Johannes Bureus

Johannes Thomae Bureus Agrivillensis (Johan Bure) (1568–1652) was a Swedish antiquarian, polymath and mystic. He was royal librarian, tutor, and adviser of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.

Life and career

Bureus was born in 1568 in Åkerby near Uppsala (where the largest and last of the pagan temples once was) in Sweden, he was the son of a Lutheran parish priest.

Bureus combined his runic and esoteric interests in his own runic system, which he called the "Adalruna". He was interested in the Rosicrucian manifestos. Contemporary mystics such as Jakob Böhme have studied his works.

In 1611, he published the first ABC book in the Swedish language, Svenska ABC boken medh runor using the runic alphabet and latin script. He also wrote a genealogy of Bure family, partly using runestones as sources.

In popular culture

• The CD-R 'Der Mitternacht Löwe' by experimental band Shadowseeds is based on Bureus' life and teachings.
• The 2007 Gothic Kabbalah album by Swedish metal band Therion refers Bureus as a concept. The song "Son of the staves of time" is an example: "Byrger Tidesson, from the ancient time, runic ancestor, the last of your line"
• The name of the British black metal band Adalruna and the theme of their first demo 'Rediviva' is based on Bureus and his rune system.