Lesson #145 - Deadly Nightshade
Here is the lesson, if you are going to read it do pay attention.
"AtropaBelladonna" is the Latin for this unusual plant. The greatnaturalist, Linneaeus, named it this; he is reputed to have been sofamiliar with the nature and properties of plants that he was almostalways able to find amazingly appropriate names for them.
AtropaBelladonna is a good example of this because the generic name refersto the Greek Fate Atropos, the inflexible one, who cuts the thread oflife. The species name is somewhat debated about; "Belladonna"is Spanish for “beautiful woman”; and also means the same inItalian. It most likely refers to the fact that muggle women in theSpanish court used the juice of the plant which contains atropine,dissolved in water, and ingested, to dilate their pupils to make themlook more dreamy and beautiful.
ChristianElling, in his book "Shakespeare, an insight into his world andits Poetry", 1959, says "The name Belladonna originatesfrom the fact that the said drops give to the woman who desires toplease, the eyes of a Medusa, large, staring and hypnotic".
BeforeLinneaus' time, deadly nightshade was included in the genus Slanum,and it was known under a number of specific names, some of whichalmost amounted to abuse, which indicates the reputation the planthad gained in the course of time. Here are some of them: furiale;raving, mortiferum; fatal, laethale; lethal, hypnoticon; hypnotic orspellbinding and somniferum; soporific. The common names were of thesame kind, such as Sorcerer's cherry, witches'; berry, murderer'sberry and Dwaleberry.
Dwaleberryis an extremely old term and is an English medieval name for theplant and as the word dvale (trance) is of old Norse origin, it isconceivable that this plant was in use in the North beforeScandinavian migration to England took place.
JohnGerard, an Herbologist, wrote that the name Belladonna referred tothe fact that ladies used a solution of the juice to remove rednessfrom their cheeks. Another source maintains that the reddish-purplejuice was used as rouge to return red to the cheeks.
Apopular tradition has it that the plant is called Belladonna becauseit is a magical herb which sometimes changes into a beautiful ladywho unfortunately is mortally dangerous to meet. It has also beenclaimed that the Romans dedicated the herb to the goddess Bellona,whose priest drank the juice of deadly nightshade before the ritualsconnected with her worship. With the advent of Christianity thegoddess was forgotten and the name was corrupted from Bellona toBelladona
JulusMichelet, a grand potions master, was of the opinion that the namewas coined because deadly nightshade was the herb of "the goodones", "the beautiful women", that is of the wisewomen and the witches.
Deadlynightshade is a perennial herb with a sturdy branched stalk which canbrow up to about three feet tall, with elliptical oviform leaves of amedium green colour and brown-purple bell shaped flowers. Its shiningblack berries are about one centimeter round and contain a largenumber of seeds and a dark, inky, very sweet juice. All parts of theplant are poisonous. The main alkaloid is hyoscyamine and the herbalso contains small amounts of atropine and belladonnine, which havesomewhat different effects. The sweet- tasting berries are a greattemptation to children and animals and can be fatal if they eat a fewtoo many. So when used in potions caution MUST be taken.
Theaffects of ingesting the herb are, in mind amounts, a happy feelingand the same sense of timelessness and philosophical thought going onin your mind similar to the first stage of intoxication throughhashish. Next comes a sleep which is accompanied by erotic dreams. Amedium dose of deadly nightshade would produce a dry mouth anditching and irritation, followed by nausea and dizziness, followed bya deep sleep. Severe poisoning causes paroxysms of rage, blindnessand paralysis and then coma occurs, usually followed by death fromparalysis of the respiratory system. One would have to eat quite anumber of berries to get to this stage.
Theherb is effective whether dried or fresh, however the hysoscyamine inthe fresh plant turns into atropine when the plant is dried. However,the difference between the two alkaloids is so little that it cannotbe expressed in chemical formula.
Itis reported that the maenads of Dionysian orgies with "dilated"eyes cast themselves into the arms of the male worshippers and that,at other times, with eyes "flaming with wildness", theythrew themselves onto all the men they met on the way to tear themapart and devour them. This wildness could be indicative of deadlynightshade juice mixed with their wine. They had thornapple juice inthe wine, which is another deadly herb.
Accordingto the English doctor and herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654)there is a strange example of the plant's fateful consequences inBuchanan's "History of Scotland" which describes thedestruction of Swen's army after it invaded Scotland. This happenedbecause the Scots, in agreement with the armistice conditions, sentmead to the Danes which, however, "was mixed with the juice of apoisonous herb, abundance of which grows in Scotland, called SleepyNightshade". The Danes became so drunk on the mead that thescots were able to fall upon and kill the majority of the Danes whilethey slept, so that there were scarcely enough of them left to bringtheir king to safety. The Danish King Sweno was in reality SveinKnutson, King of Norway (1030-1035) who tried to win Scotland fromDuncan the First. The Scots leader on this occasion was Earl Macbeththe model for Shakespeare's tragic play.
Deadlynightshade was used in various potions and particularly in manyointment recipes from Germany and France.
Theherb grows wild in Australia, however it is often hard to find. Whentaking fresh from the undergrowth, the herb is best cultivated andso often found in half shade on chalky, well fertilized soil which issheltered from the wind. It tends to wilt in summer so a greaterefficacy is produced after rainfall. And children and those of asimilar mind to those that can not keep their fingers from theirmouths, do not ingest large amounts of this or feed them to yourfamiliars regardless of how hungry you are , it can prove fatal.Although if you were to do it, you'd best get on with it and save theworld from whatever moronic offspring you could possibly produce.
((OOC: work adapted from this website: Shadowplay))
"AtropaBelladonna" is the Latin for this unusual plant. The greatnaturalist, Linneaeus, named it this; he is reputed to have been sofamiliar with the nature and properties of plants that he was almostalways able to find amazingly appropriate names for them.
AtropaBelladonna is a good example of this because the generic name refersto the Greek Fate Atropos, the inflexible one, who cuts the thread oflife. The species name is somewhat debated about; "Belladonna"is Spanish for “beautiful woman”; and also means the same inItalian. It most likely refers to the fact that muggle women in theSpanish court used the juice of the plant which contains atropine,dissolved in water, and ingested, to dilate their pupils to make themlook more dreamy and beautiful.
ChristianElling, in his book "Shakespeare, an insight into his world andits Poetry", 1959, says "The name Belladonna originatesfrom the fact that the said drops give to the woman who desires toplease, the eyes of a Medusa, large, staring and hypnotic".
BeforeLinneaus' time, deadly nightshade was included in the genus Slanum,and it was known under a number of specific names, some of whichalmost amounted to abuse, which indicates the reputation the planthad gained in the course of time. Here are some of them: furiale;raving, mortiferum; fatal, laethale; lethal, hypnoticon; hypnotic orspellbinding and somniferum; soporific. The common names were of thesame kind, such as Sorcerer's cherry, witches'; berry, murderer'sberry and Dwaleberry.
Dwaleberryis an extremely old term and is an English medieval name for theplant and as the word dvale (trance) is of old Norse origin, it isconceivable that this plant was in use in the North beforeScandinavian migration to England took place.
JohnGerard, an Herbologist, wrote that the name Belladonna referred tothe fact that ladies used a solution of the juice to remove rednessfrom their cheeks. Another source maintains that the reddish-purplejuice was used as rouge to return red to the cheeks.
Apopular tradition has it that the plant is called Belladonna becauseit is a magical herb which sometimes changes into a beautiful ladywho unfortunately is mortally dangerous to meet. It has also beenclaimed that the Romans dedicated the herb to the goddess Bellona,whose priest drank the juice of deadly nightshade before the ritualsconnected with her worship. With the advent of Christianity thegoddess was forgotten and the name was corrupted from Bellona toBelladona
JulusMichelet, a grand potions master, was of the opinion that the namewas coined because deadly nightshade was the herb of "the goodones", "the beautiful women", that is of the wisewomen and the witches.
Deadlynightshade is a perennial herb with a sturdy branched stalk which canbrow up to about three feet tall, with elliptical oviform leaves of amedium green colour and brown-purple bell shaped flowers. Its shiningblack berries are about one centimeter round and contain a largenumber of seeds and a dark, inky, very sweet juice. All parts of theplant are poisonous. The main alkaloid is hyoscyamine and the herbalso contains small amounts of atropine and belladonnine, which havesomewhat different effects. The sweet- tasting berries are a greattemptation to children and animals and can be fatal if they eat a fewtoo many. So when used in potions caution MUST be taken.
Theaffects of ingesting the herb are, in mind amounts, a happy feelingand the same sense of timelessness and philosophical thought going onin your mind similar to the first stage of intoxication throughhashish. Next comes a sleep which is accompanied by erotic dreams. Amedium dose of deadly nightshade would produce a dry mouth anditching and irritation, followed by nausea and dizziness, followed bya deep sleep. Severe poisoning causes paroxysms of rage, blindnessand paralysis and then coma occurs, usually followed by death fromparalysis of the respiratory system. One would have to eat quite anumber of berries to get to this stage.
Theherb is effective whether dried or fresh, however the hysoscyamine inthe fresh plant turns into atropine when the plant is dried. However,the difference between the two alkaloids is so little that it cannotbe expressed in chemical formula.
Itis reported that the maenads of Dionysian orgies with "dilated"eyes cast themselves into the arms of the male worshippers and that,at other times, with eyes "flaming with wildness", theythrew themselves onto all the men they met on the way to tear themapart and devour them. This wildness could be indicative of deadlynightshade juice mixed with their wine. They had thornapple juice inthe wine, which is another deadly herb.
Accordingto the English doctor and herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654)there is a strange example of the plant's fateful consequences inBuchanan's "History of Scotland" which describes thedestruction of Swen's army after it invaded Scotland. This happenedbecause the Scots, in agreement with the armistice conditions, sentmead to the Danes which, however, "was mixed with the juice of apoisonous herb, abundance of which grows in Scotland, called SleepyNightshade". The Danes became so drunk on the mead that thescots were able to fall upon and kill the majority of the Danes whilethey slept, so that there were scarcely enough of them left to bringtheir king to safety. The Danish King Sweno was in reality SveinKnutson, King of Norway (1030-1035) who tried to win Scotland fromDuncan the First. The Scots leader on this occasion was Earl Macbeththe model for Shakespeare's tragic play.
Deadlynightshade was used in various potions and particularly in manyointment recipes from Germany and France.
Theherb grows wild in Australia, however it is often hard to find. Whentaking fresh from the undergrowth, the herb is best cultivated andso often found in half shade on chalky, well fertilized soil which issheltered from the wind. It tends to wilt in summer so a greaterefficacy is produced after rainfall. And children and those of asimilar mind to those that can not keep their fingers from theirmouths, do not ingest large amounts of this or feed them to yourfamiliars regardless of how hungry you are , it can prove fatal.Although if you were to do it, you'd best get on with it and save theworld from whatever moronic offspring you could possibly produce.
((OOC: work adapted from this website: Shadowplay))