Burning for St Anthony’s Fire - Ergot and Witchcraft in the Medieval Period

It is 15thC Germany and the hapless victim twitches and convulses at the feet of the Church jury. There is no doubt in their mind that she is possessed of the Devil. The accused babbles incoherently and seems unaffected when prodded with the ‘witch needles’. Regretfully the jury passes the verdict of witchcraft and the brush wood is piled around the base of the stake in preparation for the purification of the afflicted by fire. St Anthony’s Fire has claimed another victim.

St Anthony’s Fire

Also known as ‘sacred fire’ and ‘invisible fire,’ St Anthony’s Fire is a medieval disease that was given it’s name from one of the key symptoms. In some iterations of the disease the sufferer’s skin blisters and turns black, as if burned by fire, but with no associated pain. What the individual is actually suffering is the gangrenous form of ergot poisoning, a type of fungal poisoning caused by the ergot fungus which grows on rye. When the rye grains are ground to flour and eaten as bread or porridge the consumer becomes poisoned.

Ergot

Ergot (claviceps purpura) is a fungus that grows on rye. The fungus germinates in warm damp conditions after being dormant in the cold.Ergot is most likely to occur in a wet summer following a harsh winter. Humans can survive 01.-0.3% ergot in rye grain, and 8-10% is fatal (http://www.pearson-college.uwc.ca/pearson/fungi/ergot.htm). A lot of rye will have the ergot spores on it but usually conditions are not conducive for it to germinate and grow. Only under specific climatic conditions can the fungus flourish and result in an ergot breakout.

The conditions under which the ergot formed will dictate the chemical composition of the ergot. This will effect the type of ergotism that will afflict the victim. In this manner it is impossible for the human body to develop immunity and if a victim was lucky enough to survive an initial attack of ergotism they may display a completely different set of symptoms if they were to suffer a second infection due to the different makeup of the ergot that infected them.  

Types of Ergot Poisoning

Ergot poisoning takes three forms: gangrenous, convulsive and hallucinogenic.

 Convulsive.Convulsive ergotism is caused by the disease attacking the central nervous system and is characterized by nervous dysfunction. This is demonstrated by the victim is twisting and contorting their body in pain, trembling and shaking, and wryneck (a more or less fixed twisting of the neck) which seems to simulate convulsions or fits. In some cases, this is accompanied by muscle spasms, confusions, delusions and hallucinations, as well as a number of other symptoms (http://www.iamshaman.com/hbwr/ergot_of_rye.htm).

St Anthony’s Fire as an Epidemic

 A plague of "fire" is first mentioned in 945AD, in and around Paris. Limbs were ‘burnt up’ and gradually consumed, until death ended the torment. As many as could went to the church of St. Mary in Paris and were saved by Duke Hugh who fed them with daily rations. When some of the patients went home, the quenched fire was rekindled, but returning to the church, they again recovered. The duke was Hugh the Great, Count of Paris and father of Hugh Capet, the founder of the royal dynasty. Evidently he had a store of ergot free grain, and relapses occurred when the patients fell back on their own infected supplies (Barger 1931 pp 40-44).

Ergot and Plague

 Ergot and plague coexisted in this particular period of medieval history and victims or ergot poisoning would have been extremely vulnerable to plague having already been weakened by the ergot. St Anthony’s fire is also closely associated with famine when shortages of food force the consumption of lower quality grain that would have a higher possibility of being infected by ergot.

Matossian (1988) believed that while most ‘plague’ deaths could ultimately be attributed to Bubonic Plague, the consumption of grains infected with ergot compromised the immune system and increased the likelihood of death in both humans and rats. Because of the increase in death of rats, the fleas carrying the Bubonic Plague would require a new host, which in heavily populated area, often was a human host. This led to a higher death rate than might have normally occurred. The highest incidents of plague occurred in areas where there were large surpluses of grain stored. The large surpluses of grain attracted large populations of rats who were the vector transmitting the plague.

There also appeared to be a strong correlation between the occurrence of plague and the amount of rain, humidity and flooding. Areas of Europe where such conditions prevailed were hit hardest with the plague. For example, England had a very wet summer during 1348, which coincided with a high plague mortality. However in neighbouring Scotland in the same year plague did not spread widely, until the wet summer of 1350. Areas that were cold, but dry, such as Iceland, northern Norway and Sweden, Finland, and large areas of Russia and the Balkans escaped the plague, entirely. Thus, the plague did not find its way throughout Europe, but was rather restricted in its distribution. Twigg (1936) believed that the plague was only present in Mediterranean ports and a few cities where there was a dense human and rat population (http://www.iamshaman.com/hbwr/ergot_of_rye.htm)

Ergot and Witchcraft

The link between ergot and witchcraft could go one of two ways, the afflicted could accuse another of practicing witchcraft against them or the afflicted could be identified as being in league with dark forces through their behaviour. Those most likely to be accused would be those attempting to assist the afflicted, such as doctors, healers and herbalists who may be interpreted as in some way contributing to the situation of the victim.

It would not help that rye infected with ergot is also red in colour when ground, giving the impression that blood has somehow been used in the making of the infected bread. In addition ergot is also capable of killing animals. In an area afflicted with an ergot breakout it would be normal for cows, horses and sheep that are grazing on the ergot infected rye grasses to sicken, and in some cases die. This sudden onset of sickness amongst the village animals in combination with the strange behaviours of the afflicted could lead to the suspicion that someone involved was practicing dark arts.

In the atmosphere or religious paranoia none of these conclusions would have required great leaps of faith. In a time when assorted forms of plague ravaged the land with devastating regularity European society sought scapegoats as a cause of their suffering and witches (along with Jews and other minority groups) were a perennial favourite. Any hint of witchcraft would have caused the bundling of kindling to purge the society of any element that may possibly call more divine wrath down upon them.

In England in the early 1600's the ‘malicious magic’ of Alice Trevisard, an accused witch, apparently backfired and a witness reported that Alice's hands, fingers, and toes "rotted and consumed away." Along with her other symptoms this is a classic case of gangrenous ergotism (Caporael 1976 p.12)

Evidence that ergot poisoning caused ‘possession’ and ‘witch-like’ symptoms is often based on reports of nervous system disorders. In summer of 1355, there was an epidemic of “madness” in England. People believed that they saw demons. In 1374, a wet year, marked by a lack of food, there was an outbreak of hallucinations, convulsions and compulsive dancing in the Rhineland. Some people imagined they were drowning in a stream of blood (http://www.iamshaman.com/hbwr/ergot_of_rye.htm). Both the hallucinations and convulsions are possible symptoms of ergot poisoning which would be conducive with the prevailing weather conditions.

Ergot Poisoning and Geography

Rye is a very hardy grain and was favoured on the continent in medieval times. Due to its robust characteristics it was often the staple diet of the poor. Germany and France were particularly prevalent consumers of rye and it is here we see the most common occurrence of St Anthony’s Fire and the highest incidents of witch trials. The most common ergot outbreaks take place in the alpine areas of France and central Europe. The absence of temperate wet conditions further north reduces the probability of ergot poisoning in Scandinavia despite their rye consumption, and the absence of harsh winters further south reduces the probability in the Mediterranean. Rye is not commonly grown in Wales, Ireland, Spain and central and southern Italy, excluding them from risk of ergotism.

Apart from the weather, local factors may have considerable effect, particularly in hilly country. Often a particular valley or even a single low-lying field was much more heavily ergotised than its neighbours, and led to sporadic outbreaks of ergotism (Barger 1931).

A simple correlation between the documented 15thC witch trials in Swabia, Germany and the price of rye indicates that there were more trials in years when rye was more expensive. This may lead us to conclude that it had been a poor growing season for rye and as a result consumers were less selective in their use of poor quality grain. Lower quality grain increased the incidences of ergotism and the corresponding number of witch trials.

England has a similar climate to France and Germany and also grows large quantities of rye, so why was this island spared the outbreaks of convulsive St Anthony’s fire and the associated religious hysteria\witch burnings that were common to the Continent? England only seemed to suffer gangrenous ergotism which was less inclined to result in burnings. The answer lies in diet.

Ergot and Dairy 

Those societies that had a strong dairy industry and the consumed large volumes of milk, butter and cheese were less vulnerable to convulsive ergotism because the dairy consumption stimulated the production of phytase, a bowel bacteria which in turn breaks down the elements of the ergot that cause the convulsive symptoms (Kipple 1997 p.54). The English were still as vulnerable to the gangrenous strain but because this lacked the more spectacular symptoms of convulsive and hallucinogenic ergotism it led less readily to the assumption of witchcraft.

Conclusion

Although in no way the single cause of religious hysteria in the medieval period, ergotism could be considered a contributing factor to some of the behaviours that would have been interpreted as witchcraft. This is a disease that medieval medicine had no opportunity to identify and would have remained a mystery, both in its origins and treatment. In response to the inexplicable it is understandable that religion is used to contextualise these strange behaviours and symptoms. Unfortunately in the case of St Anthony’s fire these ‘inexplicable’ symptoms would have led observers to unfortunate ‘evil’ conclusions and the resulted in the unjust persecution of either the afflicted or those associated with them for witchcraft, demonic possession or other such religious crimes. Lack of data will preclude modern historians from ever accurately assessing how many innocent individuals burned due to St Anthony’s Fire.
 
Bibliography

Anonymous, http://www.pearson-college.uwc.ca/pearson/fungi/ergot.htm [Online 12 Nov 2004]

Anonymous, Ergot of Rye I: Introduction and History http://www.iamshaman.com/hbwr/ergot_of_rye.htm [Online 12 Nov 2004]

Barger, George. Ergot and Ergotism: A Monograph, Gurney and Jackson, London 1931

Caporael, Linnda R. Ergotism: The Satan Loosed in Salem? Science Vol. 192 (2 April 1976)

Carefoot, G.L. and E.R. Sprott. Famine on the Wind. Rand McNally & Company,1967

Dixon, L.S., Bosch's 'St. Anthony Triptych'- An Apothecary's Apotheosis. Art Journal, Vol. 44, No. 2, 1984.

Hudler, G. Magical and Mischievous Molds. Princeton University Press,1998.

Kipple, Kenneth F. Plague, Pox and Pestilence: Disease in History. Weidenfeld and Nicholson: London 1997

Matossian, M.K. Poisons of the Past: Molds, Epidemics and History. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1989.

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