Chelidonius: The Swallow Stone

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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Chelidonius: The Swallow Stone

Christopher John Duffin

Abstract

Specimens of the swallow stone (Chelidonius) include small clasts of agate, gastropodopercula (calcareous lids sealing the apertures of snails), crayfish gastroliths (pairedcalcareous concretions in the stomach), and possibly fossil fish teeth and largerforaminiferans (a type of unicellular organism). With a long literary pedigree extendingfrom classical to early modern times, swallow stones were believed to have manycurative properties utilized in folk medicine, as well as giving protection against evilforces and conferring numerous personal qualities on the owner. The sources presentedhere are regarded as accessible reflections of contemporary beliefs.

Introduction

The swallow is a small passerine (perching) bird that, as a consequence of its adaptations toaerial insect feeding, is placed together with the martins in the family Hirundinidae. Thepan-European barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) has six subspecies, a number of which arestrongly migratory, wintering in the southern hemisphere. A distinctive bird with blueupper parts, a long, deeply-forked tail for aerial manoeuvrability, and scimitar-like wings,the swallow has developed a close association with humans, building cup-shaped nestsfashioned frommudpellets in barns andon suitable roosts in other buildings (Figures 1 and2). Other nesting sites include cliffs, riverbanks, and caves, sheltered spots also preferredby humans. Perhaps it is the close association with human habitation and activity whichhas led to the extensive folklore associatedwith this bird (see Ingersoll 1923 and Tate 2007,for a broader treatment). The stone associatedwith the swallow has a variety of names andspellings attached to it in the literature, a summary of which is given in Table 1.

Earliest Accounts

Plutarch (c. 46–120) was a Greek philosopher, historian, and biographer. Born nearDelphi where he served as one of the priests who interpreted the predictions of theoracle, he later became a Roman citizen. Although its precise authorship and date is amatter of some debate, De Fluviorum et Montium (Treatise on rivers and mountains) isusually included in Moralia (Morals), Plutarch’s collection of moral essays. Quoting a lostwork attributed to Thrasyllus (probably Tiberius Claudius Thrasyllus of Mendes, whoflourished in the first century AD and was astrologer to Tiberius), his entry for the RiverNile records the presence of the stone kollotes:

which the swallows picking up against the time that Nilus overflows, build up the wall which is calledthe Chelidonian wall, which restrains the water and will not suffer the country to be injured by the furyof the flood. (Goodwin 1878, 496)

Folklore 124 (April 2013): 81–103http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0015587X.2012.747479

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The wall-building industry of the swallow described by Plutarch contrasts stronglywith the small stones seemingly first described by Pliny the Elder (23–79), who wrote inhis famous Historia Naturalis (bk 30, chap. 27):

The magicians think highly of . . . also the small grits found in the crops of young swallows, tied to theleft arm of the patient; for swallows, it is said, give small stones to their young the moment they arehatched. If, at the commencement of the first paroxysm, an epileptic patient eats the first of aswallow’s brood that has been hatched, he will experience a perfect cure: but at a later period thedisease is treated by using swallow’s blood with frankincense, or by eating the heart of the bird quitefresh. Nay, even more than this, a small stone taken from a swallow’s nest will relieve the patient themoment it is applied, they say; worn, too, as an amulet, it will always act as a preservative against themalady. (Bostock and Riley 1856, vol. 5, 451)

The account of Chelidonius, the swallow stone, was later embellished by Damigeron (secondcentury AD) in his De Virtutibus Lapidum (The virtues of stones). The centurion Lucinius Frontodelivered magnificent gifts to Evax, king of Arabia, from the Roman Emperor Tiberius (ruled14–37 AD). This book, supposedly containing a wealth of secret lore and ascribed toDamigeron, was given as a return gift. Damigeron wrote concerning the swallow stone:

The red [stone] heals lunatics, the insane and the depressed. Do this with it:—Take a clean linen rag, tieit in it and place it ‘round the left arm of the sick person and in three days he will be cured. Moreover itmakes those who wear it pleasant and rich and friendly and agreeable. Likewise, if the black [stone] isworn, it brings a happy outcome to all business matters and he who wears it can resist the anger andthreats of kings and rulers. For whoever has it with him will win everyone’s praise, and lead all toaccept his authority, for he will be honest with them. And if anyone’s eyes hurt, grind it with water andrub it on, and he will be cured. And when you take it from the nest, see that neither the mother nor thefather is nearby, for it will be more effective in this way. Now the black stone, put it in a yellow linenrag, relieves the tertian and daily fevers, and it is excellent against all kinds of tumour. (Tahil 1989, 20)

Figure 1. Swallows closely associated with human habitation (Cuba 1511).

Christopher John Duffin82

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Table 1. Etymology of the swallow stone.

Name Authority

Calculus hirundinum Bomare (1769)Celidonia Gimma (1730)Celidonio Batman (1582)Celidonius Albertus Magnus, 1262 (Wykoff 1967)Celidoyne London Lapidary, early fourteenth century (Evans 1932)Cheledony Damigeron, second century (Tahill 1989)Chelidoines Bertrand (1763)Chelidon Dioscorides, first century (Gunther 1968)Chelidonei minerales Gruner (1775)Chelidoni Bertrand (1763)Chelidonian Marbode, eleventh century (King 1860)Chelidonii minerales Bertrand (1763)Chelidonio Gimma (1730)Chelidonium Albertus Magnus, thirteenth century (Scanlan 1987)Chelidonius lapis Mizaldus (1566)Chelidony Aberdeen Bestiary, c. 1200Cleridonius Peterborough Lapidary, late fifteenth century (Evans 1932)Fausses Chelidoines Bertrand (1763)Kollote Plutarch, first centuryLapis Sarcenagensis Lemery (1714)Pierre Chelidoine Delametherie (1797)Pierre de Sarcenage Lemery (1714)Pierre ophtalmique Beurard (1809, quoted in Rolland 1879: 318)Pierres d’hirondelles VariousPietra delle Rondini Gimma (1730)Pseudochelidonii Bertrand (1763)Schwalbenstein Lonicer (1630)Svalesteen Aphelen (1764)Swallow-stone Nicols (1652)Pierre d’arondelle Belleau (1576)Pierre de Chelidoine Merat and de Lens (1833)

Figure 2. Woodcut of the swallow, Hirundo rustica (Gesner 1669, 68).

Chelidonius: The Swallow Stone 83

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Sources of the Stone

As was the case with Alectorius, the magical stone recorded as coming from capons,Chelidonius is reported as originating in various parts of the anatomy of the bird (Duffin2007). Some authors, such as those of the early ninth-century Anglo-Saxon Leechbook ofBald, the late sixteenth-century Sloane lapidary (London, British Library, MS Sloane2539), and Stephen Batman commenting on Bartholomaeus Anglicus’s De ProprietatibusRerum (1240), indicate that it should be obtained from the mouth or ‘mawe’ (Cockayne1864, 2: 307; Evans 1932, 124; Seymour 1975, 2: 841; Batman 1582, bk 16: 258).Other authorities, including Plutarch, Pliny, Albertus Magnus (c. 1193–1280), and

Georgius Agricola (1494–1555), suggest that the stone is obtained from the craw orcrop of the bird (Goodwin 1878, 496; Bostock and Riley 1856, vol. 5, 451; Scanlan 1987, 300;Agricola 1612, 619; Bandy and Bandy 1955, 146). This feature is a muscular, pouch-likeenlargement of the oesophagus used for temporary storage of the food before it passes tothe stomach.After temporary storage in the crop, food passes into the proventriculus or ‘true

stomach’, lined with a glandular epithelium which secretes the enzymes that startchemical digestion. From here, the food enters the ventriculus or gizzard, a featurefound in all birds, which has thick muscular walls. The gizzard commonly contains thesmall stones or gastroliths that help to abrade the food, perhaps prior to its being passedback to the proventriculus for another period of chemical digestion. A number ofauthors, including Damigeron and Joannes de Mey (1633–1721), suggest that this is theorgan from which the swallow stones can be harvested (Tahil 1989, 20; Mey 1652, 115;Thorndike 1958, 201). Indeed, E lie Bertrand (1713–97), a Swiss pastor and geologist,suggested that these were ‘stones which the swallows swallow to encourage theirdigestion, and which are found in their stomachs’ (Bertrand 1763, 145).It is interesting to note that other cultures, such as the Pueblo tribes of the American

Southwest, purposefully gathered gastroliths. In this instance, the stones were collectedfrom large dinosaur skeletons exposed in the Jurassic Morrison Formation. Thegastroliths were utilized by Clovis people as hammer stones, and by members of the Hopiand Pueblo tribes to burnish their pots (Mayor 2005, 157).Less anatomical precision is indicated by a number of authors who join the Aberdeen

Bestiary (c. 1200) in indicating that the stones come from the stomach of the swallow(Aberdeen Bestiary, fol. 102r; Wyckoff 1967, 79; Nicols 1652, 175; Leonardus 1502, fol. 28r,1750, 81; Falileyev and Owen 2005, 15). Others, like Pedanius Dioscorides (c. 40–90),Marbode of Rennes (1035–1123), and Albertus Magnus, merely indicate that they comefrom the ‘belly’ or ‘bowels’ (Gunther 1968, 105; King 1860, 400; Best and Brightman 1973,37; Lemnius 1658, 138; Bahler and Gatto 1997, 81). A group of fifteenth-century andsixteenth-century English lapidaries refer the origin of Chelidonius to the womb of theswallow (Evans 1932, 52, 59, 81 and 124; also Batman 1582, bk 16: 258).The timing of collection of the stone also seems to have been of importance, according

to some authors. Dioscorides indicates that this should be ‘at ye increase of ye Moon’(Gunther 1968, 105). In 1262, Albertus Magnus introduced the idea that the month ofAugust was most appropriate for collecting the swallow stone since ‘those taken at thattime are said to have more strength’ (Wyckoff 1967, 79). This was repeated in much ofthe later, largely derivative literature (Best and Brightman 1973, 37; Leonardus 1502,


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fol. 28r; 1750, 81; Morales 1605, chap. 20; see also the Ashmole lapidary in Evans 1932, 59).A number of texts combine the month with the phase of the moon. Lemnius, forexample, states that extraction should be ‘when Autumn begins and the Moonincreaseth’ (see also Sloane lapidary, and Mey 1652, 115).Most authors agree that the sources of the stones are nestling swallows, although

Damigeron recommends catching those that have just recently flown the nest (Tahil1989, 20). Pliny states that the adult swallows ‘give small stones to their young themoment they are hatched’ (Bostock and Riley 1856, vol. 5, 451). Timothie Bright (1550–1615) indicates that the stones should be obtained frommembers of the first brood in thenest, a recommendation reiterated by others (Bright 1580, 37; Nicols 1652, 175). Thethirteenth-century Alfonsine lapidary recommends that it be extracted from the firstchick to hatch (Bahler and Gatto 1997, 81).Albertus Magnus gives an intriguing way of discriminating between stone-bearing and

barren birds:

It is said that the young swallows which produce the stone are recognised by the fact that they perch inthe nest, turned to face one another, while the rest of the brood turn their posteriors to the stone-bearing birds. (Scanlan 1987, 300)

Camillus Leonardus, physician to Cesare Borgia, states that ‘such Stones ought to beextracted while the young Brood stand in their Nest’ (Leonardus 1750, 81). He alsorecommends, following Bartholomaeus Anglicus, that the stones be collected before theyoung swallows touch the ground (Anglicus 1483, bk 12, chap. 21; Batman 1582, 185). Theninth-century Leiden Leechbook states that the stones themselves should not touch theground (Falileyev and Owen 2005, 15). It is as if coming into contact with the earthsomehow leaches away the occult power of the stones, a principle met with in a numberof other fabulous stones (the Zahir mora or adjutant stork stone, and the Ovum anguinum,for example; see Duffin 2008, 19). Damigeron recommends that harvesting of the stonefrom the nest should be accomplished when both parent birds are absent, and Leonardusalso insists that their ‘Dams’ (mothers) not be present (Tahil 1989, 20; Leonardus 1750,81; also Sloane lapidary).Getting to the often inaccessible cup-shaped nest of clay bonded with saliva and lined

with straw and feathers, plastered under overhanging shelters such as beams, cannothave been an easy task. Following complex rules governing collection of the stones musthave made the task even more stressful, but at least two authors claim to have done so.Batman gives the following account:

As touching these stones, I my selfe trieng an old rule, did finde in ye maws of the young Swallowes, ablacke stone as bigge as a Thistle seede, and another red, and a third gray, spotted black, and after gavethem away. (Batman 1582, 258)

Anselm Boetius de Boodt’s (1550–1634) experience was not so rewarding, however; heregretted not having found any such stones in the swallows which he inspected (Boodt1636, 344; 1644, 439).The Ortus Sanitatis (Garden of health) provides us with an illustration showing

extraction of the swallow stone from a seemingly living bird (Figure 3).


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Nature of the Stones

The stones obtained from the swallow are most commonly described as belonging to twosorts, usually with differential occult qualities (Bandy and Bandy 1955). Damigeronindicates that there are black and red kinds, a convention followed by most later authors(Tahil 1989, 20). Marbode of Rennes, supported by Bartholomaeus Anglicus and Batman,however, stipulates that one is white and the other red, while Dioscorides describes ‘oneof diuers colours, & the other cleare [and of one colour]’ and the Sloane lapidary has ‘oneblew, ye other redd of kind’ (King 1860, 400; Anglicus 1483, bk 12, chap. 21; Batman 1582,185; Gunther 1968, 105; Evans 1932, 124). A Middle English lapidary gives the two coloursas black and dun (Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Eng. Misc. e.558; Zettersten 1968, 30).The Alfonsine lapidary states that the most common colours of the stones are green andwhite, but admits the possibility of other hues (Bahler and Gatto 1997, 81). Vincent deBeauvais (c. 1190–1264) states that both stones are purple, one distinguished by blackspots (Beauvais 1468, bk 9, chap. 53).It was fairly common for certain closely similar ‘figured stones’ to be identified as ‘male’

and ‘female’ in latemedieval and renaissance literature (Duffin 2006, 268). Bartholomaeus

Figure 3. Extraction of Chelidonius, the swallow stone (Cuba 1511).


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Anglicus and his translator and commentator, Stephen Batman, apply this same approachto swallow stones, identifying the red variety as male and the white as female (Anglicus1483, bk 12, chap. 21; Batman 1582, 185). Batman also identifies a third type, grey spottedwith black, and small in size: ‘as bigge as a Thistle seede’ (Batman 1582, 185).Two stones, usually one of each colour, were commonly said to be present in those

swallows that possessed them. Agricola states that they have ‘a symmetrical form andare always hollow and for this reason are quite fragile. They are usually light grey ontop while the hollow convex portion is a dark purple, often with irregular spots’ (Bandyand Bandy 1955, 146). The Alfonsine lapidary records that they are ‘rough to the touch,hard to break, and small in size’ (Bahler and Gatto 1997, 81).The collective wisdom was that, although plain in appearance, they are nonetheless

invaluable. The fourteenth-century North London lapidary states that ‘although smalland of little strength it surpasses any good stone in profit’, while the Sloane lapidarycomments, ‘It is not full and faire, But it is of much bewty in him-selfe’, and Batmanasserts that although it is ‘a little stone, but it is precious; and be little and unseemly: Butin vertue they be no less of value then more stones and greater’ (Evans 1932, 52 and 124;Batman 1582, 185). Antoine le Grand (d. 1699), however, finds that the swallow stone,‘hath nothing in the least in it that resembles a Gem’ (Le Grand 1694, 198).

The French Connection

Swallow stone folklore seems to have been particularly prevalent in France. Sassenage isa small town about eight kilometres west of Grenoble. It sits at the base of a mountain,Mollard Gargot, formed by a spectacular overturned anticline in late Cretaceous rocks.The limestones are cut by a famous cave system, locally renowned for yielding swallowstones, pierres d’hirondelle or pierres de Sassenage. Following a brief citation by the earlysixteenth-century historian, Aymar du Rivail, the first description of any substance wasby Denis Salvaing de Boissieu (1600–83). He listed them as one of his seven wondersof the Dauphine, claiming worldwide fame for these small stones (Boissieu 1656, 88;Boissieu 1661 quoted in Muller 2001, 16). Indeed, they were cited as such in earlyVictorian tourist guides, although often accompanied by a comment that the title wassomewhat misleading (Starke 1828, 473). De Boisseau says they were placed under theeyelids in order to cure all manner of maladies of the eyes, and says without hesitationthat even India does not possess gems as precious as these (Muller 2001, 16). Shortlyafterwards, Nicolas Lemery (1645–1715), apothecary to Louis XIV, included an entry forLapis Sarcenagensis in the numerous editions of his highly influential Traite Universel desDrogues Simples (Universal treatise of drugs and simples), first published in 1698 (Lemery1714, 461). He states that, when placed in the eye, the stone irritates it and combineswith any filth (ordure) there and when forced out of the eye, takes the dirt with it(see also Menestrier 1701, quoted in Muller 2001, 19). Indeed, Nicolas Chorier (1612–92),a French lawyer and historian, states that the stones have the same nature as pierresophthalmiques—a confection of aluminium sulphate, copper, potassium nitrate, andpulverized camphor, also known as pierres divines, which were used to scarify ulceratedcorneas (Chorier 1674, 11; Rivet 1803, 180).Descriptions of the pierres de Sassenages indicate that they vary from white through

mottled to blue, grey, brown, or reddish in colour, with a bright, polished, glassy lustre


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and a smooth surface (Chorier 1674, 11; Lemery 1714, 461). Estimated as being about thesize of a lentil and having a variety of shapes, they were first identified as being small,water-worn grains of agate (Wallerius 1753, 174; Bertrand 1763, 300; M. D. F. 1774, 253;Born 1790, 121).An alternative possibility is that these swallow stones may be fossil larger

foraminifera belonging to the genus Orbitolina. These are the discoidal, calcareousskeletons of marine amoeboid protoctistans. Technically, since these are unicellularorganisms, their skeletons count as microfossils. In reality, the coiled shell, divided into aseries of separate chambers, may measure several centimetres across. Fossil orbitolineshave been reported from the Sassenage succession (for example, Lory 1846, 62; 1861,

Figure 4. Type material of Orbitolina conoidea (Gras 1852) and Orbitolina discoidea (Gras 1852) from the Albian (Cretaceous)of Sassenage and Le Rimet, Departement de l’Isere, France. Museum d’histoire naturelle de Grenoble Collection MHNGr.

PA.11145, reproduced by kind permission of Mrs Claudie Durand.

Figure 5. Nummulites gizehensis or ‘Pharaoh’s lentils’ from the Eocene rocks of Egypt and Libya (La Harpe 1883, pl. 33).


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162–63; Gras 1848, 92). Indeed, Orbitolina discoidea was described from Aptian rocks inthe Sassenage area and is a very common fossil there (Gras 1852, 52, pl. 1, Figures 7–9).A number of Sassenage websites make this connection.1 Certainly, the shape of thesefossils (Figure 4) conforms to the descriptions of the lentil-like size and shape of thepierres de Sassenage.Orbitoline foraminiferans are very similar to the closely related but slightly younger

fossil group known as the nummulites. The extended folklore of nummulite fossilsincludes references by Pliny and Strabo (born 64 BC) to relatively diminutive specimensfrom the building stone of the Egyptian pyramids at Gizeh as being petrified lentils fromthe diet of the slaves who built them (Figure 5; La Harpe 1883; Casanova 1983, 9; Mayor2000, 71, 274 and 280). Pseudo-Aristotle (dates contested) notes that specimens collected

Figure 6. Lapis chelidonius (gastropod operculae) illustrated by Lang (1708, pl. 50). Reproduced by kind permission of theWellcome Library for the History of Medicine.

Figure 7. Lapis chelidonius and Lapis chelidonius fossilis from Aldrovandi (1648, 792). Nos 1 and 2 are Lapis chelidonius fossilisand may be fossilized fish teeth. Nos 3 and 4 are Lapis chelidonius animalis and are probably gastropod operculae. By

permission of Bologna University Library; no further reproduction without the written permission of the Library.


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from the Nile had magical as well as medicinal uses (Mayor 2000, 221 and 277). The namecomes from nummulus, a dimunitive of the Latin for ‘money’; the coin-like appearance ofthe fossils has also led to them being identified as ‘Devil’s Gold’, ‘Angel’s Money’, or‘Ladislau’s pennies’, after the eleventh-century king of Hungary (Thenius and Vavra1996, 38; Gregorova 2006, 65; Jozsef, Tibor, and Voigt 2004).It is worth noting for completeness that the stones at Sassenage have a second

interpretation attached to them—the larmes de Me lusine (tears of Melusine), a watersprite. The first extensive compilation of tales regarding Melusine was collected by Jeand’Arras in the late fourteenth century and translated into English around a century later(D’Arras 1895). The story has many versions and associated legends. Essentially, theSassenage version is that Melusine was condemned to a weekly transformation; everySaturday the lower half of her body was changed into that of a fish or serpent. When herhusband surprised her whilst bathing, she fled into the local caves, emerging only toforetell, three years in advance, the deaths of various local lords (Babinet 1847, 49).When she was abandoned by her husband, her tears fell into the torrent of the RiverFuron, where they turned into stone.Some swallow stone lore was collected from Normandy by the pioneering French

folklorist and correspondent of Gustav Flaubert, Amelie Bosquet (1815–1904). Sherecords that the swallow was believed to have the ability to find beach pebbles that couldrestore sight to the blind (see also Pluquet 1834, 42). The only foolproof technique forcollecting the stone entailed putting out the eyes of the swallow’s young. The motherbird would then immediately go in search of the healing stone. Having applied it to therestoration of her fledgling’s sight, she would then try to fly off with the stone in order tohide and protect it. If, however, a red cloth was placed beneath the nest, the bird wouldmistake it for fire and drop the stone safely onto it, ready for collection (Bosquet 1845,217; Harting 1883, 278; Swainson 1886, 51).Likewise in Brittany, stones found in swallows’ nests were deemed to be ‘sovereign

cures for certain diseases of the eye’ and hired out to those who had need of them at acost of around one sous per day (Lebour 1866, 523). Inspection of some specimens of

Figure 8. Shih yen, or stone swallows from Kwang-si, obtained from Chinese apothecaries and described as the Devonianfossil brachiopod Spirifer disjunctus (Wright 1853, pl. 15).


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Breton swallow stones by Lebour revealed that they were actually exotic gastropodopercula—the calcareous plates used to seal the aperture in many marine and freshwatersnails. Although Lebour suggests that ‘they must have been brought there from somedistant shore in the swallow’s stomach’, it is equally possible that they were importedand passed down through the family. Indeed, the French anthropologist Guyot-Daubescites just such a practice in the late nineteenth century, the individual stones beingrevered as ‘extremely precious’, even though their origins had lapsed into obscurity withthe passing generations (Guyot-Daubes 1885, 6). A similar identification was noticed evenearlier by Carl Nicolas Lang (1670–1741), a Lucerne physician and avid geologicalcollector whose cabinet formed his ‘Museum Lucernense Langianum’, and by MicheleMercati (1541–93), Roman physician and Prefect of the Vatican Botanical Gardens underPope Pius V (Lang 1708, pl. 50; Mercati 1719, 183; Figure 6). Ole Worm (Olaus Wormius,1588–1655), personal physician to Christian IV of Denmark, antiquary and avid collectorof curiosities, notes that the Lapilli Chelidonii of Malta were thought to be the valves ofvery small shells of the size and aspect of ‘marine navels’; but he adds that he believessuch views to be neither justifiable nor reasonable (Worm 1655, 72).Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522–1605), an influential naturalist at Bologna and founder of the

famous botanic garden there, also published illustrations of swallow stones (Aldrovandi1648, 791). Those collected directly from swallows are small hemispherical objects with acentral concavity. Alongside them, he shows specimens of the slightly larger, butotherwise closely similar Lapis chelidonius fossilis (Figure 7). From the name alone, theseitems must have been obtained from the ground. Aldrovandi is credited with coining theword ‘geology’ and built up an extensive collection that included many fossils (Vai andCavazza 2003). It is possible that the specimens illustrated by Aldrovandi are fossilizedfishteeth belonging to a durophagous (crushing) dentition such as those found in thenumerous pycnodonts known from Italian rocks.During the French Renaissance, Remy Belleau (1528–77) was one of the young

revolutionary poets belonging to the group known as La Pleiade. His final work, firstpublished in 1576, was a collection of poems arranged in the style of a medieval lapidary,and featured the pierre d’arondelle. The swallow is characterized as the ‘messenger of thestrong and new spring’. The stone itself is ‘a nasty, pitiful treasure’, although ‘Its uglinessand smallness/ Do not compromise/ Its strength and its value’ (Verdier 1973, 208–209).Belleau manages to incorporate a wide range of applications of the stone in his text, allbased upon those listed by classical and medieval authors (see below), and even claimingit as a source of victory in wars against the Arabs and Medois. His conclusion is:

Who will possess you, swallow stone?It will be you, trusted keeperOf honour and chastity:Because you possess in yourself extremesOf virtue and even gracesOn which you have built your happiness. (Verdier 1973, 211. Translation by Catherine Casset.)


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A Modern Perspective

The various elements of stone collection can now be considered in the light of currentornithological knowledge. The chronology is quite appropriate in respect of thereproductive biology of the swallow, which generally arrives in Europe during May fromtheir period of overwintering in the southern hemisphere. There is enormous latitudinalvariation in the timing of breeding, however. Egg-laying may begin during early Marchin Spain, but may not start in Norway until late June (A. Møller, pers. comm.). A clutch offour to five eggs is typical, and two broods may be produced in a single season. The eggshatch after up to nineteen days of incubation and the fledglings spend up to twenty-twodays in the nest before they disperse. Primarily insectivorous, barn swallowsnevertheless eat grit in order to help deal with insect exoskeletons in the crop. Thereare records of parents feeding their chicks with small pieces of snail shell or chalkobtained from walls in order to provide the necessary gastroliths, with the additionalbenefit of supplying supplementary calcium during a period of rapid growth (A. Møller,pers. comm.). The discovery of gastropod opercula in nestling swallows by earlierauthors is therefore by no means impossible.

Medicinal Applications

Pliny introduces the idea that, tied to the left arm, the swallow stone is most useful intreating patients with epilepsy. The alternatives (eating the first swallow hatchling atthe initial onset of symptoms or, in the case of later treatment, eating fresh swallowheart or swallow’s blood mixed with frankincense) paled to insignificance by comparison(Bostock and Riley 1856, 5: 451).Alexander of Tralles (c. 525–c. 605), a Lydian town in the ancient kingdom of Asia

Minor and now part of Turkey, following Pliny, included swallow stones in his list ofmedicines effective in cases of epilepsy (Alexander of Tralles 1549, 65). This approachwas also supported by Dioscorides, Albertus Magnus, and by a number of later authorsfor what they usually called the ‘falling sickness’ (Gunther 1968, 105; Wyckoff 1967, 79;Bright 1580, 37; Lupton 1627, 96; Bandy and Bandy 1955, 146; Leonardus 1750, 81; and theSloane lapidary). Laevinus Lemnius and Joannes de Mey both explain that this cure isaccomplished by the stone drying up and eliminating the ‘viscous and clammy moisture’and ‘tenacious humours’ that cause the disease (Lemnius 1658, 138; Mey 1652, 281).The stone is also claimed to have extensive powers for healing the mind. Damigeron,

Arnold of Saxony, Albertus Magnus, Marbode, Anglicus, the Aberdeen Bestiary and theSloane lapidary all report that the red stone heals lunatics and the depressed (Tahil 1989,20; Stange 1905, 70; King 1860, 400; Aberdeen Bestiary, fol. 102r; Wyckoff 1967, 79; Anglicus1483, bk 12, chap. 21; Batman 1582, 185; Evans 1932, 124; see also Caesius 1636, 527;Jonstonus 1661, 162; Evans 1932, 52; and the Sloane lapidary). The Middle Englishlapidary sums up the benefit as the stone ‘is moche werth tyll them þat ben owte oftheyre witte & for hem that lye in langowus’ (MS Eng. Misc. e.558; Zettersten 1968, 30).‘Lunatick passion’ is the term often applied to these conditions. Presumably, the fact thatthe stone should be collected during a waxing moon was thought to endow it with thesympathetic magic appropriate to treat madness.The Leiden Leechbook recommends Chelidonius for ‘pains, however old and persistent’,

while the Leechbook of Bald indicates that they are good for headache, a malady for which


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specimens collected by Bellucci were also used (Falileyev and Owen 2005, 15; Cockayne1864, 2: 307; Bellucci 1889, 50; Wilson 1891, 146; Bonser 1963, 344). This source alsorecommends the stone for use against occult interference, being good ‘for the fiendstemptations, and for night goblin visitors, . . . and for the night mare, and for knot, andfor fascination, and for evil enchantments by song’ (Cockayne 1864, 2: 307). The AberdeenBestiary reinforces this belief, stating that Chelidonius heals the demon-possessed, whilstJohn Jonston says that it is ‘good against fantastick thoughts (Johnstonus 1657, 116). TheAlfonsine lapidary proclaims instant healing for those possessed by the devil, if the stoneis hung about the neck in a calfskin pouch suspended by a red silk thread, but gives thewarning that ‘this virtue does not work if the two stones [from the belly of the chick] arenot together, or if they did not come from a male chick’ (Bahler and Gatto 1997, 81).It was also said by many authors to cure a range of ocular diseases. In some cases the

comments are fairly generic, such as preserving eyesight, although BartholomaeusAnglicus, the Middle English lapidary, Sloane lapidary, and North London lapidary allspecify its use in cases of sore eyes (Wilson 1891, 146; Anglicus 1483, bk 12, chap. 21;Batman 1582, 185; Zettersten 1968, 30; Evans 1932, 52). Leonardus recommends it for‘Distempers of the eyes’, while the Peterborough lapidary proclaims that with it ‘Youreyes will be made whole’ (Leonardus 1750, 81; Evans 1932, 81). Albertus Magnusintroduces confusion with some rather contradictory remarks; having said it cures theeyes, he also makes the comment that it dims the sight (Best and Brightman 1973, 37;Wyckoff 1967, 79). Damigeron and the Peterborough lapidary both recommend that thestone be ground to a powder, and the eyes washed or even rubbed with a suspension ofthe grit in water. Leonardus states that the stone should be ‘bruised to Pieces in Water,and made into a Pellet’ (Leonardus 1750, 81). The Alfonsine lapidary gives the mostextensive account:

When they are pulverized in a gold mortar with a gold pestle, and well-ground powder is placed in theeyes of a person whose eyes are not clear due to the water trapped in them, it will greatly improve hisvision, and if he uses the powder regularly, he will be cured. (Bahler and Gatto 1997, 81)

The stone was also commended for removing dust from the surface of the eye(Gabelkover 1694, 96). The most recent account of these stones being used to removeforeign objects from the eye is given by Guyot-Daube s. After describing a similarapplication of coins and small silver batons, he goes on to explain that the pierred’hirondelle, somewhere in size between that of a lentil and a chickpea, was inserted intothe corner of the eye. Sticking to the globe of the eyeball, it disappeared under the eyelid,bringing about immediate pain relief. Being lubricated by tears that moved between thestone and the eye surface by capillarity, the cure was apparently completely painless,and the stone removed for use on another occasion (Guyot-Daubes 1885, 7).2 Guyot-Daube s’s paper elicited several written responses to the editor of the journal agreeingwith the author and adding that some specimens of swallow stones could be identified asyeux d’ecrivisses—‘crabs’ eyes’, or oculi cancrorum, small calcareous gastroliths formed inastacid crayfish and shed during their summer moult in July and August (Steiner 1885,46; Reeb 1885, 46). These structures were a popular ingredient in a range of medicines,and often used in the treatment of pleurisy, asthma, bladder stones, and colic (J. D. 1957,57; Duffin 2010, 27).


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Other authorities are content to apply the water in which the stone has been steepedto the washing of the eyes. Once again, Albertus Magnus stands apart, commanding thatthe stone be wrapped in the leaves of the greater celandine (Chelidonium majus), whichwas also known as the swallow wort (see also Sloane lapidary, and Stange 1905, 70). Thisassociation comes from Pliny: ‘The swallow has shown us that the chelidonia [celandine]is very serviceable to the sight, by the fact of its employing it for the cure of its young,when their eyes are affected’ (Bostock and Riley 1855, 2: 292; see also Aelianus 1562, 86).As a consequence, the boiled juice of the plant was mixed with honey and applied to theeyes as a salve (Pliny, bk 25, chaps 50 and 91 in Bostock and Riley 1856, 5: 114 and 136).John Gerard (1545–1612) refers to the celandine in his Great Herball, first published in1597: ‘The juice of the herbe is good to sharpen the sight, for it cleanseth and consumethaway slimie things that cleave about the ball of the eye’ (Woodward 1927, 247).Nicolas Culpeper (1616–54) asks a perfectly reasonable question in his EnglishPhysitian: ‘is not this far better than endangering the eyes by the art of the needle?’(Culpeper 1652, 29).In addition to the above, a series of other afflictions and diseases was said to be cured

by the swallow stone, including quartan, quotidian, tertian, and daily fevers (mostlyvarieties of malaria), tumours, typhus, intransigent sicknesses and diseases, sleeping orforgetful sickness, persistent sores, ‘wrappe’, ‘periodical disorders’, and jaundice (Tahil1989, 20; Stange 1905, 70; King 1860, 400; Cockayne 1864, 2: 307; Aberdeen Bestiary, fol.102r; Wyckoff 1967, 79; Best and Brightman 1973, 37; Anglicus 1483, bk 12, chap. 21;Beauvais 1468, bk 9, chap. 53; Batman 1582, 185; Evans 1932, 31, 52, 59, 81 and 124; Caesius1636, 527; Leonardus 1750, 81). The Peterborough Lapidary comments that ‘yf a womanbe trauelyng of a child, by ye vertu of this ston sche schall be delyuerrd with gret peyneof her body, & ye child this ston may towche ne dieth’ (Evans 1932, 81).The stone seems to have been effective in that it ‘puttith away fleme & restraineth þe

humours þat that be noyous & contrarious to a mannys body’ (Zettersten 1968, 30).Indeed, Petrus Bonus Avogarius (also known as Avogadri, fl. 1445–1506), professor ofmedicine (and later, astrology) at Ferrara University, cited this principle in writing to hisimperial Medici ruler, Lorenzo Il Magnifico (1445–92). In a letter dated 11 February 1488,he recommends that Lorenzo should wear a sapphire ring on the third finger of the lefthand in order to alleviate pains from gout, ‘because that stone has occult virtues and thespecific one of preventing evil humours going to the joints’ (Cameron 1964, 589). He addsthe caveat, however, that:

in the summer during August, I will find celandine, which is a red stone that grows in the stomach ofthe swallow. I will send it to your Magnificence to be tied in a piece of linen and sewn in your shirtunder the left breast at the nipple. This will have the same effect as the sapphire. (White 2000, 48)

Apart from its ophthalmological application, the swallow stone seems to have largelybeen amuletic. Many authors follow Damigeron in recommending that it should bewrapped in a clean linen cloth and tied around the left arm (Tahil 1989, 20). Few takeup his comment that the stone works within three days of its application; indeed, Plinyassures his readers that it ‘will relieve the patient the moment it is applied’ (Bostock andRiley 1855, 2: 292). Some authors indicate that the colour of the cloth is important;Damigeron and Leonardus state that the cloth should be yellow, the Middle English andSloane lapidaries recommend that it be dyed green, while the Peterborough and Sloane


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lapidaries give instructions to ‘bynde this ston in a red sendell clowte’ (Tahil 1989, 20;Leonardus 1750, 81; Zettersten 1968, 30; Evans 1932, 81).The precise nature of the wrapping material showed some variation. Dioscorides

states that the stone should be enclosed ‘in an heyfer’s or hart’s skinne before they touchthe ground’, while others recommend the use of calfskin or other leather (Wyckoff 1967,79; Best and Brightman 1973, 37; Leonardus 1750, 81). The Aberdeen Bestiary suggests thatthe stone be moistened with saffron before being wrapped in the cloth, while Vincent deBeauvais suggests that the cloth be ‘tinted with crocus’ (Beauvais 1468, bk 9, chap. 53).The London lapidary recommends that it be wrapped up together with the sacraments,presumably for greater efficacy (Evans 1932, 31).Likewise, the exact place of attachment to the body was open to interpretation. Whilst

tying it to the left arm was favoured, some authorities recommend that it be placed in thearmpit, while others allowed it to hang on the left side of the body (Wyckoff 1967, 79; Bestand Brightman 1973, 37). Agricola recommended that it be hung about the neck, especiallyof young boys, while Leonardus suggested that it be tied in that position with a yellow cloth(Bandy and Bandy 1955, 146; Lupton 1627, 96; Leonardus 1750, 81). In a break fromtradition, Jonstonus said it should be applied to the right arm, whilst the Middle Englishlapidary was content with it being carried in a purse, at least in terms of helping the bearerto maintain his high level of personal probity (Jonstonus 1657, 116; Zettersten 1968, 30).Much as is the case with Alectorius, Chelidonius has numerous supposed personal,

non-medical benefits associated with it. The details of these records are given in Table 2,but they can be summarized as bringing eloquence, a pleasing and agreeable personality,assistance in turning away wrath and anger (especially from nobility), and thepersistence needed to bring plans to a successful conclusion.I have been unable to trace any specimens of swallow stones in museum collections or

surviving materia medica cabinets. It is obvious, however, that some sort of medicaltrade in this item took place, as a seventeenth-century Aberdonian apothecary lists themas being for sale at two shillings per grain (just less than sixty-four milligrams),equivalent to around £27,000 per gram today (using average earnings as an index)(Gordon 1625, 16).

Chinese Folklore

Stone swallows, or shih-yen, are part of Chinese folklore and have been incorporated intothe Chinese materia medica (Needham 1959; Oakley 1965, 9–16 and 117–25; 1978, 208–40 and 276–81; 1985, xi–99; Duffin 2008, 21). A fifth-century writer, Li Tao-Yuan, quotingthe author Lo Han from a century earlier, writes in his Shui Ching Chu (Commentary onthe waterways classic):

In Shih-Yen Shan there are a sort of stone oysters which look like swallows. Hence the name of themountain. During thunderstorms, these stone ‘swallows’ fly about as if they were real swallows.(Needham 1959, 615)

The idea of stone swallows taking off from mountainsides and flying throughthunderstorms was tested by Tu Wan in 1133. He observed in his Yun Lin Shih Phu (Cloudforest lapidary) that movement through the air was the consequence of downslopemovement of stones loosened by the everyday processes of weathering (Needham 1959,616).


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Li Tao-Yuan’s comment that shih-yen were stone oysters was quite perspicacious.Specimens purchased from various Chinese apothecary shops during Victorian timeswere identified as Devonian and Carboniferous spiriferid brachiopods (‘lamp shells’).

Table 2. Swallow stone personal qualities.

Benefit Authority

Makes people friendly, rich, pleasant, agreeable Damigeron (1st Century)Brings a happy outcome to all business ventures Damigeron (1st Century)Abnility to resist the anger and threats of kings and rulers Damigeron (1st Century)Will win everyone’s praise, and lead all to accept his

authority, for he will be honest with themDamigeron (1st Century)

With force persuasive orators they arm Marbode (11th century)And grace the hearts of multitudes to charm Marbode (11th century)And bring thy measures to the wished for end Marbode (11th century)It blunts the threats and cools the ire of kings Marbode (11th century)Makes a man eloquent and loved Aberdeen Bestiary (circa 1200)Helps to bring things to completion Aberdeen Bestiary (circa 1200)Offers protection against the threats and rages

of kings and princesAberdeen Bestiary (circa 1200)

Maketh a man kind and pleasing Anglicus (1240)Makes a man eloquent, acceptable and pleasant Albertus Magnus (1250 De Secretis)Turns away wrath Albertus Magnus (1250 De Secretis)Bringeth the business begun to an end Albertus Magnus (1250 De Secretis)Makes one eloquent and pleasing and agreeable Albertus Magnus (1262 De Mineralibus)Acts against angry threats Albertus Magnus (1262 De Mineralibus)Brings to a conclusion any business that is undertaken Albertus Magnus (1262 De Mineralibus)She makeþ a man wyly and well avised in wordis and

pleasyng to manyMiddle English Lapidary

She shall helpe hym to the ende þat he begynnyth Middle English LapidaryWoll helpe moche a man þat is maneshed of wrath and of angur Middle English LapidaryIt makes him well spoken of and beloved of men (popular). London LapidaryIt shall help him do great things London LapidaryHelps against the menaces of Kings and Princes London LapidaryBrings journeys to a good end Ashmole LapidaryMakes people kind and pleasing Ashmole LapidaryMakes the bearer fair speaking and pleasant North London LapidaryBrings many needs to a good end North London LapidaryMakes the wrath of kings pass away North London LapidaryHe schal not be sclaw Peterborough LapidaryHe schal be a feyr speker Peterborough LapidaryHe schal be loued of all men Peterborough LapidaryIt maketh a man full wyse in speech and wel beloved Sloane LapidaryIt helpeth to end a mans work he hath begun Sloane LapidaryIt helpeth greatly for menacing and for threatening of ye people,

from wrath of a king, lors and ladies.Sloane Lapidary

It maketh a man kinde and pleasing Batman 1582Acts against wrath Batman 1583Maketh a man pleasant and gracious Sloane 2539Against Angar treatenings & such Sloane 2539It renders those who wear it eloquent and acceptable Leonardus 1750Conducts Affairs undertaken to a happy Issue Leonardus 1750Quells Anger Leonardus 1750Makes the Bearer of it agreeable and pleasant Leonardus 1750Appeases the Wrath of Masters Leonardus 1750


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These fossils have distinctive wing-like shells because of their elongate hinge areas.Indeed, for a long time Chinese apothecary outlets were prime sources of scientificspecimens, which were duly described and named (Figure 8; Wright 1853). Incorporatedinto pharmacopoeia from the seventh century onwards, these fossils were oftendissolved in vinegar and then administered in cases of rheumatism, skin diseases, andarthritis (Duffin 2008, 21).

Conclusions

The swallow stone is a good example of a fabulous stone whose existence has somefactual basis. With written accounts dating from classical to early modern times, thestone has variously been suggested as being identified as gastropod opercula, thecalcareous gastroliths of freshwater crayfish, fossil fish teeth, orbitoline foraminifera,and small clasts of agate. The subject of an extensive medical folklore, the stone wasbelieved to be effective in the treatment of epilepsy, mental disorders, various fevers,and other afflictions. Medieval texts often identified its ability to protect against variousoccult activities. It is with a range of ocular disorders that the stone is most commonlyassociated, however, in keeping with contemporary beliefs regarding the behaviour ofparent swallows in preserving the eyesight of their nestlings. The ‘stone swallows’ ofChinese folk medicine were used to treat rheumatism, arthritis, and disorders of the skin.As with many other fabulous stones, the earliest accounts of the swallow stone took on

a burgeoning authority that was little questioned until the more empirical approaches ofthe Enlightenment. Vestiges of swallow stone folklore were most persistent in France,where they were revered well into the nineteenth century.

Acknowledgements

Renzo Console kindly helped with some of the early Latin texts, and Catherine Cassettranslated Belleau’s poetry for me. The British Library, the Geological Society of London,and the Wellcome Library kindly gave access to the many volumes consulted during thepreparation of this paper. I am grateful to Dr Anders Pape Møller (Universite Pierreet Marie Curie, Paris), Mrs Claudie Durand (Curator, Museum d’histoire naturelle deGrenoble) and Dr Romain Vullo (Universite de Rennes) for their helpful correspondence.Comments from Adrienne Mayor (Stanford University) and an anonymous secondreviewer were very helpful.

Notes1For example: http://jean.louis.negre.free.fr/03_Vercors/_Falaises%20Gerbier/2006_11_26_Falaises%20Gerbier_V1.pdf (accessed 6 April 2010).2Guyot-Daube s (1885, 6–7): ‘on la posait sur le coin de la paupie re et sito t qu’elle etait en contact avec leslarmes, elle se collait sur le globe de l’oeil et disparaissait sous la paupie re. La douleur occasione e par lepetit corps etranger cessait instantane ment et cela a la joie et a l’etonnement de la personne qui essayaitpour la premiere fois se singulier reme de. La pierre d’hirondelle, malgre son volume, malgre l’anfractuosite de sa surface, n’occasionnait celle-me me aucune gene, aucune douleur’.


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http://jean.louis.negre.free.fr/03_Vercors/_Falaises%20Gerbier/2006_11_26_Falaises%20Gerbier_V1.pdf

http://jean.louis.negre.free.fr/03_Vercors/_Falaises%20Gerbier/2006_11_26_Falaises%20Gerbier_V1.pdf

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Biographical Note

A geologist by training, Chris Duffin gained a PhD in Vertebrate Palaeontology and ComparativeAnatomy at University College London in 1980. His mainstream research is on fossil fishes,particularly sharks; he is co-author of the Palaeozoic sharks volume of the Handbook ofPaleoichthyology (Verlag Dr Friedrich Pfeil, 2010). A passionate interest in the folklore ofgeological materials, particularly their use in folk medicine from classical to early modern times, iscurrently threatening to take over his life. Working as a school teacher, he is Head of Biology, Headof Critical Thinking, and Senior Master at Streatham and Clapham High School.


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