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In their study of the countless stones story, S. F. Menefee divided the recorded tales into three sub-types. Menefee insisted that these categories "should not be regarded as rigid and exclusive, but rather as divisions which may better help us to understand the belief as a whole."
152:, commenting "Neere Wilton sweete, huge heapes of stones are found, But so confusde that neither any eye, Can count them just." The second oldest known account was produced by
128:
204:, commented that "the King's Arithmetike gave the lye to that fabulous tale". Around the same time, a number of other individuals decided to count the stones, including
160:, which was published in 1602 and probably authored in manuscript form between 1590–94. Carew was aware of the tradition at Stonehenge, comparing it with that found at
245:
Ethan Doyle White argued that at the
Rollright Stones, the tale of the countless stones exerted an influence on practitioners of the contemporary Pagan religion of
66:
69:
of the Late
Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. The motif holds that an individual attempting to count the number of stones in the monument will be unable to do so.
220:, who visited Stonehenge in about 1690; elsewhere in her journals, Fiennes also recorded it among local people living in the vicinity of the stone circle of
183:. Here, it features in reference to Stonehenge as part of the poem "To His Calidonian Mistris". The Stonehenge countless stones story is again mentioned in
471:
132:
The circle of
Stonehenge, depicted here in a 1645 illustration, has been associated with the story since at least the 16th century.
72:
The earliest textual accounts of the story date from the late sixteenth century, where it is linked to the stone circle of
441:
Doyle White, Ethan (2014). "Devil's Stones and
Midnight Rites: Folklore, Megaliths, and Contemporary Pagan Witchcraft".
161:
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221:
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visited
Stonehenge, where he counted the number of stones. There, one of those who were accompanying him, Colonel
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were aware of the folklore of the site, and that it influenced them in choosing the prehistoric monument as a
80:. Multiple sources from the seventeenth-century also link the story to Stonehenge, although also apply it to
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216:, thus suggesting that they were familiar with the story. The tale was next recorded in the journal of
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189:
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The next textual appearance of the story dates from 1604, and can be found in the
Scottish poet
144:, which was written prior to 1586. Sidney related the story when discussing the stone circle of
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The countless stones motif was the subject of a study by folklorist S. F. Menefee, published in
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193:, which was published in 1662 but probably authored forty of fifty years previously.
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A list of sites with which the motif has been associated can be found in
Grinsell.
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115:'s catalogue of folkloric motifs associated with prehistoric sites in Britain.
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34:
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The earliest textual reference to the countless stones story comes from
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97:
481:
Menefee, S.P. (1975). "The 'Countless Stones': A Final
Reckoning".
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in the mid-20th century. He highlighted that
Wiccans such as
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practices, which were taking place there by the late 1950s.
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318:, Carmarthenshire (1917, although site destroyed 1915)
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The
Poetical Essays of Alexander Craige Scotobritane
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464:Folklore of Prehistoric Sites in Britain
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196:On 7 October 1651, the British monarch
489:(3–4). The Folklore Society: 146–166.
164:, a group of three stone circles near
7:
449:(1). The Folklore Society: 60–79.
25:
65:from the Early Neolithic and the
57:. It is associated with various
466:. London: David & Charles.
265:Associated megalithic monuments
1:
495:10.1080/0015587x.1975.9716017
37:stone circle, in the English
462:Grinsell, Leslie V. (1976).
455:10.1080/0015587x.2013.860766
49:is a motif that appears in
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286:Long Meg and Her Daughters
222:Long Meg and Her Daughters
90:Long Meg and Her Daughters
300:, Kent (mid-19th century)
111:in 1975, and was part of
142:The 7 Wonders of England
298:Little Kit's Coty House
312:, Cardiganshire (1856)
158:The Survey of Cornwall
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119:Historical development
63:chambered long barrows
42:
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124:Early Modern accounts
61:monuments, including
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369:, pp. 146, 155.
306:, Oxfordshire (1853)
328:Coldrum Long Barrow
324:, Cumbria (c. 1939)
288:, Cumbria (c. 1690)
190:The Birth of Merlin
276:, Wiltshire (1586)
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16:(Redirected from
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259:magico-religious
241:Modern influence
47:countless stones
27:Megalithic motif
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18:Countless Stones
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316:Y Naw Carreg
292:Stanton Drew
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280:The Hurlers
255:sacred site
210:John Evelyn
206:Inigo Jones
162:The Hurlers
82:The Hurlers
515:Categories
335:References
274:Stonehenge
226:Cumberland
198:Charles II
146:Stonehenge
94:Cumberland
74:Stonehenge
59:megalithic
340:Footnotes
150:Wiltshire
78:Wiltshire
483:Folklore
443:Folklore
322:Swinside
232:Subtypes
187:'s play
179:'s book
170:Cornwall
166:Liskeard
107:Folklore
86:Cornwall
35:Swinside
503:1260230
109:journal
98:Cumbria
51:English
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212:, and
499:JSTOR
247:Wicca
96:(now
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