Hans Pauli
Encyclopedia
Hans Pauli was a Swedish
Bridgettine monk
and an alleged sorcerer, active as a professional exorcist and counter-magician.
Pauli had originally been a monk of the Bridgettine
order in the convent of Vadstena Abbey
. When the Swedish convents were closed in 1527, the nuns and monks, though formally allowed to stay as long as they did not admit any new members into the order, often left their old convents, especially the male members of the orders (the former nuns often stayed). The male section in the convent of Vadstena was dissolved in 1555. These monks were given a bad reputation because they traveled around people who still believed in old Catholic habits, teaching old Catholic prayers out among the people as spells. King Gustav Vasa
complained about these traveling monks.
Hans Pauli had left his convent and spent five years in his old home country in Bergslagen
, where he made himself a name by healing peoples' sicknesses by spells. He was also hired for exorcism and as a counter-magician of curses and black magic.
On one famous occasion he was actually hired to lift the curse believed to have been put upon the silver
mine in Sala in Berglagen. When the mine dried out temporarily one autumn, the bailiff wrote to the king with the explanation that the draft had been caused by unknown sorcerers, and Hans Pauli had been hired to perform white magic to counter the evil magic and lift the curse of the mine. Hans Pauli later described his actions and how he was hired himself;
In 1554, he was arrested and imprisoned in Hämeenlinna
in Finland
.
Many of the women who were accused of sorcery during the great inspection-journey of the archbishop in 1596-1597 claimed that they had learned their spells and their medical practices from wandering former monks such as Hans Pauli.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Bridgettine monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
and an alleged sorcerer, active as a professional exorcist and counter-magician.
Pauli had originally been a monk of the Bridgettine
Bridgettines
The Bridgettine or Birgittine Order is a monastic religious order of Augustinian nuns, Religious Sisters and monks founded by Saint Birgitta of Sweden in approximately 1350, and approved by Pope Urban V in 1370...
order in the convent of Vadstena Abbey
Vadstena Abbey
Vadstena Abbey was the motherhouse of the Bridgettine Order, situated on Lake Vättern, in the Diocese of Linköping, Sweden. The abbey started as one of the farms donated by the king, but the town of Vadstena grew up around it...
. When the Swedish convents were closed in 1527, the nuns and monks, though formally allowed to stay as long as they did not admit any new members into the order, often left their old convents, especially the male members of the orders (the former nuns often stayed). The male section in the convent of Vadstena was dissolved in 1555. These monks were given a bad reputation because they traveled around people who still believed in old Catholic habits, teaching old Catholic prayers out among the people as spells. King Gustav Vasa
Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav I of Sweden, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known simply as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death....
complained about these traveling monks.
Hans Pauli had left his convent and spent five years in his old home country in Bergslagen
Bergslagen
Bergslagen is a historically, culturally, and linguistically distinct mining district located north of Lake Mälaren in northern Svealand, Sweden. In Bergslagen mining and metallurgic industry have been important since the Middle Ages...
, where he made himself a name by healing peoples' sicknesses by spells. He was also hired for exorcism and as a counter-magician of curses and black magic.
On one famous occasion he was actually hired to lift the curse believed to have been put upon the silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mine in Sala in Berglagen. When the mine dried out temporarily one autumn, the bailiff wrote to the king with the explanation that the draft had been caused by unknown sorcerers, and Hans Pauli had been hired to perform white magic to counter the evil magic and lift the curse of the mine. Hans Pauli later described his actions and how he was hired himself;
"At the time of my residence on the copper mountain I found amongst old books a smaller book whose title was Consecratio majoris salis et aquae contra Daemoniacas infestatones ("great spell with salt and water against demonic obsessions"); I begun to use it over those who came under something evil, especially at night, when they left the royal mine. So it happened, when his Majesty's silver mine was damaged, that the bailiff asked me, if I knew a cure. I soon followed his wish and performed exorcism over everything around the foundries, and at once everything was back to normal".
In 1554, he was arrested and imprisoned in Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland and is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper, and until 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the...
in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
Many of the women who were accused of sorcery during the great inspection-journey of the archbishop in 1596-1597 claimed that they had learned their spells and their medical practices from wandering former monks such as Hans Pauli.