Scholars in Sweden are astonished to have found the body of a small baby beneath the feet of a mummified bishop who died in the 17th century.
A CT scan of the exceptionally-well preserved remains of Bishop of Lund, Peder Winstrup, has shown a five to six month old foetus beneath his feet in his coffin.
According to Per Karsten, director of Lund University museum, the baby might not be related to the bishop but is likely to be that of a woman who went through five months of pregnancy and then lost the child through miscarriage or some other misfortune.
For babies that came too early there was no baptism. It was believed by many that their souls were lost in "limbo" for eternity and they could never reach heaven.
As there were five weeks between the bishop's death and his funeral, a desperate mother could have bribed a church official to bury her lost baby with the bishop, and thus secure his or her soul a passage to heaven.
Winstrup's body is one of the best-preserved from the era, with his organs all still intact. Scientists are analysing his remains to discover information about him and about the general living conditions in Lund and the health of a single individual during the 17th century.
Winstrup (1605-1679) was inaugurated as Bishop of Lund in 1638, which at that time was still Danish. Dr Karsten told Christian Today: "He was a skilled navigator in the political landscape and was able to retain his position after the violent transition of the eastern Danish provinces to Sweden. He was also the initiator to found a university in Lund. Winstrup's efforts to retain the bishopric in Lund, as well as to found the university, still form the basis for Lund as the clerical and academic centre of southern Sweden."
Twice-married Winstrup is the most unknown celebrity of Scandinavian history, he said. He was one of the founders of the university, one of the top educational establishments in the world, in 1666.
He is a historically central figure whose remains are unique because the body is in very good condition and also the rich botanical and entomological remains in the coffin are a time capsule of "immense importance", Dr Karsten said.
Despite its good condition, the body was not embalmed but was preserved naturally, laid on a mattress of juniper, wormwood, hops and other plants and herbs. Dr Karsten said there will be DNA testing on the baby and bishop to see if they are related.
He said: "This is real tale from the crypt. What was the purpose of putting this little human foetus in the coffin? Is there a relationship between the bishop and child or does the answer lie somewhere else?"
He said he believed a member of the bishop's staff hid the child in the coffin while planning the funeral. Winstrup died in December 1679 but was not buried until 1680. "There was plenty of time to hide this child in the coffin without the family knowing."
He said the tradition in Scandinavia at the time for babies that never received the benefit of baptism was for mothers to bribe cemetery workers to include their babies' bodies in a coffin of another burial. Some mothers even managed to get the babies interred in church walls. "This could have been way to make sure the baby could still get to the other side and not be lost."
The bishop's coffin, in Lund cathedral since his burial at the end of the 17th century, was moved to the museum in 2014 for scientific analysis. The bishop is due to be interred at the cemetery in Lund in December this year, along with the little baby.
The investigation of the remains is part of the celebrations of the upcoming 350-year jubilee of Lund University which begin in December of 2016. An exhibition and book are planned about Bishop Peder Winstrup.
