Agneta Willeken (1497-1562) was the lover of the German mercenary Marcus Meyer, one of the most notable participators of the

Count's Feud The Count's Feud ( da, Grevens Fejde), also called the Count's War, was a war of succession that raged in Denmark in 1534–36 and brought about the Reformation in Denmark. In the international context, it was part of the European wars of religi ...

. She was pointed out as a political participator on the side of

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

in the propaganda of the war. She was the daughter of the merchant Peter Radkens of Hamburg and married the merchant Hans Willeken. Her spouse became ruined in 1527, and moved to Lübeck, where he died in 1535. She stayed in Hamburg and became the lover of Marcus Meyer, with whom she corresponded when he left to Lübeck and married a wealthy widow. When he participate in the war he gave captured goods to her. During Meyer's siege of

Varberg Fortress Varberg () is a locality and the seat of Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 35,782 inhabitants in 2019. Varberg and all of Halland are well known for their "typical west coast" sandy beaches. In Varberg the coast changes from wi ...

in 1535, she sent him a letter, which was taken by the King of Denmark and used as propaganda material. This letter was used to point out Willeken as a major instigator and political participator of the war. She was pointed out as the main force behind the decision of the Lübeck mayor,

Jürgen Wullenwever Jürgen Wullenwever (c. 1492 – 29 September 1537) was burgomaster of Lübeck from 1533 to 1535, a period of religious, political and trade turmoil. Biography Wullenwever was probably born at Hamburg in 1492. Settling in Lübeck as a merc ...

, to declare war on Holstein.

Notes

Sources

*Heinrich Reincke: Agneta Willeken. Ein Lebensbild aus Wullenwevers Tagen, Pfingstblätter des Hansischen Geschichtsvereins 1928 *Edith Ennen: Frauen im Mittelalter, C.H.Beck, 1999; S. 154–156 {{DEFAULTSORT:Willeken, Agneta 1497 births 1562 deaths People of the Count's Feud