LL-L "Traditions" 2011.05.29 (01) [EN]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 29 May 2011 - Volume 01
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From: heatherrendall at tiscali.co.uk
heatherrendall at tiscali.co.uk<bsu295 at bangor.ac.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Etymology" 2011.05.27 (05) [EN-NL]

from Heather Rendall  heatherrendall at tiscali.co.uk

re Adderstones  aka snakestones

from A Dictionary of English Folklore  by Simpson & Stroud  p331

quoting Richard Carew (1602)

"The country people retain a conceit that the snakes, by breathing
upon a hazel-wand, do make a stone ring of blue colour, in which there
appears a yellow figure of a snake, and that beasts which are stung,
being given to drink of the water wherein the stone has been soaked,
will there-through recover."

Such rings were usually small prehistoric beads of striped glass, taken
from ancient burials; however Robert Hunt was told that snakestones wre
'about the size of a pigeon's egg' and a friend of his had seen one
which was a beautiful ball of coralline limestone, the coral being
thought to be entangled young snakes  (Hunt Popular Romances of the
West of England 1865)

(It then gives the Pliny quote already submitted)

In English folklore, fossil ammonites too are called snakestones.
Legend claims they are coiled snakes decapitated and turned to stone by
St Hilda of Witby or alteratively by St Cuthbert. Trade in ammonites
flourished at Witby , Yorks and Keynsham, Gloucs.

I can certainly understand both these concepts: I have an Eygptian
green glass bead with a yellow stripe coiled round it. If you had never
seen glass being made, you have to explain it away somehow!

As for ammonites, pretty obvious really that these would have
superstitious beliefs linked to them and their origins.

Heather

Worcester UK

PS Did you note the germanic phrase in the Carew quote: " there-
through" = dadurch   - unfortunately lost to us now - Unless someone in
the Forum knows of its existence somewhere in the UK

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