Thunderstone (folklore)
Encyclopedia
Throughout Europe, Asia, Polynesia, in fact in almost all parts of the world where their use had been forgotten, flint arrowheads and axes turned up by the farmer's plow are considered to have fallen from the sky, are often thought to be thunderbolts
and are called "Thunderstones".
It was not until travelers returned from far places where these implements were in actual use
that their origin was known. Even then these travelers' tales received little popular credence.
who kept off spells and witchcraft. Beer
was poured over them as an offering and they were sometimes anointed with butter. In Switzerland
the owner of a thunderstone whirls it, on the end of a thong, three times round his head, and throws it at the door of his dwelling at the approach of a storm to prevent lightning from striking the house
. In Italy they are hung around children's necks to protect them from illness and to ward off the Evil eye
. In Roman times they were sewn inside dog-collars along with a little piece of coral
to keep the dogs from going mad. In Sweden they offer protection from elves
. In the French Alps
they protect sheep, while elsewhere in France they thought to ease Childbirth
. In Burma they are used as a cure and preventative for appendicitis
. In Japan they cure boils and ulcers. In Malay and Sumatra they are used to sharpen the kris
, are considered very lucky objects, and are credited with being touchstones for gold. Among the Slavs they cure warts on man and beast, and during Passion Week
they have the property to reveal hidden treasure
.
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In the British Isles some idea of their original use is retained, and they are often referred to as elf-shot, fairy-shot, or elf-arrows, and are said to have been shot by the fairies at a person or animal to bewitch them. On the other hand, they are thought, for the most part, to protect the possessor from these little people. The presence of flint instruments found in British cinerary urns of the Roman Era
is explained by two theories: 1) they were used by the mourner
s to lacerate themselves; 2)flints (like all fire-producing stones) are potent magic for preventing the return of the dead.
In Ireland flint stones are soaked in water to make a medicine which is good for man or beast. Mounted in silver they are worn as protection against elf-shot.
In North Carolina and Alabama there is a belief that flint stones placed in the fire will keep hawks from molesting the chickens, a belief which probably stems from the European idea that elf-shot protect domestic animals. In Brazil flint is used as a divining stone for gold, treasure and water.
During the Middle Ages
many of these well-wrought stones were venerated as weapons, which during the "war in heaven" had been used in driving forth Satan and his hosts; hence in the eleventh century an Emperor of the East sent to the Emperor of the West
a "heaven axe"; and in the twelfth century a Bishop of Rennes asserted the value of thunder-stones as a divinely-appointed means of securing success in battle, safety on the sea, security against thunder, and immunity from unpleasant dreams.
Even as late as the seventeenth century a French ambassador brought a stone hatchet, which still exists in the museum at Nancy
, as a present to the Prince-Bishop of Verdun, and claimed for it health-giving virtues.
, stone weapons and implements were given to man by the Morning Star
. Among the K'iche' people of Guatemala, there is a myth that a flint fell from the sky and broke into 1600 pieces, each of which became a god. Tohil
, the God who gave them fire, is still represented as flint. This myth provides a parallel to the almost universal belief in the thunderstone, and reminds us that Jupiter (mythology)
was once worshiped in the form of a flint stone. The Cherokee
shaman invokes a flint when he is about to scarify a patient prior to applying his medicine. Among the Pueblos we have the Flint Societies which, in most tribes, were primarily concerned with weather and witchcraft, but sometimes had to do with war and medicine.
and Anglo-Saxon
invaders more than 1500 years ago. In 1677 Dr. Robert Plot
, the first keeper of the Ashmolean Museum
in Oxford, published his classic book The Natural History of Oxfordshire. Plot recorded that in Oxfordshire
what we now call fossil echinoids were called thunderstones, as they were thought to have descended from the heavens during a thunderstorm.
The St. Peter's Church in Linkenholt
, England, was built in 1871 near the location of the old St. Peter's, which had stood for nearly 700 years. The 1871 version of the church included fossil echinoids built into the walls surrounding the windows, a style adopted from the original. This implies that Thunderstone folklore was retained for at least 700 years in England, and had its roots in pagan folklore.
Andrew Dickson White
described the discovery of the true origin of thunderstones as a "line of observation and thought... fatal to the theological view."
In the last years of the sixteenth century Michael Mercati tried to prove that the "thunder-stones" were weapons or implements of early races of men; but from some cause his book was not published until the following century, when other thinkers had begun to take up the same idea.
In 1723 Antoine Laurent de Jussieu
addressed the French Academy on "The Origin and Uses of Thunder-stones". He showed that recent travelers from various parts of the world had brought a number of weapons and other implements of stone to France, and that they were essentially similar to what in Europe had been known as "thunderstones".
A year later this fact was clinched into the scientific mind of France by the Jesuit Joseph-Francois Lafitau, who published a work showing the similarity between the customs of aborigines then existing in other lands and those of the early inhabitants of Europe. So began, in these works of Jussieu and Lafitau, the science of Ethnology
.
It was more than 100 years until, after the French Revolution of 1830, the political climate in Europe was freed enough of religious sentiment that archaeological discoveries could be investigated that indicated human existence in a period vastly earlier than any theologian had dreamed of.
, published at Paris the first volume of work on Celtic and Antediluvian Antiquities, and in this he showed engravings of typical flint implements and weapons, of which he had discovered thousands upon thousands in the high drift beds near Abbeville, in northern France. So far as France was concerned, he was met at first by what he calls "a conspiracy of silence," and then by a contemptuous opposition among orthodox scientists, led by Elie de Beaumont
.
In 1863 the thunderstone myth was further discredited by Charles Lyell
in his book Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man. Lyell had previously opposed the new ideas about human antiquity, and his changing sides gave further force to the scientific evidence.
Lightning bolt
Lightning bolt may refer to* Lightning discharge, electrical discharge within clouds or between clouds and the ground* Thunderbolt, a traditional expression for a discharge of lightning or a symbolic representation thereof...
and are called "Thunderstones".
It was not until travelers returned from far places where these implements were in actual use
Primitive culture
In older anthropology texts and discussions, the term "primitive culture" is used to refer to a society that is believed to lack cultural, technological, or economic sophistication/development...
that their origin was known. Even then these travelers' tales received little popular credence.
Thunderstone Folklore
In Scandinavia thunderstones were frequently worshiped as family godsHousehold deity
A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in pagan religions as well as in folklore across many parts of the world....
who kept off spells and witchcraft. Beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
was poured over them as an offering and they were sometimes anointed with butter. In Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
the owner of a thunderstone whirls it, on the end of a thong, three times round his head, and throws it at the door of his dwelling at the approach of a storm to prevent lightning from striking the house
Lightning strike
Lightning strikes are electrical discharges caused by lightning, typically during thunderstorms.Humans can be hit by lightning directly when outdoors. Contrary to popular notion, there is no 'safe' location outdoors. People have been struck in sheds and makeshift shelters...
. In Italy they are hung around children's necks to protect them from illness and to ward off the Evil eye
Evil eye
The evil eye is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause injury or bad luck for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike...
. In Roman times they were sewn inside dog-collars along with a little piece of coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
to keep the dogs from going mad. In Sweden they offer protection from elves
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
. In the French Alps
French Alps
The French Alps are those portions of the Alps mountain range which stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions....
they protect sheep, while elsewhere in France they thought to ease 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...
. In Burma they are used as a cure and preventative for appendicitis
Appendicitis
Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...
. In Japan they cure boils and ulcers. In Malay and Sumatra they are used to sharpen the kris
Kris
The kris or keris is an asymmetrical dagger or sword nowadays most strongly associated with the culture of Indonesia, but also indigenous to Malaysia, Southern Thailand and Brunei. It is known as kalis in the southern Philippines. The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade , but many have...
, are considered very lucky objects, and are credited with being touchstones for gold. Among the Slavs they cure warts on man and beast, and during Passion Week
Passion Week
Passion Week is a name for the week beginning on Passion Sunday, as the Fifth Sunday of Lent was once called in the Roman Rite.However, even before Pope John XXIII's Code of Rubrics changed the name of this Sunday from "Passion Sunday" to "First Sunday of the Passion" , the liturgical books gave...
they have the property to reveal hidden treasure
Treasure
Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...
.
Further Examples of Thunderstone Folklore
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
is explained by two theories: 1) they were used by the mourner
Mourner
A mourner is someone who is attending a funeral or who is otherwise recognized as in a period of grief and mourning prescribed either by religious law or by popular custom...
s to lacerate themselves; 2)flints (like all fire-producing stones) are potent magic for preventing the return of the dead.
Haunted house
A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property...
In Ireland flint stones are soaked in water to make a medicine which is good for man or beast. Mounted in silver they are worn as protection against elf-shot.
In North Carolina and Alabama there is a belief that flint stones placed in the fire will keep hawks from molesting the chickens, a belief which probably stems from the European idea that elf-shot protect domestic animals. In Brazil flint is used as a divining stone for gold, treasure and water.
During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
many of these well-wrought stones were venerated as weapons, which during the "war in heaven" had been used in driving forth Satan and his hosts; hence in the eleventh century an Emperor of the East sent to the Emperor of the West
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
a "heaven axe"; and in the twelfth century a Bishop of Rennes asserted the value of thunder-stones as a divinely-appointed means of securing success in battle, safety on the sea, security against thunder, and immunity from unpleasant dreams.
Even as late as the seventeenth century a French ambassador brought a stone hatchet, which still exists in the museum at Nancy
Musée de l'École de Nancy
The Musée de l'École de Nancy is a museum devoted to the École de Nancy, an Art Nouveau movement founded in 1901 by Émile Gallé, Victor Prouvé, Louis Majorelle, Antonin Daum and Eugène Vallin in the city of Nancy in Lorraine...
, as a present to the Prince-Bishop of Verdun, and claimed for it health-giving virtues.
Native American Thunderstone Folklore
The flint was an object of veneration by most American Indian tribes. According to the Pawnee Origin mythOrigin myth
An origin myth is a myth that purports to describe the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. One type of origin myth is the cosmogonic myth, which describes the creation of the world...
, stone weapons and implements were given to man by the Morning Star
Pawnee mythology
Pawnee mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Pawnee concerning their gods and heroes. The Pawnee are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans, originally located on the Great Plains along tributaries of the Missouri River. They spoke a Caddoan language.-Beliefs and...
. Among the K'iche' people of Guatemala, there is a myth that a flint fell from the sky and broke into 1600 pieces, each of which became a god. Tohil
Tohil
Tohil was a deity of the K'iche' Maya in the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica. At the time of the Spanish Conquest, Tohil was the patron god of the K'iche'. Tohil's principal function was that of a fire deity and he was also both a sun god and the god of rain. Tohil was also associated with...
, the God who gave them fire, is still represented as flint. This myth provides a parallel to the almost universal belief in the thunderstone, and reminds us that Jupiter (mythology)
Jupiter (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
was once worshiped in the form of a flint stone. The Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
shaman invokes a flint when he is about to scarify a patient prior to applying his medicine. Among the Pueblos we have the Flint Societies which, in most tribes, were primarily concerned with weather and witchcraft, but sometimes had to do with war and medicine.
Fossil Echinoids as Thunderstones
In many parts of southern England until the middle of the nineteenth century, another name commonly used for fossil Echinoids was 'thunderstone'. This was a name that in all likelihood formed part of another folk tradition that was almost certainly brought to Britain by DanishDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
invaders more than 1500 years ago. In 1677 Dr. Robert Plot
Robert Plot
Robert Plot was an English naturalist, first Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford, and the first keeper of the Ashmolean Museum....
, the first keeper of the Ashmolean Museum
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
in Oxford, published his classic book The Natural History of Oxfordshire. Plot recorded that in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
what we now call fossil echinoids were called thunderstones, as they were thought to have descended from the heavens during a thunderstorm.
The St. Peter's Church in Linkenholt
Linkenholt
Linkenholt is a village near Andover in Hampshire, England with about 40 inhabitants. It was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Linchehou, when it was part of the land of the Abbey of St Peter of Gloucester....
, England, was built in 1871 near the location of the old St. Peter's, which had stood for nearly 700 years. The 1871 version of the church included fossil echinoids built into the walls surrounding the windows, a style adopted from the original. This implies that Thunderstone folklore was retained for at least 700 years in England, and had its roots in pagan folklore.
Decline of Thunderstone mythology
Andrew Dickson White
Andrew Dickson White was a U.S. diplomat, historian, and educator, who was the co-founder of Cornell University.-Family and personal life:...
described the discovery of the true origin of thunderstones as a "line of observation and thought... fatal to the theological view."
In the last years of the sixteenth century Michael Mercati tried to prove that the "thunder-stones" were weapons or implements of early races of men; but from some cause his book was not published until the following century, when other thinkers had begun to take up the same idea.
In 1723 Antoine Laurent de Jussieu
Antoine Laurent de Jussieu
Antoine Laurent de Jussieu was a French botanist, notable as the first to propose a natural classification of flowering plants; much of his system remains in use today.-Life:...
addressed the French Academy on "The Origin and Uses of Thunder-stones". He showed that recent travelers from various parts of the world had brought a number of weapons and other implements of stone to France, and that they were essentially similar to what in Europe had been known as "thunderstones".
A year later this fact was clinched into the scientific mind of France by the Jesuit Joseph-Francois Lafitau, who published a work showing the similarity between the customs of aborigines then existing in other lands and those of the early inhabitants of Europe. So began, in these works of Jussieu and Lafitau, the science of Ethnology
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
.
It was more than 100 years until, after the French Revolution of 1830, the political climate in Europe was freed enough of religious sentiment that archaeological discoveries could be investigated that indicated human existence in a period vastly earlier than any theologian had dreamed of.
Boucher de Perthes
In 1847, a man previously unknown to the world at large, Boucher de PerthesJacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes
Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes , sometimes referred to as Boucher de Perthes, was a French archaeologist and antiquary notable for his discovery, in about 1830, of flint tools in the gravels of the Somme valley....
, published at Paris the first volume of work on Celtic and Antediluvian Antiquities, and in this he showed engravings of typical flint implements and weapons, of which he had discovered thousands upon thousands in the high drift beds near Abbeville, in northern France. So far as France was concerned, he was met at first by what he calls "a conspiracy of silence," and then by a contemptuous opposition among orthodox scientists, led by Elie de Beaumont
Jean-Baptiste Élie de Beaumont
Jean-Baptiste Armand Louis Léonce Élie de Beaumont was a French geologist.-Biography:Élie de Beaumont was born at Canon, in Calvados...
.
In 1863 the thunderstone myth was further discredited by Charles Lyell
Charles Lyell
Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, Kt FRS was a British lawyer and the foremost geologist of his day. He is best known as the author of Principles of Geology, which popularised James Hutton's concepts of uniformitarianism – the idea that the earth was shaped by slow-moving forces still in operation...
in his book Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man. Lyell had previously opposed the new ideas about human antiquity, and his changing sides gave further force to the scientific evidence.