Anna Koldings

Anna (Ane or Anne) Koldings (died 1590) was an alleged Danish witch. She was one of the main suspects in the witch trial of Copenhagen the summer of 1590, which were held as a parallel to the famous North Berwick Witch trials in Edinburgh in Scotland.

The winter of 1589, Princess Anne of Denmark departed from Copenhagen to marry King James VI of Scotland. A great storm arose, which almost caused the ship to sink. The ship of the princess eventually harbored in Oslo in the Danish province of Norway, James VI joined her there, and the wedding took place in Norway instead of in Scotland, as had been planned. In the spring of 1590, after a few months at the Danish court, James VI and Anna returned to Scotland. Their voyage from Denmark was also beset by storms. The Danish court at that time was greatly perplexed by witchcraft and the black arts, and this must have impressed on the young King James. [1]

In the summer of 1590, a great witch hunt was instituted in Copenhagen. The Danish minister of finance, Christoffer Valkendorff, was accused by the Admiral Peder Munk of having equipped the royal ship so insufficiently that it had been unable to withstand the weather.[2] He defended himself by saying that the storm had been caused by witches in the house of Karen the Weaver, who had sent little demons in empty barrels who had climbed up the keels of the ships and caused the storm.[3] Karen was arrested in July. She confessed to have caused the storms which hunted the royal ship by use of witchcraft, and named other women as accomplices. One of them was Anna Koldings. During torture, Koldings described how a group of women had gathered in the house of Karen, where they had caused the storm of the princess' ship by sending small devils up the keels of the ship.

Koldings named five other women as accomplices, among them Malin, wife of the mayor of Copenhagen, and Margrethe Jakob Skrivers. All women were arrested and charged, while the spouse of Skrivers unsuccessfully tried to defend her. Anne Koldings was considered a very dangerous witch, and referred to as Mother of the Devil. She was treated as somewhat of a celebrity in prison and displayed to visitors: she is known to have confessed to two priests and three female visitors while in prison.

Anne Koldings was judged guilty as charged and executed by burning at the stake at Kronborg. Twelve women were reportedly executed for involvement in this witch trial. In September, two women were burnt as witches at Kronborg.[4] James VI heard news from Denmark regarding this, and decided to set up his own tribunal.