Against Disease, Suffering, and Other Plagues: the Magic-healing Role of Thunderstones in the Middle Ages and Modern Times

Prehistoric stone objects (most often Neolithic) referred to as ‘thunderstones’ in the Middle Ages and modern times have been assigned various meanings – primarily they are supposed to have been used to protect against lightning, fire, and other natural disasters. They have also found application i...

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Main Author: Tomasz Kurasiński
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences 2021-12-01
Series:Fasciculi Archaeologiae Historicae
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.iaepan.pl/fah/article/view/2921
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author Tomasz Kurasiński
author_facet Tomasz Kurasiński
author_sort Tomasz Kurasiński
collection DOAJ
description Prehistoric stone objects (most often Neolithic) referred to as ‘thunderstones’ in the Middle Ages and modern times have been assigned various meanings – primarily they are supposed to have been used to protect against lightning, fire, and other natural disasters. They have also found application in folk medicine and healing magic (protection against the harmful effects of disease and loss of fertility, and neutralisation of misfortune when it has already occurred). Trust in their magical (apotropaic) properties was probably associated with the belief that these objects originated from outside the sphere of the ‘tame’ world. Folklore and ethnographic data, as well as traces of use preserved in archaeological monuments, support a long tradition of therapeutic use of thunderstones, which is a pan-European phenomenon.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 0860-0007
2719-7069
language deu
publishDate 2021-12-01
publisher Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences
record_format Article
series Fasciculi Archaeologiae Historicae
spelling doaj-art-ca885689e1154c3cafd030f0c21772c32025-08-20T03:29:14ZdeuInstitute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of SciencesFasciculi Archaeologiae Historicae0860-00072719-70692021-12-013410.23858/FAH34.2021.001Against Disease, Suffering, and Other Plagues: the Magic-healing Role of Thunderstones in the Middle Ages and Modern TimesTomasz Kurasiński0Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences, Łódź Prehistoric stone objects (most often Neolithic) referred to as ‘thunderstones’ in the Middle Ages and modern times have been assigned various meanings – primarily they are supposed to have been used to protect against lightning, fire, and other natural disasters. They have also found application in folk medicine and healing magic (protection against the harmful effects of disease and loss of fertility, and neutralisation of misfortune when it has already occurred). Trust in their magical (apotropaic) properties was probably associated with the belief that these objects originated from outside the sphere of the ‘tame’ world. Folklore and ethnographic data, as well as traces of use preserved in archaeological monuments, support a long tradition of therapeutic use of thunderstones, which is a pan-European phenomenon. https://journals.iaepan.pl/fah/article/view/2921prehistoric stone productsModern TimesMiddle Agesfolk medicinemagic-medical meaningthunderstones
spellingShingle Tomasz Kurasiński
Against Disease, Suffering, and Other Plagues: the Magic-healing Role of Thunderstones in the Middle Ages and Modern Times
Fasciculi Archaeologiae Historicae
prehistoric stone products
Modern Times
Middle Ages
folk medicine
magic-medical meaning
thunderstones
title Against Disease, Suffering, and Other Plagues: the Magic-healing Role of Thunderstones in the Middle Ages and Modern Times
title_full Against Disease, Suffering, and Other Plagues: the Magic-healing Role of Thunderstones in the Middle Ages and Modern Times
title_fullStr Against Disease, Suffering, and Other Plagues: the Magic-healing Role of Thunderstones in the Middle Ages and Modern Times
title_full_unstemmed Against Disease, Suffering, and Other Plagues: the Magic-healing Role of Thunderstones in the Middle Ages and Modern Times
title_short Against Disease, Suffering, and Other Plagues: the Magic-healing Role of Thunderstones in the Middle Ages and Modern Times
title_sort against disease suffering and other plagues the magic healing role of thunderstones in the middle ages and modern times
topic prehistoric stone products
Modern Times
Middle Ages
folk medicine
magic-medical meaning
thunderstones
url https://journals.iaepan.pl/fah/article/view/2921
work_keys_str_mv AT tomaszkurasinski againstdiseasesufferingandotherplaguesthemagichealingroleofthunderstonesinthemiddleagesandmoderntimes