Antti Lieroinen (died 1643), was a famous Finnish

cunning man Cunning may refer to: * Cunning (owarai), a Japanese comedy group * Cunning folk, a type of folk magic user * Cunning (surname), a list of people with Cunning as a surname See also * Cunningham * * * Sneak (disambiguation) Sneak or Sneaky m ...

, who was executed of witchcraft.Nenonen, Marko ja Kervinen, Timo, Synnin palkka on kuolema. Suomalaiset noidat ja noitavainot 1500-1700-luvulla. Otava 1994. Toim. Anne-Riitta Isohella. He belongs to the more well known of the victims of the witch trials in Finland,Biografiakeskus, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura (Finland National Biography of Finland) were male folk magicians were among the most common victims. Lieroinen was famous in contemporary

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

as a professional wizard (

) long before his trial, particularly for his alleged ability to find stolen objects, but was also accused of having used his alleged powers to threaten people who wronged him. He was put on trial in

Åbo Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city and former Capital city, capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura (Archipelago Sea), Aura River, in the region of Southwest Finland, Finland Proper ...

charged for having committed the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

of a man and

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

after having seduced a married woman by the use of

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

. He was judged guilty and sentenced to decapitation. As one of the many famous cunning men of Finland, he was the subject of folk legend long after his death. He is the subject of a play, a poem and an opera.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lieroinen, Antti 1643 deaths People executed for witchcraft 17th-century Finnish people Cunning folk 17th-century executions Witch trials in Finland People executed by decapitation