Toadstone

Toadstone
A 1497 illustration by Johannes de Cuba, depicting the extraction and use of a toadstone

The toadstone (not unlike the batrachite), also known as bufonite, is a mythical stone or gem thought to be found in, or produced by, a toad, and is supposed to be an antidote to poison. Artifacts called "toadstones" were actually the fossilized teeth of Lepidotes, an extinct genus of ray-finned fish from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, as they appeared to be "stones that are perfect in form".[1] At some point, humans began to associate the fossils with jewels that some believed to form in the heads of toads due to supernatural causes, and appeared in recorded history originally during the lifetime of Pliny the Elder, who was born in 23 AD and died in 79.[1]

According to Paul Taylor of the English Natural History Museum:

Like tonguestones, toadstones were considered to be antidotes for poison and were also used in the treatment of epilepsy".[1] As early as the 14th century, people began to adorn jewelry with toadstones for their magical abilities. In their folklore, a toadstone was required to be removed from an old toad while the creature was still alive, and as instructed by the 17th century naturalist Edward Topsell, could be done by setting the toad on a piece of red cloth.[1]

Contents

Allusions in literature

The toadstone is alluded to by Duke Senior in Shakespeare's As You Like It, in Act 2, Scene 1, lines 12 through 14:

"Sweet are the uses of adversity;
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head".

In James Branch Cabell's short story "Balthazar's Daughter" (collected in The Certain Hour) and its subsequent play adaptation The Jewel Merchants, Alessandro de Medici attempts to seduce Graciosa by listing various precious jewels in his possession, including "jewels cut from the brain of a toad".

Various other names

Some various other names of the toadstone are:
  • Lapis Borax
  • Lapis Bufonis
  • Lapis Rubetæ
  • Crapaut
  • Crapaudine
  • Krattenstein
  • Crapontina

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Fossils: myths, mystery and magic". Independent UK. 2007-02-12. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/fossils-myths-mystery-and-magic-436005.html. Retrieved 2008-04-13. 
  • New Oxford American Dictionary, under the entry "toadstone".
  • The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by Crown Publishers Inc

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Toadstone — Toad stone , n. 1. (Min.) A local name for the igneous rocks of Derbyshire, England; said by some to be derived from the German todter stein, meaning dead stone, that is, stone which contains no ores. [1913 Webster] 2. Bufonite, formerly regarded …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • toadstone — (n.) stone or stone like object, supposedly magical (with healing or protective power) and found in the heads of certain toads, is attested from 1550s, from TOAD (Cf. toad) + STONE (Cf. stone) (n.). Translating Gk. batrakhites, M.L. bufonites; Cf …   Etymology dictionary

  • toadstone — [tōd′stōn΄] n. [ TOAD + STONE, based on L or Gr batrachitēs or MFr crapaudine] any stone or similar object formerly thought to have been formed inside a toad s head or body and often worn as a charm …   English World dictionary

  • toadstone — noun Date: 1558 a stone or similar object held to have formed in the head or body of a toad and formerly often worn as a charm or antidote to poison …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • toadstone — /tohd stohn /, n. any of various stones or stonelike objects, formerly supposed to have been formed in the head or body of a toad, worn as jewels or amulets. [1550 60; TOAD + STONE] * * * …   Universalium

  • toadstone — noun A small stone, once believed to be a jewel embedded in the head of a toad, worn as a amulet …   Wiktionary

  • toadstone —    Local term in the Peak District, England for lavas, tuffs and igneous intrusions within the local Carboniferous carbonate sequence …   Lexicon of Cave and Karst Terminology

  • toadstone — noun a gem, fossil tooth, or other stone formerly supposed to have been formed in the body of a toad, and credited with therapeutic or protective properties …   English new terms dictionary

  • toadstone — toad•stone [[t]ˈtoʊdˌstoʊn[/t]] n. jew any of various stonelike objects, usu. fossilized animal parts, formerly supposed to have been formed in the body of a toad, worn esp. as amulets to protect against poison …   From formal English to slang

  • toadstone — /ˈtoʊdstoʊn/ (say tohdstohn) noun any of various stones or stone like objects, formerly supposed to have been formed in the head or body of a toad, worn as jewels or amulets. {toad + stone; translation of Greek and Latin batrachītēs or Medieval… …  

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