English charms, amulets and mascots / by Edward Lovett.

  • Lovett, Edward.
Date:
[1910]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: English charms, amulets and mascots / by Edward Lovett. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    them as being “nothing.” This rule also applies to celts and arrow heads. Indeed, I know places in England where “Thunderbolts,” as tangible objects, are quite unknown, whereas in the North of Ireland, where polished diorite celts are often turned out of the ground, the:ne v/as a time when every cottage kept one on the rafter as a safeguard against lightning. In South Devon I found that models of acorns (not real ones) carried in the pocket are supposed to be a protection during thunder storms, and this because the oak tree is particularly liable to be struck. I heard of other amulets against light¬ ning in Devonshire, but none of them v/ere called “Thunderbolts,” whilst at Lyme Eegis, so near, the Belemnites of the Lias are hardly ever called by any other name but “ Thunderbolts.” Another very widely distributed charm is the “Holey Stone,” a stone, usually flint, having a natural perforation. In Antrim such stones are tied to the horns of cows to prevent the Pixies from stealing the milk. In Lancashire and Yorkshire similar stones were hung up inside the house door as a safeguard against witches. Similar customs prevailed in Devonshire, whilst in Somerset¬ shire holey stones v/ere suspended in fruit trees to protect the fruit from Pixies. I found perforated stones used as Evil Eye eharms in many parts of Italy, whereas in Prance, Germany and Belgium this supersti¬ tion is not at all general. There is„ perhaps, no more remarkable type of charm than the Heart, and the reason is obvious. At one time a real heart of a sheep or cow, in which pins and nails were inserted, was used in black magic. T am indebted to my old friend, Mr. H. C. Collyer, for the following fine bit of Devon¬ shire Folk Lore: “Once upon a time”—in reality about fifty years ago—there existed in a South Devon village, two “Black Witches” named Paddy Goselin and Mary Ann Pyecraft. A certain farmer incurred