The plant also features in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: "What with loathsome smells, And shrieks like mandrakes torn out of the earth, That living mortals, hearing them, run mad."
Herbalists who wanted to use mandrake were advised to plug their ears, tie the plant to a dog and place some meat out of reach - then when the dog ran to the meat it would pull the screaming root out of the soil. The dog would die, but the herbalist would get the mandrake safely.
The plant also features in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: "What with loathsome smells, And shrieks like mandrakes torn out of the earth, That living mortals, hearing them, run mad."
Herbalists who wanted to use mandrake were advised to plug their ears, tie the plant to a dog and place some meat out of reach - then when the dog ran to the meat it would pull the screaming root out of the soil. The dog would die, but the herbalist would get the mandrake safely.