Peder Jönsson (died 1640), was a Swedish hunter and fisherman from

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 ...

, who was executed for having confessed to sexual intercourse with a

Sjörå The sjörå , (lake Rå) or the ''Sjöfru'' (Mistress of the Lake) was a mythical creature of the lake, or Rå, in Swedish folklore. She is a female, humanoid water spirit. She is a seductive creature, often featured sitting and combing her long, ...

(a lake-nymph; a mythical female creature of the lake). Though there are other cases of the same kind in 17th-century Sweden, his is the only case where the sentence is confirmed to have been executed. Jönsson was from Söderköping, where he was employed as a sexton at a church. One source says his mother was known locally for being a witch. In 1640, his wife or a neighbour alerted the authorities about him. Before the court, he admitted to previously having together with another man, a Finn, called upon the

sjörå The sjörå , (lake Rå) or the ''Sjöfru'' (Mistress of the Lake) was a mythical creature of the lake, or Rå, in Swedish folklore. She is a female, humanoid water spirit. She is a seductive creature, often featured sitting and combing her long, ...

three Thursdays in a row with a magic chant "I summon thee Seawife (Haffru) by the names of a thousand devils. I want to serve thee" while beating the water surface three times with a stick made out of

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya ...

tree. This chant they had learnt from an old hunter who had already served the sjörå. Other sources also says it was a

skogsrå The Skogsrå ( ; ), Skogsfrun ('the Mistress of the Forest'), Skogssnuvan, Skogsnymfen ('the Forest Nymph'), Råndan ('the Rå') or Huldran, is a mythical female creature (or ''rå'') of the forest in Swedish folklore. It appears in the form of ...

, as Jönsson moved in environments where it was said that both could be found, and oftentimes these names would refer to the same mythical being. But in any instance the rå appeared to him as a beautiful woman with horsetail, feet like a cow and legs with fur and dressed in a fine black gown and a white veil on her head. She promised him good fortune in hunting and fishing, and to teach him

hydromancy Hydromancy (Ancient Greek ὑδρομαντεία, ''water-divination'',Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie.'' Oxford ...

as a way to track down lost or stolen items. In exchange, he would provide her with sex and refuse his wife in bed. He agreed. The wife of Jönsson confirmed his story. This story was interpreted as witchcraft (which would have been considered to be him making a

deal with the devil A deal with the Devil is a cultural motif exemplified by the legend of Faust and the figure of Mephistopheles, as well as being elemental to many Christian traditions. According to traditional Christian belief about witchcraft, the pact is ...

by the authorities), and Peder Jönsson was sentenced to death by the local court (Söderköping town hall court). His sentence was confirmed by the

Göta Court of Appeal The Göta Court of Appeal (), located in Jönköping, is one of the six appellate courts in the Swedish legal system. The court was established in 1634 during the regency of Queen Christina. It is the second oldest of the Swedish courts of appe ...

, and he was thereby executed and then

burned at the stake Death by burning is an list of execution methods, execution, murder, or suicide method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a puni ...

References

Sources

* Helmfrid, Björn: Söderköping: Tiden 1568-1690, S:t Ragnhilds Gille, Söderköping (2001), p. 253 {{DEFAULTSORT:Peder Jonsson 1640 deaths 17th-century Swedish people 17th-century executions by Sweden Fishermen Hunters People from Söderköping Municipality Swedish people executed for witchcraft

See also

References

Sources