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A mandrake is the root of a plant, historically derived either from plants of the genus Mandragora (in the family Solanaceae) found in the Mediterranean region, or from other species, such as Bryonia alba (the English mandrake, in the family Cucurbitaceae) or the American mandrake ( Podophyllum peltatum in the family Berberidaceae) which have similar properties. The plants from which the root is obtained are also called "mandrakes". Mediterranean mandrakes are perennial herbaceous plants with ovate leaves arranged in a rosette, a thick upright root, often branched, and bell-shaped flowers that produce yellow or orange berries. They have been placed in different species by different authors. They are highly variable Perennial plant with long thick roots (often branched) and almost no stem. The leaves are borne in a basal rosette, and are variable in size and shape, with a maximum length of . They are usually either elliptical in shape or wider towards the end (obovate), with varying degrees of hairiness.
Because mandrakes contain deliriant and the shape of their roots often Pareidolia, they have been associated with magic rituals throughout history, including present-day contemporary pagan traditions.
The German common name is Alraun, Alraune (cf. below). However, the Latin mandragora, misidentified by false etymology to have a -draco ("dragon") stem (as manifests in the English from "mandrake", above) has caused the plant and beast to be conflated into an Alraundrachen, in the sense of a household spirit. This combined form is not well attested, but the house kobold is known regionally as either alraune e or drak (drak), both classed as "dragon names" by Lily Weiser-Aall (cf. ).
The mandrake-doll in German might be called Alraun Männlein ("mandrake manikin"), in Belgian (Flemish dialects) mandragora manneken, or in Italian mandragora maschio. In German, it is also known as Galgenmännlein ("little gallows man") stemming from the belief that they grow near gallows, also attested in Icelandic þjófarót "thieves' root".
Certain sources cite the Dutch name (lit. "little urine thief") or ('urine devilkin'), claiming the plant grows from the brains of dead thieves, or the droppings of those hung on the gallows. The name "brain thief" for mandrake also occurs in English.
The root is hallucinogenic and narcotic. In sufficient quantities, it induces a state of unconsciousness and was used as an Anesthetic for surgery in ancient times. In the past, juice from the finely grated root was applied externally to relieve rheumatism pains. It was used internally to treat melancholy, , and mania. When taken internally in large doses it was said to excite delirium and madness.
Dioscorides in De materia medica (1st century) described the uses of mandragora as a narcotic, analgesic, and abortifacient. He also claimed a love potion could be concocted from it.
Dioscorides as a practicing physician writes that some in his profession may administer a ladle or 1 () of mandrake reduction, made from the root boiled in wine until it shrivels to a third, before performing surgery. Pliny the Elder also repeats that a 1 cyathus dose of mandragora potion is drunk by the patient before incisions or punctures are made on his body. A simple juice (ὀπός) can be produced by mashing the root or scoring and leeching out, or a reduction type (χύλισμα, ) made by boiling, for which Dioscorides provides distinguishing terms, though Pliny lumps these into "juice" (sucus). Just the stripped bark may be infused for a longer period, or the fruits can be sun-dried into a condensed juice, and so forth. The plant is supposedly strong-smelling. And its use for eye remedy is also noted.
Both authors acknowledge that there were male and female mandragora. Pliny states there was the white male type and the dark female type of mandragora. However, he also has a different book-chapter on what he presumes to be a different plant called the white eryngium, also called centocapitum, which also are of two types, those resembling the male and female genitalia, which translators note might also be actually referring to the mandragora (of Genesis 30:14). If a man came into possession of a phallic mandrake (eryngium), this had the power to attract women. Pliny contends that Phaon of Lesbos Island, by obtaining this phallic root was able to cause the poet Sappho to fall in love with him.
A parallel has been noted between the lore of the mandrake harvested from a hangman, and the unguent which Medea gave to Jason, which was made from a plant fed with the body fluid from chained Prometheus.
The ancient Greeks also burned mandrake as incense.
The was considered an aphrodisiac or rather a treatment for infertility, as in Genesis 30:14. The anecdote concerns the fertility of the wives of Jacob, who engendered the Twelve Tribes of Israel headed by his many children. Though he had a firstborn son Reuben by Leah which was a marriage forced upon him, his favorite wife Rachel, Leah's younger sister, remained barren and coveted the dudaʾim. This plant was found by the boy Reuben who supposedly entrusted it to Leah, who would barter it in exchange for allowing her to spend a night in Jacob's bed.
However, the herbal treatment does not seem to work on Rachel, and instead, Leah, who had previously had four sons but had been infertile for a long while, became pregnant once more, so that in time, she gave birth to two more sons, Issachar and Zebulun, and a daughter, Dinah.Genesis 30:14–22 Thus Rachel had to endure several more years of torment being childless, while her sister could flaunt her prolific motherhood, until God intervened, allowing for Rachel's conceive of Joseph.
The final verses of Chapter 7 of Song of Songs (verses 12–13), mention the plant once again:
Philippe de Thaun's bestiary in Anglo-Norman verse has a chapter on the "mandragore", which states it consists of two kinds of roots, and must be extracted by the method of using a dog. He proports it to be a cure of all illnesses, save death (n189 to pages 124–125)
It was a medieval embellishment that the root shrieked when extracted, and so was the lore that mandrake grew from the spots where criminals spilled their fluids. Neither of these were registered by the ancient Greek or Latin authors
The mandrake is represented as shining at night like a lantern, in the Old English Herbarium (c. 1000).
In medieval times, mandrake was considered a key ingredient in a multitude of Flying ointment recipes as well as a primary component of magical and brews.Hansen, Harold A. The Witch's Garden pub. Unity Press 1978 These were entheogenic preparations used in European witchcraft for their mind-altering and hallucinogenic effects. Starting in the Late Middle Ages and thereafter, some believed that witches applied these ointments or ingested these potions to help them fly to gatherings with other witches, meet with the Devil, or to experience bacchanalian carousal.
Romani people use mandrake as a love-amulet.
The form allerünren (or allerünken) is attested as the Dithmarschen dialect for standard diminutive alrünchen, and in the narrative, the doll is carefully locked in a box, since touching it will impart a power to multiply the dough many times over.. "CCLXXXV. Das Allerürken", pp. 209–210.
The alraune doll was also known by names such as glücksmännchen) and galgenmännlein. The doll, according to superstition, worked like a charm, bringing its owner luck and fortune. The glücks-männchen might be a wax doll "ridiculously dressed up". There is also the mönöloke, a wax doll dressed up in the name of the devil,. "CCLXXXIV. Mönöloke", p. 209. which is considered a parallel or variant of the alrun doll.
Because true mandrake does not grow native in Germany, Alrun dolls were being made from cane-roots or false mandrake (German: Gichtrübe; Bryonia alba of the gourd family), recorded in the herbal book by the Italian Pietro Andrea Mattioli (d. 1577/78). The roots are cut approximately to human-like shape, then replanted in the ground for some time. If hair is desired, the root is pockmarked using a sharpened dowel and millet grains pushed into the holes, and replanted until something like a head of hair grows.
The root or rhizome of an iris, Gentiana or tormentil ( Blutwurz) was also purposed for making Alraun dolls. Even the alpine leek (German: Allermannsharnisch; Allium victorialis) was used. The doll formerly owned by Karl Lemann of Wien (cf. fig. right; purchased by Germanisches Nationalmuseum in 1876 where it now remains) had been appraised in the past as having the head made of bryony root, and the body of an alpine leek.
A pair of vintage alraune kept in the Austrian imperial and royal (now national) library, described as being untampered naturally grown roots, belonged to Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (d. 1612)., Fig. A and B. Fig. 8-8
German sources repeat the recipe of harvesting the mandrake (Alraun) by sacrificing a dog, but demand a "black dog" should be used. This has passed into German literature, and into folklore, as compiled by the Brothers Grimm in Deutsche Sagen, No. 83 "Der Alraun". The Grimm version has the black dog tied by the tail, but this is not a constant reflected in all the sources, nor does it match the illustrated depictions show above.
German folklore assigns the alias name Galgenmännlein ("little man of the gallows") to the mandrake, based on the belief the plant springs from the ground beneath a hanged man where his urine or semen had dripped into ground. A more elaborate set of condition had to be met by the hanged man to produce the magic herb in version given by the Grimms' DS, which essentially amalgamates the formulae from two of its sources.
According to one source, when the hanged man was a hereditary thief (Erbdieb), and the mother while pregnancy either stole or contemplated stealing before giving birth to him, and if died a virgin, then the fluids dripped down will cause a "Galgn-Mänl" to grow there (Grimmelshausen alias Simplicissimus's Galgen-Männlein, 1673). It later states the plant is the product combining the arch-thief's (Erzdieb) soul and his semen or urine. The other source states that when an innocent man hanged as a thief releases "water" from the pain and torture he endured, the plant with Plantago-like leaves like will grow from that spot. And collecting it requires only that it takes place on a Friday before dawn, with the collector stuffing his ears with cotton and sealing them with wax or pitch, and making the sign of the cross three times while harvesting (Johannes Praetorius, Satrunalia, 1663).
The acquired alraun root needs to be washed with red wine, then wrapped in silk cloth of red and white, and deposited in its own case; it must be removed every Friday and bathed, and new white shirt be given every new moon, according to the Grimms' collated version, but sources will vary on the details.
And if questions are posed to the alraun doll, it will reveal the future or secrets, according to superstition. In this way, the owner becomes wealthy. It can also literally double small amounts of money each night by placing a coin on it. It must not be overdone, or the alraun will be tapped of its strength and may die. The owner, it is also said, will be able to befriend everybody, and if childless will be blessed with children.
When the owner dies, the youngest son will inherit ownership of the doll. In the father's coffin must be place a piece of bread and a coin. If the youngest son predeceases, then the right of inheritance passes to the eldest son, but the deceased youngest son must also receive his coin and bread in the coffin.
's entry in the HdA ventures that the alraun depicted as flying creature laying golden eggs is in fact a dragon, though the two Swiss examples, the animal is unidentified (Alräunchen], living in the woods at the foot of Hochwang near Chur), or the alrune is a red-crested bird, which others rumored might generate a thaler coin each day for the owner.
There is testimony collected firsthand by Sainte-Palaye (d. 1781), in which a peasant claimed to have kept a man-de-gloire found at the base of a mistletoe-bearing oak. The creature was said to be a type of mole. It had to be fed regularly with meat, bread, etc., or suffer dire consequences (two who failed suffered death). But in return, whatever one gave to the man-de-gloire, a double amount or value was restored next day (even an écu of money), thus enriching its keeper.
The following is taken from Jean-Baptiste Pitois's The History and Practice of Magic (1870), and explains a ritual for creating a mandrake:
Ancient Greco-Roman pharmacopoeia
Theophrastus (d. c. 287 BC) Historia Plantarum wrote that the mandragora needed to be harvested by following a prescribed ritual, namely, "draw three circles around the with a sword, and cut it facing west"; then in order to obtain a second piece, the harvester must dance around it while speaking as much lewd talk about sex as he possibly can. The ritual given in Pliny probably relies on Theophrastus.
Biblical
Two references to (דּוּדָאִים "love plants"; singular: דודא) occur in the Jewish scriptures. The Septuagint translates דודאים as , and the Vulgate follows the Septuagint. Several later translations into different languages follow Septuagint (and Vulgate) and use mandrake as the plant as the proper meaning in both the and Song of Songs 7:12-13. Others follow the example of the Luther Bible and provide a more literal translation.
Physiologus
In the Christian allegorical bestiary Physiologus, the chapter on the elephant claims that the male becomes minded to create an offspring, it leads its mate to the growing ground for the female to find the mandragora and come into Estrous cycle, the female then brings the root to the male which in turn become inflamed and they mate, making the female immediately pregnant. The elephants are illustrated in e.g., Sloane 278., and p. 58 (Plate VIII)
Josephus
Josephus ( circa 37-100) of Jerusalem instructed on a method of using a dog as surrogate to uproot the dangerous herb used in exorcism. The herb has been equated to the mandragora in subsequent scholarship. According to Josephus, it was no easy task for the harvester, because it will move away from the hand which will grab it, and though it can be stopped by pouring a woman's urine or menstrual blood on it, touching it will cause certain death. Thus in order to safely obtain it: Here Josephus only refers to the plant as Baaras, after the place where it grows (in the valley Wadi Zarqa covering the north side of Machaerus, in present-day Jordan), and thinks the plant is a type of rue (of the citrus family) however, it is considered to be identifiable as mandrake based on textual comparisons (cf. ).
Folklore
In the past, mandrake was often made into which were believed to bring good fortune, cure sterility, etc. In one superstition, people who pull up this root will be condemned to hell, and the mandrake root would scream and cry as it was pulled from the ground, killing anyone who heard it. Therefore, in the past, people have tied the roots to the bodies of animals and then used these animals to pull the roots from the soil.
Magic and witchcraft
According to the European folklore (including England), when the root is dug up, it screams and kills all who hear it, so that a dog must be attached to the root and made to pull it out. This piece of lore goes back centuries to Josephus's described method of sacrificing the dog to procure his baaras, as already described above.
Alraun
The German name for mandrake is Alraun, or female case as already stated, from MHG alrûne, OHG alrûn (alruna.). The name has been connected to the female personal name OHG Al(b)rûn, Old English Ælfrūn, Old Norse Alfrún, composed of elements Alb/Alp 'elf, dream demon' + "to whisper"; a more persuasive, though not clinching, explanation is that it derives from *ala- 'all' + *rūnō 'secret' hence "great secret". Grimm explains that it passed from the original meaning of a prophetess type of evil-spirit (or wise woman), into the mandrake or plant-root charm.
Alraun-drak
It has been noted that the household kobold may be known regionally as Alraune or Drak, with the same etymological relationship, The drak name does not descend directly from Latin draco ("dragon"), but from the mandragora, but folklore about fiery dragons then did get conflated with the notion of the house sprite, according to Heimito von Doderer (cf. also ) Doderer provides commentary that "field dragons" ( tatzelwurm) and mandrake fused with the folklore of the house kobold.
Main-de-gloire
In France, there is also the tradition that the man-de-gloire (mandrake) is harvested from under a Gibbeting.
19th century esoterica
An excerpt from Transcendental Magic: Its Doctrine and Ritual by nineteenth-century , occultist, and Éliphas Lévi, suggests the plant might hint at mankind's "terrestrial origin:"
See also
Explanatory notes
Bibliography
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