Laurentius Paulinus Gothius
Laurentius Paulinus Gothus (
November 10,
1565 –
November 29,
1646) was a
Swedish theologian,
astronomer
and
Archbishop of Uppsala
(1637-1645).
Life
In 1588
Gothus travelled to Germany
and studied
in the Rostock University for
three years. He was influenced by
Pierre de la Ramée (also known as
Petrus Ramus) and his philosophy rather than the
Lutheran scholastics.
After
getting an M.A., he returned home to
Uppsala
in time for the Uppsala
Synod in 1593 where the founding dogmas of the Swedish Lutheran
Church were made final. He was appointed professor of logistics at the recently reopened, and now
Lutheran focused, Uppsala University
. In 1598 he re-transferred himself to the
professorship in
astronomy.
He was, along with some other professors, suspended from his duty
in 1606, because the archbishop of 1600 had demanded the professors
to sign a petition supporting the recently crowned
Sigismund of Sweden. In 1606, his
antagonist
Duke Charles was crowned and
was not too happy about this.
When a
comet appeared on the sky in 1607,
Laurentius declared he could interpret what this signified. The
belief in
astrology and the significance
of heavenly signs were still strong (see for instance, astronomer
Tycho Brahe), and Laurentius was no
exception. His interpretations made him important for the King, he
reinstated him at the university.
A while later, he got involved in philosophical disputes with the
professor in philosophy, Jonas Magni, who was an adherent of
Aristotle. Laurentius's had from Ramée
acquired a scepticism towards this philosophy and defended his
views rigorously.
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.
References
Wikis
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