Anna Rheinholdsdotter Leuhusen (died c. 1554), was the

Abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

of St. Clare's Priory in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. She became known for her involvement in the

Swedish War of Liberation Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

between Sweden and Denmark in the 1520s.

Background

Anna Leuhusen was born the child of Reinhold Leuhusen, merchant in Stockholm, and the sister of Martin Leuhusen, who is listed as a member of the city council of 1521; Martin Leuhusen was a fervent Catholic who did not convert until 1536. Her sister was married to the Danish colonel Gregorius Holst. The year of her birth is unknown. Anna Lehusen entered the Clara Abbey as a member of the order of

Saint Clare of Assisi Chiara Offreduccio (16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253), known as Clare of Assisi (sometimes spelled ''Clara'', ''Clair'' or ''Claire''; ), is an Italian saint who was one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi. Inspired by the teachings of ...

. She was appointed abbess sometime prior to 1508. This year, she is confirmed as such, when she appealed to the city for economic assistance in her capacity of abbess.

Act during the war

During this period, Sweden and Denmark, formally united through the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...

, was involved in various warfare which eventually led to the Swedish War of Liberation. In 1520, the city of Stockholm was sieged and taken by the Danes after the defeat of

Christina Gyllenstierna Christina Nilsdotter Gyllenstierna of Fogelvik (Swedish: ''Kristina'' or ''Kerstin'': 1494 – January 1559, Hörningsholm Castle) was a Swedish noblewoman. She was married to the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Younger, and led the Swedish ...

. Soon after, however, the rest of Sweden rose in rebellion and in 1522, the city was besieged by the Swedes under

Gustav Vasa Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm (''Reichsverweser#Sweden, Riksföreståndare'') fr ...

. During the siege, the St. Clare's Priory was used as an escape channel by people who wished to join the Swedes outside the city, both merchants and courtiers. Leuhusen was a Danish loyalist and, according to the legend, responsible for betraying several of these people. During the day, she signaled by hanging a white cloth out of the window and, during the night, a lamp to the part of the convent facing the city, as a sign to the Danes that there were refugees in the building. When they left the convent on their way outside the city, they were taken by the Danes and executed for treason. This was performed in collaboration with her brother-in-law, the Danish loyalist mayor of Stockholm.

Later life

In June 1523, Stockholm was retaken by the Swedes and made capital of the independent Kingdom of Sweden. In 1525, Elin Thomasdotter is noted to have replaced Anna Leuhusen as abbess. The St. Clare's Priory was one of the first convents to be dissolved during the

Swedish Reformation The Reformation in Sweden is generally regarded as having begun in 1527 during the reign of King Gustav I of Sweden, but the process was slow and was not definitively decided until the Uppsala Synod of 1593, in the wake of an attempted Counter-Re ...

in 1527. This has been contributed to the acts of Anna Leuhusen during the war, for which the King felt vengeful.Lisbet Scheutz (2001 (2003) nuytgåva). Berömda och glömda stockholmskvinnor: sju stadsvandringar: 155 kvinnoporträtt. (Famous and forgotten women of Stockholm: seven tours: 155 female profiles) Stockholm: MBM. Libris 8392583 Former Abbess Anna Leuhusen and the rest of the

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s was allowed to settle in the dissolved Grey Friar Abbey, which had been left empty by the monks, where they worked as

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

s the rest of their lives. Anna Leuhusen is known to have kept one of the convent most treasured possessions. When the abbey was founded in 1288, Princess Richenza of Sweden had entered it, and became its abbess in 1335. Richenza possessed a golden chain, which was consequently used by the abbesses of the abbey for centuries. Anna Leuhusen kept this chain when the abbey was dissolved and gave it to her family. Anna Leuhusen was still alive in 1550. She is believed to have died around 1554.

Notes

References

Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor
*https://web.archive.org/web/20070218214012/http://histvarld.historiska.se/histvarld/sok/artikel.asp?id=21016 *http://fornvannen.se/pdf/1950talet/1958_047.pdf *Martin Berntson. Klostren och reformationen. Upplösningen av kloster och konvent i Sverige 1523–1596. Malmö 2003. * Lisbet Scheutz (2001 (2003) nuytgåva). Berömda och glömda stockholmskvinnor: sju stadsvandringar: 155 kvinnoporträtt. (Famous and forgotten women of Stockholm: seven tours: 155 female profiles) Stockholm: MBM. Libris 8392583 {{DEFAULTSORT:Leuhusen, Anna Swedish Roman Catholic abbesses 15th-century births 1554 deaths Women in 16th-century warfare Poor Clare abbesses People of the Swedish War of Liberation Women in war in Sweden 16th-century Swedish nuns 15th-century Swedish nuns People from Stockholm

Background

Act during the war

Later life

See also

Notes

References