Three Becomes Two Becomes One Becomes None - cosmopoiesis of mandragoras

The plant genus ‘Mandragora’, commonly known as the mandrake, is one of the best recorded gynaecological herbal substances. It is also the only plant in the European context to be historically depicted as a half-human, half-plant creature. In this book, artist Leonie Brandner explores the medicinal and magical properties of the plant, along with the many stories that have grown around it throughout history. Joining rigorous historical research with her own perception and encounters, she traces ‘Mandragora’ from the beginning of recorded storytelling through medicinal tomes and folklore, eventually arriving at the impact the plant had during the witch hunts of the Middle Ages.