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The Uses Of Poisoning In The Middle Ages

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While admired for their ornate beauty and technical construction, the real science and mystery of poison rings is in the conception of its contents. Poison has been a popular choice of weaponry throughout history; used to attack, manipulate, and kill. Poisoning was also relatively easy to get away with for centuries because possession of the murder weapon was by no means a clear indicator of guilt. Many cultures slowly acquired a practical knowledge of how to grow, blend, administer and apply properties to create different effects as exampled in several cities in Italy creating schools that taught the ways of poison. The effectiveness of a poison ring relied in having a poison strong enough to kill its intended victim in a small dosage, yet be odorless …show more content…

In the Middle Ages, a person had a variety of herbs and minerals to use under the guise of medicinal purposes by visiting an apothecary and/or alchemist. Paracelsus (1493-1541) alchemist, astrologer and “father of toxicology”, studied extensively the scientific analyses of poisons also known as toxins, and uses of chemicals, and minerals in medicine. Notable examples include hemlock, which causes total paralysis and death from asphyxiation, foxglove, whose flowers when grounded can cause cardiac arrest, and wolf’s bane, which was a favored poison of choice throughout history as its poisonous properties, can easily be absorbed through skin contact although ingestion is also certain death. The two most popular plant based poisons included mandrake and belladonna in which various superstitions were attributed to both. Mandrake is a hallucinogenic root commonly found in Europe in Spain and Portugal, which has been sought out for its medicinal properties. It was widely believed that the root possessed the powers to heal a variety of diseases but only at a low

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