DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.52552#0020
4
THE THUNDERWEAPON
If, therefore, the earliest inhabitants of the country brought the
thunderstone belief with them, it must have become extinct
because the natural conditions did not favour its preservation
and further development [90-91].
It is quite otherwise in Sweden [81-85], where the thunder-
stone belief has been widely spread until the latest times. It is
usually the implements of the stone age (not only the flint axe,
as in Denmark, but quite as often the pierced axe) that are
supposed to have come down with the thunder, though in certain
parts (as in southern Skaane, close to the Danish Isles) it is the
belemnite that is so regarded ; in other parts the same is said
about rock crystals, stones worn by water, etc. In some places
the tale goes that the thunderstone, on striking, dives seven
fathoms deep into the ground, afterwards rising one fathom
every year until, after the lapse of seven years, it again reaches
the surface-—an idea that occurs in many different countries,
though hardly in the Danish tradition. The power attributed
to it in the affairs of daily life is partly the same as, or, at any
rate, akin to, that known in Denmark: thus it is laid in the
granary as a preventive against rats, and in the brewing vat
to prevent the trolls from spoiling the brew ; it is used against
disease amongst cattle and also amongst men and women ; it is
hung as a charm round the neck of a child to protect it against
the ague, and is placed over the horses in the stable to keep
away the nightmare; it is a protection not only against
lightning but also against other forms of fire; thus it is carried
about “ Svedjeland ” («.<?. land cleared from forest by fire) to
prevent the fire spreading ; finally, it becomes a means of
attracting good fortune generally, and may therefore be fastened
to a fishing-net.
In Germany [93-95] we have many records of the popular
belief in thunderstones in various parts of the country. Here,
in the main, the same ideas occur which are known in Scandi-
navia, but besides these we find individual features foreign to
the Danish and Swedish traditions. Some of these occur in other
countries as well, but others seem peculiar to German districts.
Not only flint axes, belemnites, and echinites pass for thunder-
stones, but also, in certain parts at any rate, pierced stone axes.
THE THUNDERWEAPON
If, therefore, the earliest inhabitants of the country brought the
thunderstone belief with them, it must have become extinct
because the natural conditions did not favour its preservation
and further development [90-91].
It is quite otherwise in Sweden [81-85], where the thunder-
stone belief has been widely spread until the latest times. It is
usually the implements of the stone age (not only the flint axe,
as in Denmark, but quite as often the pierced axe) that are
supposed to have come down with the thunder, though in certain
parts (as in southern Skaane, close to the Danish Isles) it is the
belemnite that is so regarded ; in other parts the same is said
about rock crystals, stones worn by water, etc. In some places
the tale goes that the thunderstone, on striking, dives seven
fathoms deep into the ground, afterwards rising one fathom
every year until, after the lapse of seven years, it again reaches
the surface-—an idea that occurs in many different countries,
though hardly in the Danish tradition. The power attributed
to it in the affairs of daily life is partly the same as, or, at any
rate, akin to, that known in Denmark: thus it is laid in the
granary as a preventive against rats, and in the brewing vat
to prevent the trolls from spoiling the brew ; it is used against
disease amongst cattle and also amongst men and women ; it is
hung as a charm round the neck of a child to protect it against
the ague, and is placed over the horses in the stable to keep
away the nightmare; it is a protection not only against
lightning but also against other forms of fire; thus it is carried
about “ Svedjeland ” («.<?. land cleared from forest by fire) to
prevent the fire spreading ; finally, it becomes a means of
attracting good fortune generally, and may therefore be fastened
to a fishing-net.
In Germany [93-95] we have many records of the popular
belief in thunderstones in various parts of the country. Here,
in the main, the same ideas occur which are known in Scandi-
navia, but besides these we find individual features foreign to
the Danish and Swedish traditions. Some of these occur in other
countries as well, but others seem peculiar to German districts.
Not only flint axes, belemnites, and echinites pass for thunder-
stones, but also, in certain parts at any rate, pierced stone axes.