Anna Throndsen

Anna Tronds (later dubbed Anna Rustung) (born somewhere around 1540; died 1607 or later) was a Dano-Norwegian noblewoman. Anna was a member of the distinguished family that has been dubbed by historians as Rustung, which has links to the Norwegian Galtung family. In the English-language countries, she is famous for her marriage with James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, which was repudiated by English/Scots historians.

Background

Anna was the eldest daughter of Kristoffer Trondson, a famous 16th century Norwegian admiral and nobleman. Some years after Norways political subsumption by Denmark, in 1536, Kristoffer was appointed to serve King Frederick II as a Naval commander. He served as an admiral in the Danish fleet, then as Danish Royal Consul in Copenhagen. Kristoffer took his Norwegian family, including Anna, to Copenhagen at this time. As a young woman, Anna assisted her father in consular affairs in the Danish capital.

Marriage to James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell

Anna was married to Bothwell, by handfasting, while he was doing business in Denmark. A notorious scoundrel, Bothwell married another woman while married to her, and soon set his eyes on the Queen, Mary Stuart. While in Scotland, Anna was frustrated and unhappy. She was rumored to have bourne a child, possibly being William, the only son of Bothwell. In the mid-1560s, she left Scotland to return to her family; her mother and siblings had returned to Norway on her fathers death. Anna was a well known woman in Bergen, Norway, where she was known as "Skottefruen" (The Scottish Lady). Shortly thereafter, Bothwell proceeded to marry Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, after having allegedly murdered her husband, Darnley.

Anna's Role in the fate of James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell

Bothwell met his demise vis-a-vis an unfortunate chance reunion with Anna, his former wife, in Bergen Norway. He had left Scotland, fleeing the authorities seeking him on murder charges related to the death of Darnley, first husband of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. He was detained in the port of Bergen, Norway for lack of proper exit papers which he of course did not have and imprisoned in Rosenkrantz Tower. To his great misfortune, former wife Anna was now living in Bergen, where Anna was very well connected via family lines. Bothwell was detained for administrative reason, the real impetus being Anna's complaint against him for purloining her dowry and her legal suit that he had "three wives alive" including herself. His administrative detainment was prolonged by Anna's cousin, Erik Rosenkratz.

Anna won the court case against Bothwell, and accepted his offer of one of his ships as restitution. Unfortuantely for Bothwell, the King of Denmark took notice of the Earl (Bothwell) as a political pawn. Elizabeth I was calling for Bothwell's extradition back to England/Scotland to stand trial for the murder of Darley, Elizabeth's cousin. Rather than turn him over to England, the Danish King transferred Bothwell to Dragsholm Castle where he spent the rest of his years.

Later life

Anna never remarried. She is noted in various diaries and journals from that period, as attending certian notable functions and parties. Evidently she was wealthy in her own right, due to some good investments of her inheritance. She spent her last days in a convent outside of Bergen. That she joined a nunnery in a newly Protestant Norway was indicative of the Catholic family background. Her father had been a cousin of the last Norwegian archbishop, Olav Engelbrektsson

Skottefruen

Anna is reasonably well known in modern Norway as "Skottefruen", "the Scottish Lady". This was a name attributed to Anna during her lifetime, after return from Scotland, to the Bergen, Norway, area, where her family had several residences. Several historical novels have been written about her, in Norwegian; these used temporal journals and diaries as reference.