In the Middle Ages, simply possessing a mandrake could result in accusations of witchcraft. Inquisitorial judges tried to force Joan of Arc to confess to possessing alrunik, "to which she replied that in her village, in a meadow, such a plant grew, but she did not believe in its effects." Mandrake leaves are said to glow in the dark; anyone trying to pick them at the turning point of the year or day, at the moment of opening contact with the sacred, might even gain wings. The roots were wrapped in rags ("dressed") and kept in the home, which was supposed to bring wealth, luck, and reveal secrets to the possessor. If the plant, called a breve, grew in a farmyard, it was not uprooted but cared for, enclosed with a fence, and watered with milk [Mo2, 337].
Folk medicine saw mandrake and nightshade as a remedy for abortion: "when you insert the nightshade root into the uterus, it releases the female organs [i.e. releases the menstrual blood], and the dead fetus is pulled out" [BiU, 482].
While the mandrake root remained in the ground, it inspired fear. However, once it was pulled out, it became useful to humans, though it could be used for both good and evil purposes. According to Ruthenian beliefs, however, digging up the root had to be accompanied by a name appropriate to the purpose; only a suitable name could guarantee that it would act in accordance with the possessor's intentions. In Poland, the mandrake also served the function of a gourd (a plant from the gourd family). Rubbing its root on the barrel of a gun would restore its extraordinary accuracy in hunting [Sw, 151].
Brak komentarzy:
Prześlij komentarz