THE MANDRAGORA OF THE ANCIENTS IN 

 FOLK-LORE AND MEDICINE. 



By Ciiarlks Brewster Randolph. 



Presented by M. II. Morgan, May 11, 1904. Received October 8, 1P04. 



Although references to mandragora* are by no means uncommon in 

 later as well as in classical literature, and although the commentators on 

 many of the Greek and Latin authors have made more or less copious 

 notes concerning it, yet with the exception of Schmidel's researches in 

 the latter part of the seventeenth century, no special study of the subject 

 appears to have been undertaken until within tlie last few years. The 

 articles which have recently appeared in various scientific journals have 

 directed their attention mainly to its significance in folk-lore.f The 

 plant figures but slightly in this connection until in comparatively late 

 times. The many wonderful tales about the middle-age mandragorae 

 (German alraune) had little to do with the real plant, which was 

 practically unknown north of the Alps. 



Tlie chief purpose of this paper is to treat the mandragora as it was 

 known to the Greeks and Romans. The role which it played in their 

 folk-lore was certainly a subordinate one; they regarded it in general as 

 a medicinal rather than a magic plant. I wish therefore to examine its 

 uses in Greek and Roman medicine, and particularly to state the facts 

 known in regard to its use as an anaesthetic before surgical operations. 

 But inasmuch as the history of its use even in antiquity is involved to a 



* The Greek /xavSpayopas, mandragoras in classical Latin, mandragora in medi- 

 aeval Latin and subsequently, is often rendered by the English word mandrake. 

 I have used the word tnandragora as noun and adjective throughout this paper 

 particularly to avoid confusion with the American mandrake (May-apple), which 

 is an entirely different plant. 



t The first effort to collect the scattered notes on the mandragora was made by 

 Schmidel in his dissertation of nineteen pages. The most important recent articles 

 on the subject are by Cohn (see ne.xt footnote, p. 488), pp. '285-203 ; von Luschan, 

 pp. 726-728 ; Asclierson, pp. 729-738, 892 ; Beyer, pp. 738-746 ; Wetzstein, p. 890 f. ; 

 Veth, pp. 81-88, 199-205. 



