Isabella Hoppringle (1460–1538), was a Scottish prioress and spy. She was the prioress of

Coldstream Coldstream () is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream was where the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army, originated. Description Coldstream li ...

Priory in 15051538. Belonging to a family who often provided prioresses to the priory in Coldstream, she was installed in the position in 1505. She was a personal friend to the Scottish queen dowager regent,

Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and fought to exte ...

. As the monastery was near the border of England and Scotland, it was in the midst of the warfare between the nations in 1513. She skillfully managed to balance between the two nations to the benefit of the priory and was reputed as the best agent England had in Scotland. In 1538, she was succeeded as superior – and reputedly as agent – by her relative Janet Pringle.

Bibliography

* ''The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women'', Elizabeth L. Ewan, Sue Innes,

Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...

, 2006,

References

1460 births 1538 deaths People from Coldstream Scottish spies 16th-century spies 16th-century Scottish people Scottish Roman Catholic abbesses 15th-century Scottish women 16th-century Scottish women {{Scotland-bio-stub