Who bit off Mary Magdalene's mummified hand?

The Bishop Who Bit Saint Mary Magdalene’s Hand

It sounds like a scene from a medieval thriller: a revered bishop, a sacred relic, and a mysterious bite mark on a mummified hand. The story begins in 1190 at the Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy, a place famed for housing one of the most extraordinary relics of the age—what was believed to be the arm bone of Mary Magdalene.

Hugh, the Bishop of Lincoln—later to be canonized as Saint Hugh of Lincoln—was known for his deep piety and devotion to holy relics. When he visited Fécamp, the monks proudly presented the silk-wrapped arm bone, a treasure guarded with solemn reverence. But Hugh, eager to venerate the relic firsthand, did something unexpected: he cut open the silken covering to see the bone beneath.

Here’s where the legend takes a darker, more curious turn. According to some accounts, the relic showed signs of damage—specifically, a missing finger. Folklore whispers that Hugh, overcome by fervor, may have bitten off a piece of the saint’s hand, either to possess a fragment of holiness or in a trance-like act of devotion. While no definitive historical record confirms he actually bit it, the tale persists, fueled by medieval beliefs that physical fragments of saints carried divine power.