts of East Frisia tried in vain to gain control of Harlingerland. It was not until 1600 that Count Enno III of East Frisia succeeded in bringing the lordships of Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund within East Frisian influence through the Treaty of Berum of 28 January 1600. However, the area never became fully part of the County of East Frisia: it was only connected to it in a personal union. Thus, the East Frisian estates had no say in the area.
History
Unification of the lordships At the end of the fifteenth century, Harlingerland came under the sphere of influence of the chieftain family Tom Brok. In 1414, they appointed the chieftain Wibet of Esens as their vassal in the lordship of Esens. This was ruled from Burg Esens, making Esens the main town of the old Harlingerland. When Wibet turned against the Tom Brok family in the battle for power in East Frisia, his castle in Esens was razed to the ground. Wibet then built a new castle in the southeast of Esens. Wibet had one daughter: Foelke of Esens. She married the chieftain of Stedesdorf: Hero Oomken the elder. This united the lordships of Esens and Stedesdorf for the first time. They had one daughter: Onna of Stedesdorf. She was the heir to the lordship of Stedesdorf. The lordship of Esens, on the other hand, was transferred to the second husband of Foelke of Esens: Ulrich Cirksena. Ulrich in turn transferred the rule over Esens to his loyal vassal and cousin Sibet Attena in 1454. Onna of Stedesdorf married Sibet Attena around 1455. With this, both lordships were once again connected, this time permanently.
The town of Wittmund is located in the east of Harlingerland. There were several castles here, including Kankena Castle, which was originally owned by the chieftain family Kankena. However, Wittmund was strongly influenced by the Tom Brok family. It was only with the downfall of this chieftain family that power in Wittmund was returned to Tanne Kankena by Focko Ukena. However, he was, as a vassal of Focko Ukena, imprisoned by Ulrich Cirksena. After he had renounced several possessions, he was allowed to return to Wittmund. In 1454 he also lost his Burg in Wittmund: Sibet Attena took possession of it. Tanne Kankena was later, in 1461, compensated for this with the Osterburg in Dornum. Through a marriage with Idze Attena he had already come into possession of the Westerbug in Dornum.
Through struggle, marriage politics and ties with the Cirksena dynasty Sibet Attena had succeeded in getting the entire Harlingerland in his hands. In 1455 he called himself 'Lord of Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund'.Karl Ernst Hermann Krause (1892), "Sibo", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 34, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 138–139
Loyal vassal of East Frisia In the following years, Sibet Attena behaved as an extremely loyal vassal of his cousin Ulrich Cirksena. In 1464 Sibet was present at the ceremonial award of the Imperial County of East Frisia to Ulrich Cirksena in Emden and Sibet Attena was knighted on this occasion. Sibet Attena served as Ulrich Cirksena's most important advisor in the early years of the young county. After Ulrich Cirksena's death in 1466 he supported his widow, Theda Ukena, on condition that the lordships of Esens, Stedesdof and Wittmund would retain their autonomy from the County of East Frisia. Furthermore, Sibet Attena succeeded in obtaining confirmation from the Imperial Court in 1468 of the letter of the granting of the Imperial County of 1464. This secured the inheritance of Ulrich Cirksena's young children Enno, Edzard and Uko. At the end of Sibet Attena's life he attempted to expand his own rule to the east (the Lordship of Jever) and south (the Lordship of Friedeburg). He died on 8 November 1473. A beautiful sarcophagus was erected for him in the church of Esens in honour of his achievements.
Bitter enmity with the Cirksena dynasty
Sibet Attena was succeeded by his son, Hero Oomkens. Unlike his father, who had been a loyal vassal of the Cirksena dynasty all his life, he developed into a bitter enemy of the East Frisian counts. This was expressed, among other things, by the fact that he named himself after his mother's family name, Oomkens, instead of the dynasty to which his father had belonged: Attena. Hero Oomkens tried fanatically to keep his lordships of Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund out of the hands of the East Frisian counts. This was further underlined by his marriage to Irmgard of Oldenburg in 1489, the daughter of Count Gerhard VI of Oldenburg. The Counts of Oldenburg were bitter enemies of East Frisia and this step would have been viewed with suspicion at the East Frisian court. Between 1495 and 1497, Count Edzard I of East Frisia attempted to gain control of the lordships of Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund, as well as the Lordship of Jever, through military display of force. However, these military enterprises came to nothing, leaving Harlingerland and Jeverland outside the reach of the Cirksena dynasty. Hero Oomkens was supported by rulers from the region such as the Prince-Bishop of Münster, the County of Oldenburg and the city of Bremen. Moreover, the local populations of Harlingerland and Jeverland felt more loyalty to their local chieftains than to the ideas of Count Edzard I of East Frisia about a united Frisian state that he strove for. Hero Oomkens saw his chance when the Saxon feud broke out in 1514, which was aimed at Count Edzard. Hero seized this opportunity with both hands to severely damage the Cirksena dynasty and thus strengthen and consolidate his own rule in Harlingerland. Together with allies, Hero took the castle in Großsander. The castles in Dornum and the fortress in Stickhausen also fell. In 1517, the war came to an end, after which peace largely returned to the East Frisian peninsula. However, the battle between Hero and Edzard continued. Edzard tried to enforce the claims to the Harlingerland secured by the emperor and plundered the area. However, this was only moderately successful due to the well-developed fortifications of Wittmund and Esens.Karl Ernst Hermann Krause (1892), "Hero Omken II", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 12, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 201–202
In 1522 Hero Oomkens died. He was succeeded by his son Balthasar Oomkens. The Reformation was in full swing. While the East Frisian counts opted for the new protestant religion, the rulers in Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund remained fervent Catholics, although this was more for political considerations than religious ones. Renewed hostilities broke out in 1524 and 1525 when Edzard tried to take Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund. The Harlingerland was taken and Balthasar formally submitted to the authority of the East Frisian counts. In the meantime he had made enemies in Bremen by issuing letters of marque aimed at damaging the merchants of that city as much as possible. He was supported in this by the Duchy of Guelders and the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. When the last male heir of the lordship of Jever, Christopher of Jever, died in 1517, Balthasar also claimed this area and tried to take it. His rebellion against East Frisia continued, forcing Count Enno II of East Frisia, Edzard's successor, to reoccupy Harlingerland in 1530. Balthasar lost his rule in these areas and fled to his sister Onna of Esens who was married to the ruler of the County of Rietberg. Balthasar submitted to the feudal authority of the Duchy of Guelders in the hope that the duke could restore his authority in Harlingerland. Charles II of Guelders then invaded the County of East Frisia and caused great devastation and suffering in the area; the Gueldrian Feud had broken out. The battle of Jemgum in 1533 was lost and cities such as Leer and Oldersum were plundered and burned. Enno II of East Frisia felt compelled to restore Balthasar to his honour and make far-reaching concessions. With renewed self-confidence, Balthasar began to harass merchant ships from Bremen again in 1537. Attempts at reconciliation were rejected and the imperial authorities decided to impose an Imperial ban on Balthasar in 1538. In the summer of 1540, Balthasar invaded the lordship of Jever once again. Jever and Bremen responded with a counter-reaction and the city of Esens was besieged. During this siege, Balthasar was killed and because he had no male heirs, his territory fell into the hands of the counts of Rietberg.Karl Ernst Hermann Krause (1892), "Esens, Balthasar von", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 2, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 27–28
Connected to the county of Rietberg
Balthasar was succeeded as ruler of Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund by his sister Onna of Esens. Onna was married to Count Otto III of Rietberg. Together with her son, count John II of Rietberg, she took over the rule of Esens from her brother. Her first action as ruler was to make peace with the city of Bremen. She too resisted the East Frisian claims on her territory and she did everything she could to strengthen the rule of her son John II. In 1547, they had the city and castle of Esens further fortified. After the childless death of his half-brother, Count Otto IV of Rietberg, John II also took over the rule of Rietberg. Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund were from then on connected in a personal union with the county of Rietberg. John II ruled his territory in a tyrannical manner and repeatedly raided the territory of neighbouring countries. In 1556 he conquered a piece of territory in East Frisia. Anna of Oldenburg, the regent of East Frisia, protested strongly but in vain. He also continued to cause problems around his county in Rietberg and more and more rulers rebelled against him. In 1557 the cup was finally full and he was imprisoned by imperial authorities. He died in captivity in Cologne in 1562. He was also the last male heir of his dynasty.
He was succeeded by his daughters Armgard and Walburgis. They ruled the county of Rietberg and the lordships of Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund jointly, initially under the regency of their mother Agnes of Bentheim-Steinfurt. On 27 September 1576, Armgard and Walburgis divided their inheritance: Armgard received Rietberg while Walburgis received Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund. With Walburgis, Harlingerland once again had an independent ruler for a while. However, in 1584, fate struck and Armgard died childless. Walburgis then took over the rule in Rietberg, whereby both areas were once again united in a personal union. Walburgis had married Count Enno III of East Frisia in 1581. Not much later, in 1586, Walburgis also died at a young age.