Lasses Birgitta
Encyclopedia
Lasses Birgitta was an alleged Swedish witch. She was the first woman executed for sorcery
in Sweden.
In April 1550, Lasses Birgitta, which means "Birgitta, Wife of Lasse", from Algutsrum
in Öland
, confessed to the bailiff and the secretary on Kalmar Castle
that she had tried to awaken a dead man in Kastlösa
cemetery
at midnight.
One night, Birgitta and two men had entered the church yard with the intent of awakening one of the dead by magic
. Birgitta had passed the place in a circle three times and then blew through the keyhole of the church until it opened. She had tried to get a hold of the stole, but did not find it and had to leave, after which she locked the door the same way she entered it. After another attempt on a different occasion, she had succeeded in getting the stole, passed the church three times against the sun, renounced God and swore herself to the Devil.
The court judged Birgitta as guilty of sorcery and sentenced her to death by decapitation. The men who accompanied her were fined.
After the trial of Birgitta, the Swedish witch hunt remained more or less inactive until the 1590s, and the real witch hysteria was not to break loose until 1668. The last person to be executed for sorcery in Sweden was Anna Eriksdotter
.
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
in Sweden.
In April 1550, Lasses Birgitta, which means "Birgitta, Wife of Lasse", from Algutsrum
Algutsrum
Algutsrum is a locality situated in Mörbylånga Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 499 inhabitants in 2005.Algutsrum Hundred was a hundred of Öland in Sweden.- References :...
in Öland
Öland
' is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but during Swedish Midsummer it is visited by up to 500,000 people...
, confessed to the bailiff and the secretary on Kalmar Castle
Kalmar Castle
Kalmar Castle is a castle in Kalmar, the province of Småland in Sweden. - History :During the twelfth century a round defensive tower was built on Kalmarsund and a harbour constructed. At the end of the thirteenth century King Magnus Ladulås had a new fortress built with a curtain wall, round...
that she had tried to awaken a dead man in Kastlösa
Kastlösa
Kastlösa is a locality situated in Mörbylånga Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 208 inhabitants in 2005....
cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
at midnight.
One night, Birgitta and two men had entered the church yard with the intent of awakening one of the dead by magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
. Birgitta had passed the place in a circle three times and then blew through the keyhole of the church until it opened. She had tried to get a hold of the stole, but did not find it and had to leave, after which she locked the door the same way she entered it. After another attempt on a different occasion, she had succeeded in getting the stole, passed the church three times against the sun, renounced God and swore herself to the Devil.
The court judged Birgitta as guilty of sorcery and sentenced her to death by decapitation. The men who accompanied her were fined.
After the trial of Birgitta, the Swedish witch hunt remained more or less inactive until the 1590s, and the real witch hysteria was not to break loose until 1668. The last person to be executed for sorcery in Sweden was Anna Eriksdotter
Anna Eriksdotter
Anna Eriksdotter or Anna Ersdotter, , called Sotpackan was an alleged Swedish witch. She was the last person to be executed for sorcery in Sweden.-Background:...
.