Fitz

Others stated that the hand must be smoked with herbs and hay for a month, then hung on an oak tree for three nights, then laid at a crossroads, and then hung on a church door whilst the maker kept watch in the porch, and only if they managed to stay the whole night without getting spooked and running away would the charm work.

Others stated that the hand must be smoked with herbs and hay for a month, then hung on an oak tree for three nights, then laid at a crossroads, and then hung on a church door whilst the maker kept watch in the porch, and only if they managed to stay the whole night without getting spooked and running away would the charm work.

Anybody following these recipes must have been a very determined person indeed. What they all seem to agree on, however, is that the hand must either hold a candle or the fingers of the hand must be doused in fat and wax to become candles themselves. I'll leave it up to your imaginations where the fat for the candles is supposed to be obtained.

Anybody following these recipes must have been a very determined person indeed. What they all seem to agree on, however, is that the hand must either hold a candle or the fingers of the hand must be doused in fat and wax to become candles themselves. I'll leave it up to your imaginations where the fat for the candles is supposed to be obtained.

In the latter variation, if any of the fingers refused to light, it was a warning to the thief that someone in the house was still awake, but once it was completely lit, the only thing that could put it out was milk or blood. Now, some great grisly folklore this may be, but none of this sounds in any way glorious, does it? So, where does the name the Hand of Glory come from?

In the latter variation, if any of the fingers refused to light, it was a warning to the thief that someone in the house was still awake, but once it was completely lit, the only thing that could put it out was milk or blood. Now, some great grisly folklore this may be, but none of this sounds in any way glorious, does it? So, where does the name the Hand of Glory come from?

Well, curiously, it's said to stem from the French word for mandrake, a plant that has centuries of folklore surrounding it, dating all the way back to the Anglo-Saxons. The 10th century Old English herbarium describes Mandrake as large and glorious to see. You will recognise it because it shines at night like a lantern.

Well, curiously, it's said to stem from the French word for mandrake, a plant that has centuries of folklore surrounding it, dating all the way back to the Anglo-Saxons. The 10th century Old English herbarium describes Mandrake as large and glorious to see. You will recognise it because it shines at night like a lantern.

The herbarium goes on to give detailed instructions for how to gather the Mandrake root. Necessary, so it says, because its power is so great and powerful that it wants to flee quickly when an impure person approaches it.

The herbarium goes on to give detailed instructions for how to gather the Mandrake root. Necessary, so it says, because its power is so great and powerful that it wants to flee quickly when an impure person approaches it.

Later in history, complicated instructions for how to gather mandrake not only persisted, but evolved to the point where other people or animals had to be tricked into pulling up the mandrake as the plant cursed any who dared to pull up its roots, and the doomed gatherer would immediately drop dead upon extracting the plant from the earth.

Later in history, complicated instructions for how to gather mandrake not only persisted, but evolved to the point where other people or animals had to be tricked into pulling up the mandrake as the plant cursed any who dared to pull up its roots, and the doomed gatherer would immediately drop dead upon extracting the plant from the earth.

I can only imagine that this is where some of the screaming mandrake folklore of later centuries originated from. But so far, none of this seems to have much of a connection to a disembodied hand.

I can only imagine that this is where some of the screaming mandrake folklore of later centuries originated from. But so far, none of this seems to have much of a connection to a disembodied hand.

Mandrake is famous for its twisted roots looking a bit like a human figure, for those with a good imagination anyway, and by way of sympathetic magic, this may be the reason it was reported to cure all manner of ailments, including headaches, sleeplessness, gout, earache and nerve spasms amongst others, according to the Old English Herbarium.

Mandrake is famous for its twisted roots looking a bit like a human figure, for those with a good imagination anyway, and by way of sympathetic magic, this may be the reason it was reported to cure all manner of ailments, including headaches, sleeplessness, gout, earache and nerve spasms amongst others, according to the Old English Herbarium.

but none of the purported magical healing benefits seem to be associated with the hand specifically. According to the Oxford University Press' Oxford reference, the first reference to a hand of glory in English involved keeping a piece of mandrake root as a charm to make coins multiply, and dates from 1707.

but none of the purported magical healing benefits seem to be associated with the hand specifically. According to the Oxford University Press' Oxford reference, the first reference to a hand of glory in English involved keeping a piece of mandrake root as a charm to make coins multiply, and dates from 1707.

Here, the French word for mandrake, mandragoire, from a corruption of the Latin plant name mandragora, has been interpreted into English literally, ma meaning hand, de meaning of, and gloire meaning glory.

Here, the French word for mandrake, mandragoire, from a corruption of the Latin plant name mandragora, has been interpreted into English literally, ma meaning hand, de meaning of, and gloire meaning glory.