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Anna Klemetsdotter Hogenskild (1513-1590), also known as ''fru Anna till Åkerö'' ('lady Anna of Åkerö') and ''fru Anna till Hedensö'' ('lady Anna of Hedensö'), was a Swedish court official and landowner. She served as ''
hovmästarinna Court Mistress ( da, hofmesterinde; nl, hofmeesteres; german: Hofmeisterin; no, hoffmesterinne; sv, hovmästarinna) or Chief Court Mistress ( da, Overhofmesterinde; ('grand mistress'); ; no, overhoffmesterinne; sv, överhovmästarinna; russia ...
'' to queen
Catherine Stenbock Catherine Stenbock (Swedish: ''Katarina Gustavsdotter Stenbock''; 22 July 1535 at Torpa, Tranemo Municipality, Västergötland – 13 December 1621 at Strömsholm, Västmanland) was Queen of Sweden from 1552 to 1560 as the third and last wife of ...
of Sweden, and then to the daughter and sisters of
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 Es ...
.


Life

Anna Hogenskild was the daughter of the nobleman Klemet Bengtsson Hogenskild of Åkerö (d. 1512) and lady Anna Hansdotter Thott of Bjurum (d. 1549). She belonged to a prominent noble family: her mother was the maternal granddaughter of princess Christina (ca 1432- before 1500), eldest daughter of
Charles VIII of Sweden Charles VIII ( sv, Karl; 1408–1470), contemporaneously known as Charles II and called Charles I in Norwegian context, was king of Sweden (1448–1457, 1464–1465 and 1467–1470) and king of Norway (1449–1450). Regnal name Charles was the ...
, and related to
Sten Sture the Elder Sten Sture the Elder ( sv, Sten Sture den äldre; 1440 – 14 December 1503) was a Swedish statesman and regent of Sweden from 1470–1497 and 1501–1503. As the leader of the victorious Swedish separatist forces against the royal unionist for ...
. She married nobleman Jacob Krumme (d. 1531) in 1530, and nobleman Nils Pedersson Bielke (d. 1550) in 1537. In her second married she became the mother of three sons and a daughter: ''
riksråd Riksrådet (in Norwegian and Swedish), Rigsrådet (in Danish) or (English: the Council of the Realm and the Council of the State – sometimes translated as the "Privy Council") is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that rule ...
'' baron
Hogenskild Bielke Hogenskild Bielke (1538 – 3 June 1605) was a Swedish baron, court official and ''riksråd''. He was one of the more prominent leaders of the Swedish nobility in their power struggle against royal authority during the 16th-century. Life He was t ...
(1538-1605), Carin Nilsdotter Bielke (1539-1596), ''riksråd'' baron Claes Nilsson Bielke (1544-1623) of Vik, and ''riksråd'' Ture Nilsson Bielke (1548-1600).


Court career

She had good connections at court, where her family was in service. Her second spouse was a court official and a trusted confidant of king
Gustav I of Sweden Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...
, her eldest son Hogenskild Bielke became the playmate of prince
Magnus, Duke of Östergötland Magnus Vasa (25 July 1542 – 26 June 1595), prince of Sweden, Duke of Östergötland from 1555. Magnus was the third son of King Gustav Vasa. His mother was queen Margareta Leijonhufvud. Biography Magnus was the only of Gustav Vasa's sons, excep ...
and later (1556) courtier of king Gustav; and her second son Claes married Elsa Fleming, the sister of queen
Gunilla Bielke Gunilla Bielke; Swedish: ''Gunilla Johansdotter Bielke af Åkerö'' (25 June 1568 – 19 July 1597) was Queen of Sweden as the second wife of King John III. Queen Gunilla is acknowledged to have acted as the political adviser to John III and to h ...
. Anna Hogenskild herself was eventually appointed ''
hovmästarinna Court Mistress ( da, hofmesterinde; nl, hofmeesteres; german: Hofmeisterin; no, hoffmesterinne; sv, hovmästarinna) or Chief Court Mistress ( da, Overhofmesterinde; ('grand mistress'); ; no, overhoffmesterinne; sv, överhovmästarinna; russia ...
'' (Chief lady-in-waiting or
Mistress of the Robes The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. Formerly responsible for the queen consort's/regnant's clothes and jewellery (as the name implies), the post had the responsibility for arranging the rota ...
) to king Gustav's last queen, Catherine Stenbock. As such, she was made responsible for all the ladies-in-waiting in the household of the queen. Anna Hogenskild had been highly regarded by King Eric XIV already when he was a crown prince, and during his reign, he displayed his favor upon her and her children. After he succeeded to the throne in 1560, he had no queen, but he gave her the office of ''
hovmästarinna Court Mistress ( da, hofmesterinde; nl, hofmeesteres; german: Hofmeisterin; no, hoffmesterinne; sv, hovmästarinna) or Chief Court Mistress ( da, Overhofmesterinde; ('grand mistress'); ; no, overhoffmesterinne; sv, överhovmästarinna; russia ...
'' in the household of the princesses, his sisters: Princess Cecilia,
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 12 ...
, Sophia and Elizabeth of Sweden. She was also given the responsibility for the household of his illegitimate daughters
Virginia Eriksdotter Virginia Eriksdotter (1 January 1559 – 1633) was a Swedish noble. She was the recognized illegitimate daughter of King Erik XIV of Sweden and his official royal mistress Agda Persdotter. Life Virginia was born at Kalmar Castle during her father ...
and
Constantia Eriksdotter Constantia Eriksdotter (1560–1649) was the illegitimate daughter of Eric XIV of Sweden and Agda Persdotter. She was called "The Queen of Tiveden". Life Constantia Eriksdotter and her sister Virginia were removed from their mother's custody when ...
. As Mistress of the Household of the Princesses, she was known to have used her position to benefit her family: in 1563, eight of the thirteen maids-of-honour to the princesses where related to her. She was, however, apparently both well liked and respected at court, and was not known to be too strict: in fact, king Eric appointed her brother-in-law Ture Pedersson as chamberlain in the household of the princesses because he did not trust Anna Hogenskild to be able to keep his sisters sufficiently under control. Anna left court service after the deposition of Eric XIV in 1568. King
John III of Sweden 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 autonomous ...
suggested that the deposed king Eric was to be imprisoned in
Vik Castle Vik Castle (''Viks slott'') is situated in Uppsala municipality and Balingsta district in Uppsala County, in the historical province of Uppland, Sweden. The name of the castle is sometimes spelled Wik or Wijk, which is a spelling according t ...
, one of the estates of Anna, but the negotiations did not succeed and the plan was not put to fruition.


Private life

Privately, she was a central matriarch in the powerful
Bielke Bielke is the name of an ancient and powerful Swedish noble family, originally from Småland. History The family was wirst mentioned in the 13th century. It is the second-oldest such family still in existence after Natt och Dag. The comital f ...
family, and her relationship to her relatives was described as warm and trusting rather than forceful and dominant. Judging by her accounts, she gave generous donations to the needing, but also to the
Vadstena Abbey The Abbey Pax Mariae ( la, Monasterium sanctarum Mariæ Virgìnis et Brigidæ in Vatzstena), more commonly referred to as Vadstena Abbey, situated on Lake Vättern in the Diocese of Linköping, Sweden, was the motherhouse of the Bridgettine Orde ...
and the
Nådendal Abbey Nådendal Abbey (Swedish: Nådendals kloster), was a Bridgettine abbey in then-Swedish Finland, in operation from 1438 to 1591. The abbey was first situated in Masku, secondly in Perniö (1441) and finally in Naantali in 1443. It was one of six mo ...
, suggesting Catholic sympathies, which was not uncommon among the contemporary Swedish aristocracy despite the ongoing Swedish Reformation. It is known that several of her family members had Catholic sympathies: two of her sons, Ture Nilsson Bielke and
Hogenskild Bielke Hogenskild Bielke (1538 – 3 June 1605) was a Swedish baron, court official and ''riksråd''. He was one of the more prominent leaders of the Swedish nobility in their power struggle against royal authority during the 16th-century. Life He was t ...
, where to be executed by
Charles XI of Sweden Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...
as loyalists with the Catholic Sigismund III Wasa, and her granddaughter
Ebba Bielke Ebba Bielke (1570–1618), was a Swedish baroness convicted of high treason. Life She was the daughter of riksråd baron Hogenskild Bielke and Anna Sture. She was thus the paternal granddaughter of Anna Hogenskild, and the maternal granddaught ...
judged for complicity though not executed. Anna Hogenskild was one of the greatest landowners in contemporary Sweden. Her second spouse was a big landholder, owning estates both in Sweden and Denmark, and Anna herself inherited
Åkerö Manor Åkerö Manor (''Åkerö slott'') is a manor house in Södermanland, Sweden. Although an estate with a history going back to the Middle Ages, the presently visible manor house complex was commissioned in 1748 (completed in 1752-1757) by Carl Gust ...
in 1540, where she preferred to reside. Due to the court service of her spouse, it was in effect she who managed the family estates for him, and after his death in 1550, she became a landowner also formally. Despite having to combine her own court service in parallel with the estates, she managed her lands with "much care, strength and success".Nils Pedersson (Bielke), urn:sbl:18171, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av B. Boëthius.), hämtad 2017-12-16.
/ref> Her correspondence is preserved and the object of research.


References

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Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hogenskild, Anna 1590 deaths Swedish ladies-in-waiting Mistresses of the Robes (Sweden) 16th-century Swedish nobility 1513 births 16th-century women landowners 16th-century Swedish women 16th-century Swedish landowners 16th-century letter writers