Tidsskrift for den Norske lægeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny række
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Tidsskr. Nor. Laegeforen. · Dec 1992
Historical Article[La pierre de la folie. The stone of madness].
During the 16th and 17th centuries the expression "to have a stone in the head" was synonymous with peculiar behaviour or mental symptoms. Many quacksalvers earned their living by treating such patients with a scalp incision, pretending to remove a stone. Some of the great painters from this period have used the subjects as models for their works of art. A series of paintings of this kind have been traced in different museums, catalogues and publications, and are described, followed by a short survey of popular beliefs and superstitions connected with stones.