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Apparently any stone would do, so long as it came from Ireland failing that, Irish sticks and Irish horse-teeth would work, and live cattle from Ireland were also believed to have active powers against snakes, to kill or paralyze them.
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Northern England Īs late as the 19th century, stones from Ireland were considered efficacious against snake-bites in northern England, presumably because Ireland is famously free of snakes. Examples of such stones are held at National Museum of Rural Life, Kittochside, near East Kilbride, and the example set in the Lochbuy or Lochbuie Brooch is in the British Museum. The belief in charm-stones is also well documented in medieval Iceland (Proc Soc Antiq Scot). It remained as one of the great treasures of the king and cured many others. It floated in water and cured the king from a terminal illness. Columba it is recorded that he visited King Bridei in Pictland in around the year 565 AD and taking a white stone pebble from the River Ness he blessed it and any water it came into contact with would cure sick people. Some superstitious friends believed that her illness was as a result of someone casting the evil eye upon her and her father was urged to go to a place where two streams meet, select seven smooth stones, boil them in milk, and treat her with the potion. Robert Burns's Highland Mary is said to have been treated using charm-stones when she lay dying at Greenock in 1786. Such stones were used within living memory (1971) to cure sickness in animals and humans. It is likely that Scottish painted pebbles, which have been dated to the period 200 AD to the eighth century AD (the Pictish period) also functioned as charm-stones, often known as cold-stones. The Brooch of Lorn is an example of a charmstone set into a very elaborate brooch in the late 16th century, and worn by clan chiefs. They were credited with healing or quasi-magical powers, and often worked through water that the charmstone had been dipped into, which was considered efficacious against various ills of both humans and farm animals.
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Scottish charm-stones are typically large smooth rounded pieces of rock crystal or other forms of quartz.
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Typically, references to American examples use the single word charmstone, while references to Scottish ones break the term as charm-stone or charm stone. They are thought to have been regarded as having some religious or magical function, including being talismans, amulets or charms. Typically they are elongated or cylindrical and have been shaped by grinding or other human activity, and may be perforated and/or grooved. Hunt MuseumĪ charmstone or coldstone is a stone or mineral artifact of various types associated with various traditional cultures, including those of Scotland and the native cultures of California and the American southwest. The crystal ball, which weighs 200g, is mounted in a gilded copper or bronze frame with trefoil decoration and a hanging loop. It was dipped in drinking water or hung from the neck of a cow. Sister of Anne Campbell, of Lochnell Sir Duncan Campbell, 7th of Lochnell Archibald Campbell, of Ballimore Alexander Campbell Rev.The "Archer-Butler Luck Stone", once owned by the Butler family of Garnavilla, near Cahir, County Tipperary, Ireland, was traditionally invoked to protect cattle from disease. Mother of Marie "Mary" Bar Margaret Cameron Sir Donald "the Gentle" Cameron of Lochiel, 19th Chief John Cameron of Fassiefern Alexander Cameron and 3 others Archibald Cameron of Lochiel, MD Ewen / Evan Cameron of Lochiel and Jean Cameron. Wife of John MacEwen Cameron of Lochiel, 18th Chief of Clan Cameron Lochnell, Ardchattan, Argyllshire, Scotland (United Kingdom)ĭaughter of Sir Alexander Campbell, 6th of Lochnell and Margaret Stewart, of Appin
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