Talk:Lars Nilsson (shaman)

Witch trial or heresy
Was Nilsson executed for heresy, or for witchcraft? The article is rather unclear and I'd like to put him in the proper category. Asarelah (talk) 16:25, 17 June 2009 (UTC)


 * The definition is a little tricky. The trial has sometimes been defined as a witch trial, and mentioned in connection to the Swedish witch hunt, but it has not much in common with Swedish witch trials. As far as I have understood it, he was executed for being a Pagan, which can be defined as an execution of heresy; however, there was no law in Sweden against heresy, so the formal charge would have been blasphemy, a common accusation against Samis (and, for that matter, other Pagans such as Eric Clauesson) who were put on trial for being pagans. The fact that Pagan religion was considered to be witch craft was a diffrent matter. Formally, therefore, he was executed for blasphemy. In reality, he was executed for being a Pagan. Not for witchcraft or heresy, although his Paganism may have been considered to be witchcraft. --Aciram (talk) 17:03, 17 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Ah, thank you. I'll just leave the categories as they are then. Asarelah (talk) 17:51, 24 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Youre welcome. I will probably also double check this just to make sure again when I have the time. --Aciram (talk) 10:37, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

More cases
The context-section mention more cases:

"This is the only known case of a Sami burned at the stake for his religion in Sweden. Witch trials against the Sami were more common in Norway, were at least 26 samis were put on trial for witch craft. They were often hired by local non-Sami, who thought they could affect the weather; in 1627, Quiwe Baarsen was burned at the stake in Norway accused of having sunk ships by summoning a storm. In Sweden, they were only two cases of witch trials against the Sami; in 1671, Aike Aikesson was sentenced to death accused by a missionary of having killed a farmer with magic, but he died before the execution. The trial of Nilsson can also be seen as a witch trial, but it is no doubt that this was a trial against paganism by the Lutheran Church, which had been established in Lapland just before, during a time when the Sami had recently been made to convert to Christianity. Since the Middle Ages the Sami were pagans amongst themselves and Christian in the presence of non-Sami, and by the end of the 17th century, the Lutheran Church became very eager to expose all secret paganism. In 1687, Erik Eskilsson and Amund Thorsson were put on trial for blasphemy on account of their paganism, but were freed after they converted to Christianity. Between 1665 and 1708, eleven people in Lapland were sentenced to death for blasphemy because they were followers of the old Sami religion, and five of the executions were conducted."

Perhaps these, or other cases such as them, should also have their own articles as well? They do in Swedish wiki. It is an interesting subject! --85.226.42.57 (talk) 20:29, 9 July 2009 (UTC)

Thor
It is problematic to cite the court protocol as if Lars literally was worshipping the norse god Thor. The 17th century practice of translating the sami deities into known deities from classical or norse mythology is (according to Mebius 2007 and others) not necessarily a relevant presentation of sami beliefs. Bw Orland (talk) 08:13, 30 July 2015 (UTC)