The Legend…

The Legend of the 4 Thieves originated in Medieval Europe. While there are many versions of the Legend, the basic narrative goes like this.

In the Middle Ages, large areas of Europe were being ravaged by an epidemic known as the Black Death. In these times of upheaval, criminals would thrive. With entire villages succumbing to the deadly plague, thieves had easy access to whatever they dared to risk touching. Since the plague spread through even the most minimal of contact, they wouldn’t run that deadly risk unless they had preventative measures they trusted with their lives.

Their solution… Herbs! The legend has it that the thieves would protect themselves with herbal remedies. To escape harsh punishment when caught, they were forced to divulge the secret concoction, and although the contents of the remedy and the method of application varies by the strain of the legend, the gist stays the same. The mysterious blend was made up of herbs that had anti-fungal and/or anti-bacterial properties. The blend was then applied by the thieves; either by hanging bags of the blend around their neck, or by applying a solution of the herbs steeped in water, vinegar, alcohol, etc.

Although nobody knows the exact contents of the original recipe or even if it’s anything more than legend, we’ve tried to approximately recreate it. Combining research about the legendary blend with extensive knowledge of the properties of essential oils, we bring you a blend of Essential Oils with antibacterial properties that smells great too.

Disclaimer: Spero does not make any medical claims about our blends. Use is subject to the discretion of the user. We concoct our 4 Thieves blend with the basic common recipe as well as additional citrus oils.