Hand of Glory
Encyclopedia
The Hand of Glory is the dried and pickled
hand of a man who has been hanged
, often specified as being the left (Latin: sinister) hand, or else, if the man were hanged for murder, the hand that "did the deed."
According to old Europe
an beliefs, a candle made of the fat from a malefactor who died on the gallows
, virgin wax, and Lapland sesame oil - lighted and placed (as if in a candlestick) in the Hand of Glory, which comes from the same man as the fat in the candle - would have rendered motionless all persons to whom it was presented. The candle could only be put out with milk. (In another version the hair of the dead man is used as a wick, also the candle is said to give light only to the holder.) The Hand of Glory also purportedly had the power to unlock any door it came across. The method of making a hand of glory is described in "Petit Albert
",
and in the Compendium Maleficarum
.
Etymologist W.W. Skeat
reports that, while folklore has long attributed mystical powers to a dead man's hand, the specific phrase "hand of glory" is in fact a folk etymology: it derives from the French
"main de gloire", a corruption of mandragore, which is to say mandrake
. Skeat writes: "The identification of the hand of glory with the mandrake is clinched by the statement in Cockayne's Leechdoms, i. 245, that the mandrake 'shineth by night altogether like a lamp.'" (Cockayne in turn is quoting Pseudo-Apuleius
, in a translation of a Saxon manuscript of his Herbarium
.)
's "Tale of Rhampsinitus" (ii, 121), in which a clever thief leaves a dead hand behind in order to avoid capture, or in early stories of lycanthropy
, such as Henry Boguet
's Discours exécrable de sorciers in 1590.
The second of the Ingoldsby Legends
, "The Hand of Glory, or, The Nurse's Story", describes the making and use of a Hand of Glory.
Théophile Gautier
wrote a poem on the hand of the poet thief Lacenaire, severed after his execution for a double murder, presumably for future use as a hand of glory.
Pickling
Pickling, also known as brining or corning is the process of preserving food by anaerobic fermentation in brine to produce lactic acid, or marinating and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar . The resulting food is called a pickle. This procedure gives the food a salty or sour taste...
hand of a man who has been hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
, often specified as being the left (Latin: sinister) hand, or else, if the man were hanged for murder, the hand that "did the deed."
According to old Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an beliefs, a candle made of the fat from a malefactor who died on the gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
, virgin wax, and Lapland sesame oil - lighted and placed (as if in a candlestick) in the Hand of Glory, which comes from the same man as the fat in the candle - would have rendered motionless all persons to whom it was presented. The candle could only be put out with milk. (In another version the hair of the dead man is used as a wick, also the candle is said to give light only to the holder.) The Hand of Glory also purportedly had the power to unlock any door it came across. The method of making a hand of glory is described in "Petit Albert
Petit Albert
Petit Albert is an 18th century grimoire of natural and cabalistic magic.-On-line Edition:* Secrets merveilleux de la magie naturelle et cabalistique du petit Albert....
",
and in the Compendium Maleficarum
Compendium Maleficarum
Compendium Maleficarum is a book written in Latin by Francesco Maria Guazzo.-Translations:The book was not translated into English until 1929, when this was accomplished under the direction of the witchcraft scholar Montague Summers....
.
Etymologist W.W. Skeat
Walter William Skeat
Walter William Skeat , English philologist, was born in London on the 21st of November 1835, and educated at King's College School , Highgate School, and Christ's College, Cambridge, of which he became a fellow in July 1860. His grandsons include the noted palaeographer T. C...
reports that, while folklore has long attributed mystical powers to a dead man's hand, the specific phrase "hand of glory" is in fact a folk etymology: it derives from the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
"main de gloire", a corruption of mandragore, which is to say mandrake
Mandrake (plant)
Mandrake is the common name for members of the plant genus Mandragora, particularly the species Mandragora officinarum, belonging to the nightshades family...
. Skeat writes: "The identification of the hand of glory with the mandrake is clinched by the statement in Cockayne's Leechdoms, i. 245, that the mandrake 'shineth by night altogether like a lamp.'" (Cockayne in turn is quoting Pseudo-Apuleius
Pseudo-Apuleius
Pseudo-Apuleius refers to the author of a Herbarium or De herbarum virtutibus, also referred as Herbarium Apuleii Platonici; it is a medical herbal of the 5th century....
, in a translation of a Saxon manuscript of his Herbarium
Herbarium Apuleii Platonici
Herbarium Apuleii Platonici depicts 131 plants with their synonymy and instructions for their use in medicines and was first published in 1481 at Monte Cassino near Rome by Johannes Philippus de Lignamine, a Sicilian courtier and physician to Pope Sixtus IV...
.)
In literature
Severed hands in an occult context occur as early as HerodotusHerodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
's "Tale of Rhampsinitus" (ii, 121), in which a clever thief leaves a dead hand behind in order to avoid capture, or in early stories of lycanthropy
Lycanthropy
Lycanthropy is the professed ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a werewolf, or to gain wolf-like characteristics. The term comes from Greek Lykànthropos : λύκος, lykos + άνθρωπος, ànthrōpos...
, such as Henry Boguet
Henry Boguet
Henry Boguet was a well known jurist and judge of Saint-Claude in the County of Burgundy. His renown is to a large degree based on his fame as a demonologist for his Discours exécrable des Sorciers which was reprinted twelve times in twenty years....
's Discours exécrable de sorciers in 1590.
The second of the Ingoldsby Legends
The Ingoldsby Legends
The Ingoldsby Legends is a collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poetry written supposedly by Thomas Ingoldsby of Tappington Manor, actually a pen-name of an English clergyman named Richard Harris Barham....
, "The Hand of Glory, or, The Nurse's Story", describes the making and use of a Hand of Glory.
Théophile Gautier
Théophile Gautier
Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, art critic and literary critic....
wrote a poem on the hand of the poet thief Lacenaire, severed after his execution for a double murder, presumably for future use as a hand of glory.
On display
The following organizations possess a Hand of Glory:- Whitby MuseumWhitby MuseumWhitby Museum is a private museum in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, run by Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society, a learned society and registered charity, established in 1823....
, North Yorkshire, England - Walsall MuseumWalsall MuseumThe Walsall Museum is located in the centre of Walsall, in the West Midlands, and displays objects from the local area in its permanent history gallery, 'The Changing Face of Walsall', on the 1st floor...
, WalsallWalsallWalsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
, England
In popular culture
- In the SupernaturalSupernatural (TV series)Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
episode "Red Sky at Morning", the brothers are hunting down a Hand of Glory. - In the Harry Potter series, a Hand of Glory appears twice, once in the Chamber of SecretsHarry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling. The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, during which a series of messages on the walls on the school's corridors warn that the "Chamber of...
(for sale) and again in The Half-Blood PrinceHarry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth and penultimate novel in the Harry Potter series by British author J. K. Rowling...
(in the possession of Draco Malfoy), as an object which grants illumination only to its holder. - Hand of Glory is the title of the second album from the CornishCornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
band SprigganSprigganSpriggans are legendary creatures known from Cornish faery lore. They are particular to West Penwith in Cornwall.-Spriggans in folklore:Spriggans were depicted as grotesquely ugly, and were said to be found at old ruins and barrows guarding buried treasure and generally acting as fairy bodyguards....
. - "Hand of Glory" is a song from The SmithereensThe SmithereensThe Smithereens are a rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio , Jim Babjak , Mike Mesaros , and Dennis Diken...
' album Especially for YouEspecially for You (The Smithereens album)Especially for You is the first full-length album from New Jersey-based rock band The Smithereens.The album is notable for the hit "Blood and Roses", which has been featured in multiple movie and TV productions. Producer Don Dixon's co-production work on R.E.M.'s Murmur and Reckoning albums added...
. - In the film Angel HeartAngel HeartAngel Heart is a 1987 North American/British mystery-thriller film written and directed by Alan Parker, and starring Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, and Lisa Bonet...
, the character played by Charlotte RamplingCharlotte RamplingCharlotte Rampling, OBE is an English actress. Her career spans four decades in English-language as well as French and Italian cinema.- Early life :...
keeps a Hand of Glory in a box. - In NeverwhereNeverwhere (novel)Neverwhere is the companion novelization by Neil Gaiman of the television serial Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman and Lenny Henry. The plot and characters are exactly the same as in the series, with the exception that the novel form allowed Gaiman to expand and elaborate on certain elements of the story...
by Neil GaimanNeil GaimanNeil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
, a Hand of Glory is offered for sale to Richard. - A Hand of Glory is employed against Sgt. Howie as he feigns sleep in The Wicker Man.
- The legend is the basis for the dark thriller "Hand of Glory" (2011).
- The Hand of Glory is used as a model for the Transient Curse Item in video game Dark Souls
- In Thief: The Dark Age collecting a Hand of Glory is a mission objective for the Cragscleft Prison mission
External links
- The Hand of Glory and other gory legends about human hands - Edited by D. L. Ashliman.
- Hand of Glory - Manufacture and use of the Hand of Glory.