Paintings by Frans Francken the Younger
Frans Francken the Younger (1581 â1642) was a Flemish painter and the best-known and most prolific member of the large Francken family of artists. He painted large altarpieces for churches as well as smaller historical, mythological and…
Decline of thunderstone mythology
Even as late as the 17th 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…
Fossils as thunderstones
In many parts of southern England until the middle of the nineteenth century, another name commonly used for fossil Echinoids was ‘thunderstone’, though other fossils such as belemnites and (rarely) ammonites were also used for this…
Thunderstones (and Touchstones) in Asian Tradition
In Burma they are used as a cure and preventative for appendicitis. In Japan they cure boils and ulcers. In Malaysia and Sumatra they are used to sharpen the kris, are considered…
Thunderstones in European Folklore
In Scandinavia thunderstones were frequently worshiped as family gods 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…
A 12th century Bishop of Rennes asserted the value of thunderstones as a divinely appointed means of securing success in battle, safety on the sea, security against thunder, and immunity from unpleasant dreams
During the Middle Ages many of these well-wrought thunderstones were venerated as weapons, which during the “war in heaven” had been used in driving forth Satan and his hosts. Hence, in the 11th century…
Albanians believed the supreme powers of thunderstones were formed during lightning strikes
Albanians believed in the supreme powers of thunderstones (kokrra e rrufesĂ«Â or guri i rejĂ«s), which were believed to be formed during lightning strikes and to fall from the sky. Thunderstones were preserved in family life…
Humans have been interested in echinoid fossils (the fossilised remains of sea urchins) for millennia, considering them lucky and imbuing them with magical powers linked to their deities
A folk tradition in Denmark and southern England imagined sea urchin fossils to be thunderbolts, able to ward off harm by lightning or by witchcraft, as an apotropaic symbol. Another version supposed they were…
