Teufelsspuk und Feuerflammen: Pfarrer Josua Finsler (1525-1602) über Unglaubliches aus Biel und Umgebung

Abstract

The chorherr (canon), Johann Jakob Wick of Zurich drew the material for his voluminous collection of news (Wickiana) from a dense network of intelligence. The information from Bern and Biel was provided here and there by the lesser known citizen of Zurich, deacon Josua Finsler, who lived in Biel. The article spotlights the "Miraculous Sign" of February 1572 in Biel and the diverse interpretations of the event by these two contemporaries. The "Reformed" eschatological understanding of Wick is compared to Finsler’s more rationalist worldview coloured by science.