Survival Skills—Poisoning

By Anne Harwood

For the Tournament of the Golden Swan

October, 2003

Monkshood

One of the enduring legends attached to Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine is that she poisoned her rival, Rosamund Clifford. The first written version of the legend appears in an anonymous fourteenth century chronicle, wherein the Queen is identified as Eleanor of Provence, but it was a popular theme readily taken up by later writers. There is no physical or historical evidence that Eleanor was in the least responsible for the death of Henry II’s mistress, yet the stories make it quite clear that poison was the Queen’s weapon of choice.

Then as now, toxins abounded in the natural world. Women were well versed in herb lore, as they were often responsible for the healing of persons in their households, keeping a garden and stillroom for the production of tinctures, ointments and salves. Also known as wolfsbane and Friar’s Cap, aconitum napellus was among the best known of medieval poisons. It is a member of the buttercup family, of which the clematis is an example and is named for its hooded blue flowers. Monkshood is a hardy perennial, and grows in alpine meadows and wooded areas such as those found through Europe, especially the Pyrenees and Alps. As such, ladies wishing to avail themselves of the plant’s deadly properties would find it ready to hand in several areas outside urban centres.

Monkshood (Aconitum napellus)

In addition to one of the best known of medieval poisons, monkshood is also one of the most toxic. The Roman naturalist, Plinius, referred to it as “plant arsenic”. It was commonly believed that the Greek gods distilled the poison from the saliva of Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guarded the underworld. Ancient and medieval armies preferred monkshood as the toxin for poisoned arrows and spears, and retreating forces would sabotage their own water supply with it, as a parting gift for the invaders.

Toxicology

The active poison in monkshood is aconitine, one of the strongest plant toxins in the world. It is extremely dangerous in even the smallest doses; death has been reported in cases of children who have held the tubers in their hands for periods of time. Doses of 2-5 mg can kill an adult.

Initially a stimulant when ingested, aconitine attacks the nervous system. Victims first notice a burning sensation in the mouth and tingling throughout their body. Sweating, abundant salivation, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea follow. The skin cools, the limbs become numb and the pulse accelerates. Breathing becomes shallow and slow. Death results from respiratory failure and cardiac arrest, and can occur within twenty minutes of ingesting the toxin. Since aconitine does not affect the brain, the victim is alert during the process of the body’s systems failing, a particularly gruesome prospect.

Preparation and Administration

It appears from historical accounts that poisoners of the Middle Ages preferred to administer monkshood in liquid form, dipping arrows and spears into a solution, or pouring it into well water. Aconitine is not soluble in water, and so a tincture would have to be prepared.

All parts of the plant are toxic, but the tuber is especially so. After harvesting the tuber where it is naturally found, in mountain meadows and wooded areas with open shade, the plant is left to dry. Then using a mortar and pestle (and a pair of gloves), the tuber is ground up. Using a rough ratio of one part dried herb to two parts water and two parts alcohol (i.e. wine), the monkshood is left to steep in a jar or container for two weeks, being stirred daily. After that, the tincture is strained and decanted into another container, possibly a smaller one that can be discreetly carried on one’s person.

At this time, the real work begins. Although the chronicle of Queen Eleanor describes her offering Rosamund the choice between a dagger in the heart or a cup of poison, most would-be assassins had to effect a much sneakier method of applying their wares, usually by slipping the tincture into the victim’s wine, or applying it to their meat at table.

  Sources

Meade, Marion Eleanor of Aquitaine New York: Hawthorn/Dutton, 1977

The Munchkin Nursery
www.munchkinnursery.com/newsletter/monkshood

Thinkquest Poisonous Plants and Animals
http://library.thinkquest.org/C007974/1_1.com.htm

WALA Arzneimittel
www.wala.de/english/pflanze/archiv/eisen.htm

Welcome To the Rainforest
www.rain-tree.com/prepmethod.htm