Giovanni Cadamosto’s illustrated herbal

According to medieval herbals, mandrakes (mandragora) could cure headaches, earache, gout and insanity. The plant is said to be particularly hazardous to harvest as the shrieks from the roots cause madness. The best way to obtain it safely was to unearth its roots with an ivory stake, attaching the plant to a dog with a cord. A horn would sound, drowning out the shrieking, startling the dog and causing it to drag out the mandrake. Shown here: ff. 58v–59r