In today’s blog, we’ll be discussing Ergot poisoning and how this fungus impacted some of history’s most famous events throughout time.
Let’s start with a little background into ergot poisoning because until Joey brought it up for a topic, I had never heard of it. But after starting on the research I was baffled by all the events this poisoning is believed to be linked to. And a quick warning to our viewers, just like in our last episode on poisonings, most of this is going to contain various Gina’s Macabre Moments. Hope you’re still with us as it’s an interesting topic for sure.
Ergot is a type of fungus that is typically found in grains like rye and wheat. It produces toxic alkaloids and overtakes the individual kernels on the grains. During harvest the ergots mix in with healthy grains and contaminate things such as animal feed or breads. The more modern term for this poisoning is referred to as ergotism. I’ll try not to go into too much medical mumbo jumbo cuz I went down the rabbit hole for how these toxins attack the body. So this fungus actually can activate two different things within you.
The first is the toxic alkaloids activate hormone receptors such as serotonin and dopamine. This activation results in contraction of the smooth muscles on the internal organs like the heart and gastrointestinal tract. Arterial constriction happens and slows the blood flow. When tissue loses blood and oxygen, it begins to die and results in gangrene. The other activation results in muscular convulsions, double vision, and hallucinations. Chemically the ergot alkaloids are similar to LSD. It was often used by midwives to help induce labor and in the treatment of migraines. Researchers are still using small doses of ergot in medicines and ergot-based therapies are now being explored to treat Parkinson’s disease and dementia symptoms.
Now let’s get into some ergot poisonings throughout history.
St Anthony’s Fire
I had heard of St Anthony’s Fire before but I guess I had thought it was an event. Upon my research, it actually refers to ergot poisoning. The name refers to a group of medieval monks who offered treatment to sufferer’s of ergot poisoning. The monks followed the patron saint of grave diggers, Saint Anthony. In 1100 CE (common era, religious neutral compared to AD), the Order of Hospitallers of St. Anthony was established in France. It was a place anyone suffering from ergotism could go for care.
The walls were painted red as a representation of the burning sensation experienced by those afflicted. The main treatment for the illness was a diet of grain not containing ergot, who would have guessed it. Anyway the outbreaks at that time were a result of more people so the need for larger quantities of grain being grown so there’s a higher chance of ergot to get mixed into the rye during harvest. This results in larger quantities of contaminated rye flour.
Dancing Plague
Next we’re going to talk about an illness that is referred to as the dancing plague of 1518. First I did have to dig through a lot of myths and humors to find all the facts on this, but, honestly, even historians aren’t 100% sure of all the details surrounding this plague. So I will share what I could find and a couple of theories that scientists are working on.
It all started in the summer of 1518 in Strasbourg, now located in modern-day France. A woman by the name of Frau (Mrs.) Troffea left her house and began dancing. While everyone is always a little happier in the summer, she took it to the extreme. Stepping into the street she began to dance for hours until she finally collapsed into a twitching, sweaty pile. Some would say the lady had had a bit too much of the sauce, but she awoke the next day as if in a trance and began the dancing all over. Within a few weeks, up to 400 other locals began to dance alongside her. This non-stop movement continued for two full months.
It didn’t matter how bloody, sore and bruised they were, the townspeople would awaken the next day and continue to dance. The unaffected townspeople were confused and began to make assumptions. The first group began to suspect Frau Troffea of sinning and this dancing mania was really the work of the devil. While many others believed it was divine intervention from St. Vitus, a Sicilian saint who was said to curse those who angered him with uncontrollable dancing mania. Around 100 people are believed to have died from exhaustion, strokes and heart attacks.
This strange phenomena occurred in Switzerland, Germany and Holland, but those weren’t as large nor as deadly. Local physicians called it “hot blood”. Believing the afflicted blood had heated up and caused delusions. Even today the real cause for the dancing plague is unknown. But historians have a couple theories. The first involves St. Vitus and the belief that he could curse people into dancing. Between famine and disease they believe it triggered a stress-induced hysteria. The other theory of course is they accidentally ingested ergot from local bread sources. The evidence to back up this theory seems to be more realistic, but unless someone builds a time machine we may never know the real reason these people danced themselves to death.
Salem Witch Trials
I’m sure all of us and most of our listeners have heard of our next topic so I’m not going to go into all the details about the Salem Witch Trials. We’re gonna do like a cliff note version. In 1692, two young girls became very ill. They suffered convulsions and some say hallucinations. Salem’s doctor diagnosed the girls had been bewitched. We all know what happened after that…the accusations began to fly. Within a year, nineteen people were hanged, one crushed by stone, and four died in prison, all for being accused of being witches.
There’s always been theories floating around, but the one most historians believe is that this witch hunt occurred due to ergot poisoning. It explains the pain and burning sensations many of the “afflicted by witches” described. Along with the hallucinations and tremors the first 2 girls in Salem experienced. Ergot forms on rye after an area has experienced a severe winter followed by a damp spring which is exactly what happened in 1691.This theory has yet to be disproven at the time of the original airing of this episode.
And there you have the hi-story of ergot poisoning. Thanks for reading! To hear our humorous take on the retelling of this story , be sure to check out our podcast on all major platforms! https://linktr.ee/hi.stories673
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