Aetites
Encyclopedia
In the magico
-medical tradition of Europe
and the Near East
, the aetites (singular in Latin
) or aetite (anglicized) is a stone used to promote childbirth
. It is also called an eagle-stone, aquiline, or aquilaeus. The stone is said to prevent spontaneous abortion
and premature delivery, while shortening labor and parturition for a full-term birth.
; inside, small loose pieces rattle when shaken. An official publication of the United States Bureau of Mines
in 1920 defined an aetite as:
The American Geological Institute
defines the eaglestone as "a concretionary nodule of clay ironstone about the size of a walnut that the ancients believed an eagle takes to her nest to facilitate egg-laying."
; at the time of birth, it should be moved to the hip area to ease delivery.
Pliny
describes four types of aetites in his Natural History and outlines their magico-medical use:
Pliny says that the stone is found in the nests of eagle
s, who cannot propagate without them.
The 4th-century A.D. magico-medical text Cyranides
also claims that the aetite worn as an amulet
can prevent miscarriage caused by female demon
s such as Gello
.
refers to the "preserving stone," worn as an amulet even during Shabbat
to prevent miscarriage. Although medieval sources point to the eagle-stone, the identification is not certain. Rabbi
s in medieval France and Germany
, and a Polish
talmudist in the 16th century, describe the stone as hollow, with a smaller stone inside: "the stone within a stone represented a fetus in the womb." One medieval French source says that the stone "is pierced through the middle, and is round, about as large and heavy as a medium sized egg, glassy in appearance, and is to be found in the fields."
women on their right side, is mentioned by Ruberto Bernardi in his 1364 book of popular medical lore. The Italian Renaissance
philosopher Ficino
ascribes the aetite's ability to ease childbirth to the astrological influences of the planet Venus
and the Moon
. In 1494, Isabella d'Este
, the marchesa of Mantua
, expressed her confidence in the power of these stones.
The aetite appears in a Spanish work on natural magic by Hernando Castrillo, first published in 1636. Alvaro Alonso Barba
's work on metallurgy
(Madrid, 1640) touts the efficacy of the aetites, advising that the stone be tied to the left arm to prevent spontaneous abortion, and to the right arm for the opposite effect. The work was widely reviewed, reprinted and translated.
The 1660 book Occult Physick said the aetite
Aetite, along with bloodstone (hematite
), was the subject of a 1665 book by J.L. Bausch, municipal physician of Schweinfurt
and founder of the Academy of the Curious as to Nature. Bausch, however, cautions that empty promises of the stone's powers exceed the limits of both medicine and nature. Thomas Browne
affirmed the stone's application to obstetrics
in his Pseudodoxia Epidemica
(1672), but doubted the story about eagles.
Magic in the Greco-Roman world
The study of magic in the Greco-Roman world is a branch of the disciplines of classics, ancient history and religious studies. In the ancient post-hellenistic world of the Greeks and Romans , the public and private rituals associated with religion are accepted by historians and archaeologists to...
-medical tradition of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
, the aetites (singular in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
) or aetite (anglicized) is a stone used to promote childbirth
Childbirth
Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
. It is also called an eagle-stone, aquiline, or aquilaeus. The stone is said to prevent spontaneous abortion
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
and premature delivery, while shortening labor and parturition for a full-term birth.
Mineralogy
The aetites is a type of hollow geodeGeode
Geodes are geological secondary sedimentary structures which occur in sedimentary and certain volcanic rocks. Geodes are essentially spherical masses of mineral matter that were deposited sygenetically within the rock formations they are found in. Geodes have a Chalcedony shell containing...
; inside, small loose pieces rattle when shaken. An official publication of the United States Bureau of Mines
United States Bureau of Mines
For most of the 20th century, the U.S. Bureau of Mines was the primary United States Government agency conducting scientific research and disseminating information on the extraction, processing, use, and conservation of mineral resources.- Summary :...
in 1920 defined an aetite as:
A nodule consisting of a hard shell of hydrated oxide of ironIron(III) oxide-hydroxideA number of species are dubbed iron oxide-hydroxide. These chemicals are oxide-hydroxides of iron, and may occur in anhydrous or hydrated forms...
, within which the yellow oxide becomes progressively softer toward the center, which is sometimes quite empty.
The American Geological Institute
American Geological Institute
The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of 45 geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 100,000 geologists, geophysicists, and other earth scientists...
defines the eaglestone as "a concretionary nodule of clay ironstone about the size of a walnut that the ancients believed an eagle takes to her nest to facilitate egg-laying."
Ancient medicine
According to Dioscorides (5.160), the aetite should be fastened to the left arm to protect the fetusFetus
A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...
; at the time of birth, it should be moved to the hip area to ease delivery.
Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
describes four types of aetites in his Natural History and outlines their magico-medical use:
Attached to pregnant women or to cattle, in the skins of animals that have been sacrificedAnimal sacrificeAnimal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as part of a religion. It is practised by many religions as a means of appeasing a god or gods or changing the course of nature...
, these stones act as a preventive of abortion, care being taken not to remove them till the moment of parturition; for otherwise procidenceProlapseProlapse literally means "to fall out of place", from the Latin prolabi meaning "to fall out". In medicine, prolapse is a condition where organs, such as the uterus, fall down or slip out of place. It is used for organs protruding through the vagina or the rectum or for the misalignment of the...
of the uterusUterusThe uterus or womb is a major female hormone-responsive reproductive sex organ of most mammals including humans. One end, the cervix, opens into the vagina, while the other is connected to one or both fallopian tubes, depending on the species...
is the result. If, on the other hand, they are not removed at the moment when parturition is about to ensue, that operation of Nature cannot be effected.
Pliny says that the stone is found in the nests of eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
s, who cannot propagate without them.
The 4th-century A.D. magico-medical text Cyranides
Cyranides
The Cyranides is a compilation of Hermetic magico-medical works in Greek first put together in the 4th century. A Latin translation also exists. It has been described as a "farrago" and a texte vivant, owing to the complexities of its transmission: it has been abridged, rearranged, and supplemented...
also claims that the aetite worn as an amulet
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
can prevent miscarriage caused by female demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s such as Gello
Gello
In the myth and folklore of the Near East and Europe, Gello is one of the many names for a female demon or revenant who threatens the reproductive cycle by causing infertility, spontaneous abortion, and infant mortality.By the Byzantine era, the gello had become a type of demonic possession...
.
Jewish medicine?
Jewish women used birthing stones, and the TalmudTalmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
refers to the "preserving stone," worn as an amulet even during Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
to prevent miscarriage. Although medieval sources point to the eagle-stone, the identification is not certain. Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s in medieval France and Germany
Medieval Germany
Medieval Germany:*Carolingian Empire *East Francia *Kingdom of Germany *German Late Middle Ages...
, and a Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
talmudist in the 16th century, describe the stone as hollow, with a smaller stone inside: "the stone within a stone represented a fetus in the womb." One medieval French source says that the stone "is pierced through the middle, and is round, about as large and heavy as a medium sized egg, glassy in appearance, and is to be found in the fields."
Medicine to 1700
The aetite, to be carried by pregnantPregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
women on their right side, is mentioned by Ruberto Bernardi in his 1364 book of popular medical lore. The Italian Renaissance
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
philosopher Ficino
Marsilio Ficino
Marsilio Ficino was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance, an astrologer, a reviver of Neoplatonism who was in touch with every major academic thinker and writer of his day, and the first translator of Plato's complete extant works into Latin...
ascribes the aetite's ability to ease childbirth to the astrological influences of the planet Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
and the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. In 1494, Isabella d'Este
Isabella d'Este
Isabella d'Este was Marchesa of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whose innovative style of dressing was copied by women throughout Italy and at the French court...
, the marchesa of Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
, expressed her confidence in the power of these stones.
The aetite appears in a Spanish work on natural magic by Hernando Castrillo, first published in 1636. Alvaro Alonso Barba
Alvaro Alonso Barba
Alvaro Alonso Barba was a secular Catholic priest and metallurgist.Antonio says, "Baeticus ex oppido Lepe, apud Potosi"; hence Barba is assumed to be of Andalusian origin, from the ancient Roman province of Baetica...
's work on metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
(Madrid, 1640) touts the efficacy of the aetites, advising that the stone be tied to the left arm to prevent spontaneous abortion, and to the right arm for the opposite effect. The work was widely reviewed, reprinted and translated.
The 1660 book Occult Physick said the aetite
is white and round like a Tennis-ball, and hath a stone that shaketh within it. Being worn it delivereth women in their extremity, but at any other time it is not to be used by them that are with Child. It is good to be worn for the Stone … Feavers and Plague. It doth also dissolve the knobs of the Kings Evil (i.e., scrofula), being bound to the place grieved.
Aetite, along with bloodstone (hematite
Hematite
Hematite, also spelled as haematite, is the mineral form of iron oxide , one of several iron oxides. Hematite crystallizes in the rhombohedral system, and it has the same crystal structure as ilmenite and corundum...
), was the subject of a 1665 book by J.L. Bausch, municipal physician of Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt is a city in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the canalized Main, which is here spanned by several bridges, 27 km northeast of Würzburg.- History :...
and founder of the Academy of the Curious as to Nature. Bausch, however, cautions that empty promises of the stone's powers exceed the limits of both medicine and nature. Thomas Browne
Thomas Browne
Sir Thomas Browne was an English author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including medicine, religion, science and the esoteric....
affirmed the stone's application to obstetrics
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
in his Pseudodoxia Epidemica
Pseudodoxia Epidemica
Pseudodoxia Epidemica or Enquries into very many received tenets and commonly presumed truths, also known simply as Pseudodoxia Epidemica or Vulgar Errors, is a work by Thomas Browne refuting the common errors and superstitions of his age. It first appeared in 1646 and went through five subsequent...
(1672), but doubted the story about eagles.
Selected bibliography
- Stol, Marten. Birth in Babylonia and the Bible. Styx Publications, 2000. Limited preview online.
- Thorndike, Lynn.Lynn ThorndikeLynn Thorndike was an American historian of medieval science and alchemy...
A History of Magic and Experimental Science.