Anna Andersdotter (

floruit ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicat ...

1598), was a Swedish noble, married to the

Jöran Persson Jöran Persson, alternatively Göran Persson (c. 1530 – September 1568), was King Eric XIV of Sweden's favorite, most trusted counsellor and head of the King's network of spies. He was widely seen as a Machiavellian figure, and as holdin ...

, the adviser of King

Eric XIV of Sweden Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of E ...

. Anna Andersdotter married Jöran Persson in 1561. She is described as a personal friend and companion of

Karin Månsdotter Karin Månsdotter (in English Catherine; 6 November 1550 – 13 September 1612) was first a mistress of King Eric XIV of Sweden and then briefly queen as his wife. Early life Karin was born in Stockholm to a soldier and later prison guard n ...

, and are listed in her entourage during trips between different royal castles both during Karin's tenure as royal mistress and as queen. During the first illness of Eric XIV in 1567, Jöran Persson was deposed from his position and arrested. During the process against him, Anna was accused of having planted the rumor that Karin had used

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have u ...

to make the king fall in love with her, thereby causing him to become insane by the magic. Anna was further more herself accused of having used witchcraft to enchant Karin. Reportedly, she was sentenced guilty as charged, but for unknown reasons, she sentence was never carried out. Tradition has it that it was commuted upon the request of Karin Månsdotter, but this is regarded as one of the many myths created around Karin. In any case, soon after this, the king recovered his senses, and Jöran Persson was reinstated in his position as adviser to the king. In 1563, she became the caretaker of the illegitimate children of the king's brother

Duke John John III ( sv , Johan III, fi, Juhana III; 20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592) was King of Sweden from 1569 until his death. He was the son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife Margaret Leijonhufvud. He was also, quite autonomou ...

when he was imprisoned, Julius and Sofia Gyllenhielm.Mattsson, Eva, Furstinnan: en biografi om drottning Katarina Jagellonica, Bring to Life, Vadstena, 2018 In 1568, Eric XIV was deposed and imprisoned and his brother John took power. Jöran Persson was once again deposed, imprisoned and this time executed. His mother,

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

, was also arrested and sentenced to death and would have been executed had she not died before the execution. Anna Andersdotter and her three children were given refuge and protection against persecution by the king's brother, Duke Charles.

References

* Jöran Persson satte fursten främst Populär Historia 6/2000 * Anna Andersdotter i Wilhelmina Stålberg, Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor (1864) * Sture Arnell (1951). Karin Månsdotter. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand. ISBN {{authority control Swedish ladies-in-waiting 16th-century Swedish people 16th-century Swedish women