Medical remedies and magical powers
Curious what plants were well-known by the 17th-century Massachusetts Bay colonists, I delved into Michael Brown’s new book, Medieval Plants and Their Uses. Planting and harvesting were essential to the survival of communities. Besides food and medicinal purposes, though, could plants have been involved in the Salem witch trials? After all, one widely debunked hypothesis claimed ergot poisoning could have caused the witch hunt.
According to Brown, during wet weather a parasite caused fungus to grow on rye. Since grains were processed at the local mill, ergot poisoning could spread far and wide. Ergot-related mass casualties occurred in continental Europe but notably not in England, where wheat was the popular grain.
Also known as St. Anthony’s Fire, ergot poisoning could cause “hallucinations, convulsions, erratic behavior, or gangrene; death was common.” While some of these symptoms were apparent in the Salem courthouse in 1692, their underlying causes could be many different health issues. Plus, not every local household or family member displayed symptoms—which would happen if they shared bread—so it’s unlikely that ergot poisoning was a cause of the witch-hunt.
Planting the colony
From the start of the Great Migration, ships came from England with plant cuttings and seeds to grow crops and herbs for food, flavorings, and medicines. Recipes were passed down and shared, like making tansy tea for worms; using vinegar, salt, and honey for cleaning and sterilizing a wound; and eating dandelions to encourage urine flow.
Living on Will’s Hill, the tightknit Wilkins clan may not have been privy to the diuretic dandelion remedy. Patriarch Bray Wilkins reported “my water was sodainly stopt, & I had no benefit of nature, but was like a man on a rack” and accused his grandson-in-law John Willard—an outsider—of causing his bladder issue and his grandson Daniel Wilkins’ death. When a “skillful” woman’s remedies didn’t work, she asked Bray if any “evil persons” did him damage. He said he was “sore afraid they had.” Afflicted accuser Mercy Lewis even said she saw John Willard on his grandfather Bray’s belly. Bray later claimed it was not him “but the testimony of the afflicted persons and the jury … that would take away [John Willard’s] life if any thing did, & within about 1/4 hour after this I was taken in the sorest distress & misery my water being turned into real blood, or of a bloody colour & the old pain returned excessively as before which continued for about 24 hours together” (RSWH 528). It’s clear Bray’s urine retention was a real illness, such as an enlarged prostate, and not a witch’s curse. Yet John Willard was executed for witchcraft on 19 August 1692.
Brown also covers plants with religious associations and magical powers. For instance, Rev. John Hale could have put calendula under his pillow to reveal in dreams that Dorcas Hoar was stealing from him. Saint John’s wort could have expelled the demons from Rev. Samuel Parris’ home while mugwort could have kept ghosts and evil spirits away.
Besides offering insight into historic diets and medical remedies, this book covers common, everyday usage of plants for housekeeping, laundry, animal health care, beauty treatments, and even aphrodisiacs. Well illustrated with photos, Medieval Plants and Their Uses concludes with a few original medieval recipes, a list of plants (their medical and/or practical uses, name variants), and suggested reading.
Brown provides an accessible and fascinating insight into the uses of medieval plants.
Prerelease book provided by NetGalley and Pen & Sword Books Ltd. for review consideration.
I entirely disagree with your statement that ergot poisoning has been widely debunked!! When Linda Corporeals thesis was published in Omni Magazine and other medical journals,
she was both praised, and nearly ridiculed by other so called medical experts. She did extensive research on the subject with an alchemist, and had access to farmers almanacs in the colonies and in Europe!! The resulting information gathered clearly illustrated that every long rainy growing season in all locations, resulted in poisonings, accusations, trials, and executions!!
That some did not contract the infection may also have constitutional reasons, but the fact remains , many did in a time coordinated manner. The same symptoms were being presented in their live stock too. So, to Ms.Corporeals’ credit, she hit the nails square on the head. We have here a case of “experts” wishing they had figured it out first!!!
My great grandmother was one of the first 5 woman hanged for witchcraft!! Elizabeth Jackson How, was executed on July 19th, 1692!! We have had our family tree authenticated by the Essex Institute in Salem.
Elsie,
Thank you for your passionate defense of Linnda Caporael’s ergot hypothesis.
Yes, some of the afflicted accusers and others involved in the Salem witch trials had symptoms similar to ergot poisoning, such as hallucinations, convulsions, and erratic behavior.
Medieval accounts mention numerous major outbreaks of ergot poisoning, some involving thousands of deaths, especially in French, Germanic, and Scandinavian regions. Ergot fungus mostly affects rye, and rye was a staple on the European continent. The British preferred wheat for bread, which made it more likely that the Massachusetts Bay colonists relied on wheat more than rye.
By the 17th century, Europeans knew the disease came from fungus on their crops. Like folk remedies and agricultural advances, this knowledge would have spread overseas. Even with a small population but limited number of mills, ergot poisoning would have spread like wildfire in Mass Bay, just like it did in Europe. There’s no contemporary evidence of that happening though.
There’s a reason why behavioral psychologist Linnda Caporael’s hypothesis on ergot poisoning and the Salem witch trials is popular. It provides us with an easy excuse: An LSD-like fungus made them do it. With ergotism as the culprit, the accusers, judges, jury, and neighbors are not responsible for accusing, jailing, and even executing innocent people for witchcraft. But even Caporael admits that mass hysteria and/or fakery were involved.
That’s why, in all the accounts I’ve read of the Salem witch trials, I don’t see a strong correlation with medieval outbreaks of ergotism.
See also:
https://www.witchesmassbay.com/2018/04/23/ergot/
Her thesis and theory does explain hemorrhagic cases related to ergot poisoning. Ergot poisoning is hardly an easy out as you put it!! There were instances of the live stock behaving erratically as well!! Reports of horses and cows hemorrhaging from the mouth!! Some charging into the water and drowning!! My great grandmother Elizabeth was accused of bewitching a horse that she had to borrow from her neighbor to plow her field and move some logs. When she returned the horse who mouth was ulcerated and bleeding, they accused her of taking the horse for a galloping witch ride!!!
So, how would you explain the coordinating events of human symptoms and livestock symptoms? Both were consuming the same grain. I did a lot of reading on the subject for 2 years after learning of my relationship to Elizabeth.
The Devil in the Shape of a Woman was particularly enlightening, as well as the 11 pages of verbatim transcripts that I Xeroxed at the archive that holds the four volumes of The Salem Witch Papers, of Elizabeth’s trial!!!
.