On Thu, 12 Dec 1996, Pippa Skotnes wrote:
>
> While on the subject of fragmenting the body, I was wondering if
> anyone could suggest any references to the practice of dismembering
> the corpses of hanged men and using the body parts to ward off evil.
> I'm trying to understand the origins of a practice described in early
> Cape Town, (early 18th century) where, in one example, the arm of a
> hanged man was severed and placed under the bed of a woman whose
> husband was trying to murder her. Some of the bone of the arm was
> also ground into her food. I believe that in the middle ages and
> early modern period, the semen of hanged men was also considered
> powerful.
>
>
>
Pippa, I recall from the preparation of my Master's thesis (ages since),
which involved a tract written in France in 1407-08 to justify the murder
of the duke of Orleans (brother of K. Charles VI) that accusations of
necromancy were leveled against the late duke, and one of these I think
did have something to do with a part or parts of a hanged man. Through
lapse of time the details escape me now, and as I am on the verge of leaving
town for the holidays, digging out my thesis--which by this time must be
lurking somewhere in the vicinity of Troy IX--and obtaining verification will
have to await my return at the end of the month. But I'll do my best then.
Regards,
John Parsons
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