Was just thinking about this while doing the laundry today. Say you're a peasant in medieval Europe... it's a dry day, you go to pick up your tools or mistakenly brush up against an anvil.

All of a sudden you get this strange, unexplainable jolt. What would you think just happened? If you asked your local priest or miscellaneous educated person about it, what would they tell you? Was there a generally accepted theory to explain this before the properties of electricity were discovered?

Scenario is just an example, I'd be interested in any era or place.