Johan Rantzau

Johan Rantzau (born Nov. 12, 1492, Steinburg, Holstein [now in Germany]—died Dec. 12, 1565, Breitenburg) was a hero of the Count’s War (1533–36), the Danish civil war that brought King Christian III to the throne. In 1523, as the youthful prefect of Gottorp and adviser to Duke Frederick of Holstein, Rantzau persuaded Frederick to accept the offer of the Danish throne from the nobles who had deposed Christian II. At the head of the Duke’s...