Anna (von) Rumschottel (fl. 1528) was the mistress of
Eric I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Eric I, the Elder (german: Erich I., der Ältere; 16 February 1470 – 30 July 1540) was Duke of Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1495 and the first reigning prince of Principality of Calenberg, Calenberg-Göttingen. ...
.
[Kirsi Stjerna:]
Women and the Reformation
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She was a member of the
landed gentry
The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. While distinct from, and socially below, the British peerage, th ...
. She became the lover of Eric I when he became a widower. The relationship was discontinued when Eric married
, and Eric I stated to Elisabeth that his mistress was dead, going so far as to arrange a mock funeral for her. The relationship was resumed during Elisabeth's recovery after the birth of their daughter Anna Maria, and continued even after the recovery of Elisabeth, as the pregnancy had caused her to become ill. The affair was public when Anna gave birth in a secluded castle. Elisabeth took deep offense, and complained of the affair in a 1549 letter to Albrecht of Prussia.
Elisabeth accused Anna of having caused her illness and complications during her second pregnancy. She accused Anna of
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 us ...
and urged her husband to have Anna
burned at the stake
Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
. She persuaded Eric to allow Anna to be charged with witchcraft. Elisabeth sent spies and soldiers into the neighboring
Diocese of Minden, in order to arrest Anna in her hideout in
Minden
Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detm ...
. However, Anna escaped. During Inquisition proceedings against Anna's alleged helpers, some of the accused women died after torture at the stake. She wished to have also Anna convicted and executed by burning. However, Eric I arranged for Anna to escape. This caused Elisabeth to appeal to her father to intervene, and eventually caused the separation between Elisabeth and Eric.
Anna Rumschottel was however burnt to death in Hamelin.
References
* Martina Schattkowsky,
Witwenschaft in der frühen Neuzeit: fürstliche und adlige Witwen zwischen '
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rumschottel, Anna
Mistresses of German royalty
People executed for witchcraft
16th-century executions in the Holy Roman Empire