Peder Pedersen Winstrup (30 April 1605 – 28 December 1679) was Bishop of Lund in Scania. Winstrup was bishop there during a period spanning both Danish and Swedish sovereignty and periods of war when the land was contested. He was married to the Danish noblewoman, Dorothea von Andersen who was an influential person in her own right in Scania and known to be strongly pro-Danish.[1]
Winstrup was born in Copenhagen, then the capital of Denmark–Norway, on 30 April 1605. He was the son of Peder Jensen Vinstrup, Bishop of Zealand and professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen. After his father's death in 1614, his mother married his successor as bishop. Peder Winstrup the younger studied at the universities of Rostock, Wittenberg, Leipzig, and Jena in Germany and graduated from the University of Copenhagen in 1633. In 1635, he was appointed royal chaplain in the household of King Christian IV. He was awarded a doctorate in theology in 1636 and was made bishop of Lund in 1638.
Career
After Scania and the other provinces included in his diocese had been ceded to Sweden through the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, Winstrup pledged loyalty to his new sovereign, Charles X Gustav, and he was ennobled under the name Himmelstierna, a name he never actually used. In 1658, he suggested that a new university should be founded in Lund (at the location of the former Academy of Lund) and where there was already a renowned Latin School, but received little response from the king. When the Swedish authorities eventually decided to start up a university there a few years later, at least part of the initiative lay with a subordinate priest in the diocese, Bernhardus Oelreich, and Winstrup now turned against the idea.
After the University of Lund was officially inaugurated in 1668, Oelreich was appointed the prokansler ("pro-chancellor"), despite the statutes giving this position to the Bishop. After a long political struggle, Oelreich was sent off to Germany and Winstrup was appointed to this position in 1671. Despite rumours accusing him for lack of loyalty to the Swedish crown, he remained bishop until his death in 1679. The Swedish governor-general Sperling appointed a Swedish vice bishop to keep an eye on Winstrup during his later years and Winstrup very much resented this.
Just the fact that Winstrup's wife wrote confidential letters to exponents of the Danish government would have been enough to court-martial the couple, but the Swedish authorities were unaware of Dorothea von Andersen's correspondence with her powerful Danish friends. However, before the war she had caused her husband embarrassment and trouble in Sweden because she declared in public that Swedes were dogs and their children shouldn't have access to school scholarships in Scania.[1]
One of the reasons that the Swedes became increasingly suspicious of Winstrup was that he willingly obliged the Danes when they reconquered Scania in 1676. Between June and December that year, Scania was under Danish rule again and Winstrup, like most of the Scanians, seemed happy enough with that. The Scanian War (1675-79) was the bloodiest war in Scandinavian history and took a disastrous toll on the Scanian population. After the battle of Lund on 4th December 1676, the Swedes slowly wrenched back their grip on Scania and at the peace negotiations 1679, Swedish rule was legally re-established. Winstrup and his family had experienced their fair share of tribulations during the war. In a letter from 4th October 1678, Winstrup's wife Dorothea wrote to the Danish district governor (amtmand) Knud Thott to complain that she and her husband were stuck in the bishop's residence (Lundegaard) in the city of Lund, and that everything had been destroyed; the city burnt down (most lately by Danish troops, before that by continuous fighting), their property confiscated, their food taken away, their carriage confiscated, they had nothing and her husband's health was in decline. "God knows that Calamity has stricken us often during these times of war...my husband's health is very weak and that he should have to experience this in his old age - they have taken all that we need to survive, and then we had this great fire ("storre ilde bran")...". They had been asked to move out of their house but had nowhere to go and were both terribly frightened, so they had ended up stuck in the middle of the war zone. Winstrup died shortly after the end of the Scanian War.
In June 2015 Winstrup's grave was moved from the crypt of the Lund cathedral to its northern tower. The body was taken away temporarily for research. It was in a well-preserved condition. The body of a fetus was discovered in the Winstrup's coffin, tucked in under the feet of the bishop. The fetus, wrapped in a piece of linen cloth, is believed to have been five to six months old. It is presumably a grandson of Winstrup. Swedish researchers have established a family connection with the help of DNA material from the bishop and the fetus, according to Lund University. According to the study, the boy and Winstrup share 25 percent of the genes; it is a second-degree relationship. It was not unusual for the time for young children to be placed in coffins with adults.[2]
Bibliography
H. F. Rørdam, "Vinstrup, Peder Pedersen, 1605-79, Biskop", (in Danish) Dansk biografisk leksikon, XIX. Bind. Vind - Oetken, pp. 53–56.
Forscher lösen Rätsel um Bischofs-Mumie, die mit einem Fötus begraben wurde, (in German)
References
^ abFabricius, Knud (1958). Skaanes overhang fra Danmark til Sverige II (in Danish). Copenhagen. pp. 122–124.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Maev Kennedy (June 21, 2015). "Scan of mummified body of Swedish bishop reveals baby hidden in coffin". The Guardian.
August 17, 2023
peder, winstrup, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, june, 2015. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Peder Winstrup news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations June 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Peder Pedersen Winstrup 30 April 1605 28 December 1679 was Bishop of Lund in Scania Winstrup was bishop there during a period spanning both Danish and Swedish sovereignty and periods of war when the land was contested He was married to the Danish noblewoman Dorothea von Andersen who was an influential person in her own right in Scania and known to be strongly pro Danish 1 The Right ReverendPeder WinstrupBishop of LundBishop Peder Winstrup on a contemporary engraving printed in one of his own theological works in 1666ChurchChurch of Denmark and Church of SwedenDioceseLundAppointed1638Installed1638Term ended28 December 1679PredecessorMads Jensen MedelfarSuccessorCanutus HahnPersonal detailsBornPeder Pedersen Winstrup 1605 04 30 April 30 1605Copenhagen Denmark NorwayDiedDecember 28 1679 1679 12 28 aged 74 BuriedLund CathedralParentsPeder Jensen Vinstrup Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Bibliography 4 ReferencesEarly life and education EditWinstrup was born in Copenhagen then the capital of Denmark Norway on 30 April 1605 He was the son of Peder Jensen Vinstrup Bishop of Zealand and professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen After his father s death in 1614 his mother married his successor as bishop Peder Winstrup the younger studied at the universities of Rostock Wittenberg Leipzig and Jena in Germany and graduated from the University of Copenhagen in 1633 In 1635 he was appointed royal chaplain in the household of King Christian IV He was awarded a doctorate in theology in 1636 and was made bishop of Lund in 1638 Career EditAfter Scania and the other provinces included in his diocese had been ceded to Sweden through the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658 Winstrup pledged loyalty to his new sovereign Charles X Gustav and he was ennobled under the name Himmelstierna a name he never actually used In 1658 he suggested that a new university should be founded in Lund at the location of the former Academy of Lund and where there was already a renowned Latin School but received little response from the king When the Swedish authorities eventually decided to start up a university there a few years later at least part of the initiative lay with a subordinate priest in the diocese Bernhardus Oelreich and Winstrup now turned against the idea After the University of Lund was officially inaugurated in 1668 Oelreich was appointed the prokansler pro chancellor despite the statutes giving this position to the Bishop After a long political struggle Oelreich was sent off to Germany and Winstrup was appointed to this position in 1671 Despite rumours accusing him for lack of loyalty to the Swedish crown he remained bishop until his death in 1679 The Swedish governor general Sperling appointed a Swedish vice bishop to keep an eye on Winstrup during his later years and Winstrup very much resented this Just the fact that Winstrup s wife wrote confidential letters to exponents of the Danish government would have been enough to court martial the couple but the Swedish authorities were unaware of Dorothea von Andersen s correspondence with her powerful Danish friends However before the war she had caused her husband embarrassment and trouble in Sweden because she declared in public that Swedes were dogs and their children shouldn t have access to school scholarships in Scania 1 One of the reasons that the Swedes became increasingly suspicious of Winstrup was that he willingly obliged the Danes when they reconquered Scania in 1676 Between June and December that year Scania was under Danish rule again and Winstrup like most of the Scanians seemed happy enough with that The Scanian War 1675 79 was the bloodiest war in Scandinavian history and took a disastrous toll on the Scanian population After the battle of Lund on 4th December 1676 the Swedes slowly wrenched back their grip on Scania and at the peace negotiations 1679 Swedish rule was legally re established Winstrup and his family had experienced their fair share of tribulations during the war In a letter from 4th October 1678 Winstrup s wife Dorothea wrote to the Danish district governor amtmand Knud Thott to complain that she and her husband were stuck in the bishop s residence Lundegaard in the city of Lund and that everything had been destroyed the city burnt down most lately by Danish troops before that by continuous fighting their property confiscated their food taken away their carriage confiscated they had nothing and her husband s health was in decline God knows that Calamity has stricken us often during these times of war my husband s health is very weak and that he should have to experience this in his old age they have taken all that we need to survive and then we had this great fire storre ilde bran They had been asked to move out of their house but had nowhere to go and were both terribly frightened so they had ended up stuck in the middle of the war zone Winstrup died shortly after the end of the Scanian War In June 2015 Winstrup s grave was moved from the crypt of the Lund cathedral to its northern tower The body was taken away temporarily for research It was in a well preserved condition The body of a fetus was discovered in the Winstrup s coffin tucked in under the feet of the bishop The fetus wrapped in a piece of linen cloth is believed to have been five to six months old It is presumably a grandson of Winstrup Swedish researchers have established a family connection with the help of DNA material from the bishop and the fetus according to Lund University According to the study the boy and Winstrup share 25 percent of the genes it is a second degree relationship It was not unusual for the time for young children to be placed in coffins with adults 2 Bibliography EditH F Rordam Vinstrup Peder Pedersen 1605 79 Biskop in Danish Dansk biografisk leksikon XIX Bind Vind Oetken pp 53 56 Forscher losen Ratsel um Bischofs Mumie die mit einem Fotus begraben wurde in German References Edit a b Fabricius Knud 1958 Skaanes overhang fra Danmark til Sverige II in Danish Copenhagen pp 122 124 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Maev Kennedy June 21 2015 Scan of mummified body of Swedish bishop reveals baby hidden in coffin The Guardian Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Peder Winstrup amp oldid 1169484424, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
