Some people have managed to create more intrigue and mystery in death than they ever did in life, leaving behind questions we may never answer. In his day back in the 17th century, Peder Pedersen Winstrup was an important person and prominent figure in Denmark and Sweden. Born in Copenhagen in 1605, he was made Bishop of the city of Lund, in the region of Scaniain, in what is now southern Sweden, in 1638, and kept this position even when the city transferred from Danish to Swedish rule in 1958, even being ennobled by the King of Sweden. He went on to be appointed the pro-chancellor at the University of Lund upon its establishment in 1668, which Winstrup had been instrumental in paving the way for, and throughout his career made a name for himself as being at once a great Bishop, scholar, politician, and a man of science, especially in the area of medical sciences. When he died in 1679, he was laid to rest in a family crypt in Lund Cathedral, where his wife was also buried. There he w
DNA from 1679 Says Fetus in Bishop s Coffin Likely his Grandson forensicmag.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from forensicmag.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Who was Bishop Winstrup?
“Peder Winstrup, a bishop and prominent historical figure in Scandinavia, was one of the founding fathers of Lund University,” Lund University reported in a press release . “He died in 1679 and was buried in the famous cathedral in Lund a year later. The coffin, together with its contents, constitutes a unique time capsule from the year 1679 with a well-preserved body, textiles and plant material.” Per Karsten, director of the university s Historical Museum, said:
“We can now observe that Winstrup s mummy is one of the best-preserved bodies from Europe in the 1600s, with an information potential well in line with that offered by Otzi the ice man or Egyptian mummies. His remains constitute a unique archive of medical history on the living conditions and health of people living in the 1600s.”
8 APRIL 2021
Bishop of Lund Peder Pedersen Winstrup, of the Churches of Sweden and Denmark, died in 1679. An important and well-respected man, his body was mummified and laid to rest in a family vault in Lund Cathedral. Apart from the exceptional preservation of his remains, nothing seemed unusual about his death or burial.
In 2012, when a decision was made to move Winstrup s coffin, scientists leapt at the chance to study his remains. That s when they found it - the tiny corpse of a fetus, stillborn at no more than five or six months gestation, tucked carefully behind and between the bishop s calves.
Foetus in bishop s coffin was probably his grandson eurekalert.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eurekalert.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.