Laurentius Paulinus Gothus (10 November 1565 – 29 November 1646) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

and

Archbishop of Uppsala The Archbishop of Uppsala (spelled Upsala until the early 20th century) has been the primate of Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward under the Lutheran church. Historical ove ...

Biography

Gothus was born Lars Paulsson at

Söderköping Söderköping is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Söderköping Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,992 inhabitants in 2010. Söderköping is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still refe ...

Östergötland County Östergötland County () is a county or '' län'' in southeastern Sweden. It has land borders with the counties of Kalmar to the southeast, Jönköping to the southwest, Örebro to the northwest, and Södermanland to the northeast. It also has a ...

, Sweden. In 1588, Gothus travelled to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and studied in the

Rostock University The University of Rostock () is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the List of universities in Germany#Universities by date of establishment, third-oldest university in Germany. It is ...

for three years. He was influenced by

Pierre de la Ramée Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

(1515–1572) and his philosophy. After receiving a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

, he returned to

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

in time for the

Uppsala Synod The Uppsala Synod in 1593 was the most important synod of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. Sweden had gone through its Protestant Reformation and broken with Roman Catholicism in the 1520s, but an official confession of faith had never been dec ...

in 1593 where the founding dogmas of the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

were made final. He was appointed professor of

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

at the recently reopened, and now Lutheran focused,

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

. In 1598 he re-transferred himself to the professorship in

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

. He was, along with some other professors, suspended from his duty, because of demands that professors to sign a petition supporting

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...

as king of Sweden. However, in 1604, his Protestant uncle Duke Charles was crowned as King

Charles IX of Sweden Charles IX, also Carl (; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I () and of his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, the brother of King Eric XIV and of ...

. When a

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...

appeared on the sky in 1607, Laurentius declared he could interpret what this signified. The belief in

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

and the significance of heavenly signs were still strong. His interpretations made an impression on King Charles and he was re-instated him at the university. Laurentius had acquired a belief in

Ramism Ramism was a collection of theories on rhetoric, logic, and pedagogy based on the teachings of Petrus Ramus, a French academic, philosopher, and Huguenot convert, who was murdered during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in August 1572. Accord ...

from the writings French educational reformer

Petrus Ramus Petrus Ramus (; Anglicized as Peter Ramus ; 1515 – 26 August 1572) was a French humanist, logician, and educational reformer. A Protestant convert, he was a victim of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. Early life He was born at the village ...

and defended his views rigorously. Later he was also involved in philosophical disputes with Jonas Magni Wexionensis (1583–1651) who was a professor and head of Uppsala University and who was an adherent of

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

. Gothus served as Bishop of the

Diocese of Skara The Diocese of Skara () is the oldest existing diocese in Sweden. It was originally a Latin bishopric of the Roman Catholic church, but since the Protestant Reformation has been a Lutheran diocese within the Church of Sweden, with its seat in S ...

(1608–1609) and Bishop of the

Diocese of Strängnäs The Diocese of Strängnäs () is a part of the Lutheran Church of Sweden and has its seat in Strängnäs Cathedral in Strängnäs, south of Lake Mälaren. The diocese is made up of the two provinces Närke and Södermanland (except for eastern S ...

(1609–1637). In 1628, he was tasked with the investigation of the visionary

Margareta i Kumla Margareta i Kumla ('Margareta of Kumla') also known as the ''Sibyl of Kumla'' ('Prophetess of Kumla'), or ''Kumlapigan'' ('Maid of Kumla'), (died after 1628), was a Swedish visionary, who claimed to be possessed. She became the target of pilgrimag ...

. Her visions and alleged meetings with demons and angels were described by Bishop Gothus in a meeting of the Swedish clergy in 1629. During the reign of

Christina, Queen of Sweden Christina (; 18 December O.S. 8 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 8 December1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Monarchy of Sweden, Queen of Sweden from ...

, Gothus served as

and Primate of Sweden from 1637 to 1646.

Works

Laurentius wrote many theological and astronomical works and also published calendars. He furthermore published a thorough ''Ethica Christiana'' 1615–30, a work in six parts in Swedish about Lutheranism. Following this, he in 1631 wrote a summary of this work which has been called the prime catechetical work from 17th century Sweden. He also wrote some historical works about Swedish history.Nordisk Familjebok (1911), article Laurentius p. 1387–1389
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gothus, Laurentius Paulinus Lutheran archbishops of Uppsala 17th-century Lutheran archbishops Rectors of Uppsala University Swedish Lutheran hymnwriters 1565 births 1646 deaths 16th-century Swedish astronomers 17th-century Swedish writers 17th-century male writers 17th-century Swedish astronomers Lutheran bishops of Strängnäs University of Rostock alumni Swedish male writers 16th-century Protestant theologians 17th-century Protestant theologians Writers about religion and science