During the Middle Ages, there were cases of hallucinations and collective follies throughout Europe that have been attributed to the intervention of a potent hallucinogen: the ergot of Rye, a fungus that infects the raw material with which they cook its bread the inhabitants of Europe in depressed epochs.Join us to know the Cornezuelo del Centeno, a hallucinogen that drove the medieval madman .
The Cornezuelo del Centeno It is also called Claviceps purpurea or Ergot.It is called ergot because it has the shape of curved little pins in the shape of small horns.They are between 4 and 6 cm long by about 4 mm wide.spikes and turn from a whitish color to a bluish black.Preferably nests in the ovary of rye, especially in wet years or neglected fields, although it can also be found in wheat, oats and barley.
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El Cornezuelo del Centeno
El pel igro del ergot of rye are the strongly toxic substances it contains: ergotinin, ergotinic acid and sphacelic acid, among others.In the middle ages it did not withdraw when grinding rye and caused significant health disorders to be ingested, although in other parts of the world such as China its utilities as a drug were known, especially in obstetrics, both to contract the uterus and to prevent postpartum hemorrhages.
The disease that produces ergot of rye has been known for centuries as « hellfire »Or« fire of San Antonio » and nowadays it is called ergotism.In the Middle Ages its origin is unknown and its process was not documented until the 19th century.The symptoms of continued intoxication are in addition to hallucinations and irrational behaviors and seizures, skin lesions worse than those of leprosy, so that the limbs are consumed until they detach from the body.This occurs because ergot alkaloids have a strong vasoconstrictor effect that prevents blood circulation , cause gangrene and loss of limbs.In addition to being crippled, the patient was very likely to die due to these injuries.
In the municipality of Castrojeriz, in the province of Burgos, there was a convent called "San Anton", in which the monks cared for and in some cases cured the sick of "hellfire" who made pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela as the only remedy for their ill.The monks managed to heal some sick people, if they were not very affected, by feeding them only bread made with wheat only.Wheat is difficult to contain ergot of rye and without knowing really the reason, they managed to improve the health of those affected.
3 Cases of madness attributed to Cornezuelo del Centeno
It is normal for ergot to cause hallucinations between those affected since among the chemical substances contained is lysergic acid, which is the precursor of LSD.
Dance Epidemics in the Middle AgesDuring the Middle Ages they occurred in different places in Europe called "Dance Epidemics" of which we already talked about in Lifestyle in the article: Strange Deaths: The Dance Epidemic of 1518.This case, like that of other acquaintances of collective hysteria, is believed to have been produced by a massive intoxication by ergot of rye.
2.The Great Fear during the French Revolution
Between 20 On July 6 and August 6, 1789 there was a popular movement of collective fear that especially affected the French peasantry.utores believe that the famine could lead to mass consumption of rye bread or other cereals made with grain contaminated and that this produced the "Great Fear" as this movement is known.
Marie Kilbourne Matossian, a historian at the University of Maryland, believes that contaminated food could have influenced the incidence and intensity of political unrest.
3.Pont-Saint-Sprit 1951
Mass poisoning at Pont-Saint-Esprit in 1951 is attributed to ergot of rye .This historical episode is also known as «Le Pain Maudit» which means «cursed bread».
During the summer of 1951, in the town of Pont-Saint-Esprit in France, 7 people died, 50 were admitted to psychiatric hospitals and 250 more were seen rum affected to a greater or lesser extent by a strange intoxication.The patients suffered chills, stomachache, vomiting, hot flashes, convulsions, hallucinations and even attempted suicide.The medical journal British Medical Journal declared that the outbreak of poisoning was caused by the ergot of rye .The only connection between those affected was to have eaten bread from the bakery of Roch Brian who apparently used rye flour that would have been contaminated with the ergot fungus.
Do you know the terrible effects of Ergot of Rye ? Did you know that it had affected so many people during the Middle Ages? At present, it is difficult for cases of "San Antonio fire" to occur due to the powerful fungicidal treatments against rye ergot.As an extra fact, we will add that some historians believe that ergot could be the cause of the hallucinations that served as the basis to accusations in the Salem witch trials.Do you know other cases of poisoning by this fungus? Share it with us!
Images: Lancastermerrin88, Peter d’Aprix
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