Johannes Sering or Johan Seringius (died 1631) was a chaplain to Anne of Denmark in Scotland and England.
Sering was a graduate of Rostock University where he had studied under David Chytraeus. His 1585 matriculation record says he was from Thuringia. [1] He was a member of the Lutheran church. He was described as born a subject of the Prince of Weimar (Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar) when he became an English citizen in 1607. [2]
As part of the negotiations for the marriage of Anne of Denmark and James VI of Scotland 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. [3]
Following Anne of Denmark's marriage by proxy to King James on 20 August 1589, [4] 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. [5]
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, Bishop of Oslo. [6] 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". [7]
Sering, as the "Dens minister" (Danish preacher), was paid a yearly fee of £600 in three termly installments from the Scottish exchequer. [8] He was given clothes to suit his role, a hat, a gown and cassock of fine London cloth. [9]
David Chrytraeus wrote to Sering in October 1590. [10] 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. [11]
Though both kingdoms had adopted forms of Protestantism, Denmark was a Lutheran country while Scotland had become Calvinist. Some historians, including Susan Dunn-Hensley and Maureen Meikle, suggest that Anne of Denmark soon secretly converted to the Catholic faith after coming to Scotland, despite Sering's guiding role. [12] It is suggested that Sering converted to Scottish Calvinism. [13] Other historians, including Jemma Field, contend that Anne of Denmark did not convert from the Lutheran faith of her upbringing. [14]
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. [15] [16] 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. [17] seing 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, and the household accounts recorded the day as the wedding of "Hairy Hans" and "Little Anna". [18]
The Duke of Holstein, 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. [19]
On 25 July 1607, Sering was granted denization in England, and was described as a subject of the Prince of Weimar. [20]
Little Anna died on 26 February 1608, and was buried at St Margaret's, Westminster, where Sering had a ledger stone placed with a Latin epitaph. [21]
In 1611 he petitioned for the mastership of the hospital of Newport Pagnell, which was part of the queen's jointure. [22] Sering, recorded as the "Dutch chaplain" had a royal annuity of £50 per year from 11 February 1621. [23] In 1622 he sent a petition for payment to the Lord Treasurer, Lionel Cranfield. [24] He received a pension of £80 yearly. In 1626 he wrote a Latin poem for the coronation of Charles I of England to accompany another petition for arrears of his pension. [25]
He died in 1631 and was buried at St Margaret's, Westminster, leaving a widow, Grace. [26]
A man called "Frederick Searing" or "Serings", locksmith or turner (carpenter), also appears in lists of the queen's household. [27] In payments of February 1608 he can be linked with George Davies, a coffer maker. It is unclear if this man was a relation to Johannes Sering. [28]
Anne of Denmark was the wife of King James VI and I. She was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until her death in 1619.
Sir George Home of Wedderburn was briefly Comptroller of the Scottish Exchequer in the household to James VI of Scotland.
John Murray, 1st Earl of Tullibardine was a Scottish courtier and leader of the Clan Murray.
Margaret or Margrethe Vinstarr, was a Danish courtier in Scotland to Anne of Denmark commemorated by the ballad "The Laird o Logie" for rescuing her imprisoned lover.
Jacob Kroger, was a German goldsmith who worked for Anne of Denmark in Scotland and stole her jewels.
On 17 May 1590, Anne of Denmark was crowned Queen of Scotland. There was also a ceremony of joyous entry into Edinburgh on 19 May, an opportunity for spectacle and theatre and allegorical tableaux promoting civic and national identities, similar in many respects to those performed in many other European towns. Celebrations for the arrival of Anne of Denmark in Scotland had been planned and prepared for September 1589, when it was expected she would sail from Denmark with the admirals Peder Munk and Henrik Gyldenstierne. She was delayed by accidents and poor weather and James VI of Scotland joined her in Norway in November. They returned to Scotland in May 1590.
Wilhelm von der Wense was a German-speaking courtier and Danish diplomat serving Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow.
Elizabeth or Elspeth Gibb was a Scottish courtier.
Piero or Pierre Hugon was a French servant of Anne of Denmark accused of stealing her jewels.
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 postdoctoral fellow at Brunel University, London. She is currently Associate Director of Research at the Yale Center for British Art.
Maureen M. Meikle is an academic historian.
Queen Elizabeth I of England paid a subsidy to King James VI of Scotland from 1586 to 1602. This enabled her to influence James by delaying or deferring payments to his diplomats in London. Records survive of the yearly amounts, and details of the expenditure in some years. A large proportion of the money was spent on the royal wardrobe of James and Anne of Denmark. Some royal expenses were met by Anne of Denmark's dowry, which was known as the "tocher". The regular incomes of the Scottish crown were feudal rents, customs, and "compositions" charged on grants of land. Accounts for royal incomes and payments survive as the exchequer rolls and lord treasurer's accounts and have been published as historical sources.
Tullibardine Castle was a castle located in the village of Tullibardine, 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Auchterarder in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.
The jewels of Anne of Denmark (1572–1619), wife of James VI and I and queen consort of Scotland and England, are known from accounts and inventories, and their depiction in portraits by artists including Paul van Somer. A few pieces survive. Some modern historians prefer the name "Anna" to "Anne", following the spelling of numerous examples of her signature.
Peter Sanderson was an Edinburgh tailor who worked for Anne of Denmark wife of James VI of Scotland.
Anna Kaas was a Danish lady in waiting or chamberer serving Anne of Denmark, queen consort of James VI and I.
Anne of Denmark (1574–1619) was the wife of James VI and I, King of Scotland, and King of England after the Union of Crowns. In 1617, she was depicted in a painting by Paul van Somer with an African servant holding her horse at Oatlands Palace. There are archival records of Africans or people of African descent, often called "Moors" or "Moirs", in her service. One of the first publications to mention Anne of Denmark's "Moir" servant in Scotland was edited by James Thomson Gibson-Craig in 1828.
Hans Poppilman was a Danish cook who served Anne of Denmark in Scotland and England.
Anne of Denmark (1574–1619) was the wife of King James VI and I, and as such Queen of Scotland from their marriage by proxy on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from 24 March 1603 until her death in 1619. When Anne intended to sail to Scotland in 1589 her ship was delayed by adverse weather. Contemporary superstition blamed the delays to her voyage and other misfortunes on "contrary winds" summoned by witchcraft. There were witchcraft trials in Denmark and in Scotland. The King's kinsman, Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell came into suspicion. The Chancellor of Scotland John Maitland of Thirlestane, thought to be Bothwell's enemy, was lampooned in a poem Rob Stene's Dream, and Anne of Denmark made Maitland her enemy. Historians continue to investigate these events.
Søren Johnson was a Danish courtier in Scotland, serving Anne of Denmark, queen consort of James VI and I as master of the wardrobe.