ON METEORITES, OR CELESTIAL STONES 111
place of honor. These ceremonies were supposed to insure the health and happiness of the household.78
The
fact that special ceremonies were performed in connection with these
stones on Thursday, as well as the name ' ' Thor-stones " applied to
many of them, indicates that in early times they were associated with
the worship of the god Thor. The so-called thunderbolts—usually flint
axe-heads—are believed to have been hurled at the trolls or elves by
the thunder, so that these evil-disposed spirits might be subdued and
prevented from fulfilling an old saying, according to which they
would desolate the earth. Originally it was Thor himself who was
believed to hurl the thunderbolt.
These
stones were supposed to be endowed with wonder - working powers. When
a woman was in labor, ale was allowed to drip over a stone of this
kind, and was then given to the woman to drink. All through the
Scandinavian countries the peasants believed that if such a stone were
hung up in a house or on cattle, the trolls and other malevolent
spirits would be driven away, and all spells and witchcraft would be
rendered harmless.'79
In Sir William Brereton's account of his travels (1634-
n Magnusen, " Om en Steenring med Runeindskrift," Annaler for Nordisk Oldkyndighed, Copenhagen, 1838-1839, p. 133.
Magnusen, " Om en Steenring med Runeindskrift," Annaler for Nordisk Oldkyndighed, Copenhagen, 1838-1839, pp. 132-134.
