Ergot Poisoning

The term "ergot" refers to a group of fungi that grow on rye and other grains. The illustration shows a stalk of wheat with a growth that is part of the life cycle of the fungus Claviceps purpurea, the chief source of ergot. The fungus produces alkaloids that, when consumed by mammals, produces ergotism, or ergot poisoning.

There are two main symptoms of ergotism. There are convulsive symptoms that range from mild such as headaches, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, to severe: spasms, mania, and psychosis. There is also a set of gangrenous symptoms because of the vasoconstrictive nature of ergot: loss of circulation in the fingers and toes that can lead to loss of the fingers and toes themselves.

Ergot could also affect the nervous system and make the sufferer feel sensations on the skin without any external source. In the Middle Ages this was called St. Anthony's Fire.

Although ergot could infect other grains, rye was the likeliest source in the Middle Ages. Rye was considered a less desirable grain for bread than wheat, and was therefore the grain of the poor—which covered most of the agricultural population. Grains infected with ergot are darkened. Ergot-infected grains in a bushel of wheat would stand out from their color and could easily be picked out. The darker rye would more easily hide the infected grains, especially once it was ground into flour.

Medieval doctors had no cure, and so people turned to divine intervention. The 12th-century chronicler Geoffroy du Breuil recorded outbreaks in the Limousin region of France, where cures were attributed to Saint Martial. An outbreak in Paris in 1129 was cured by relics of St. Genevieve.

Ergot's life-cycle starts in the ground. The spores that produce ergot can survive for one year, and cannot germinate if buried more than an inch below the surface. As it turns out, simple crop rotation, that puts a non-grain crop in a field that held a grain, can cause the ergot present to die out without a host. Also, this post (from almost exactly 10 years ago) explains how the mouldboard plow was better at turning over the heavy soil of Europe, which could help to bury the spores deep enough to prevent germination.

In the words of the sixteenth-century physician Paracelsus. “All things are poison, and nothing is without poison: the dose alone makes a thing not poison.” Claviceps purpurea has produced other compounds thanks to modern science. Ergotamine, for instance, is used for the treatment of migraines because of its vasoconstrictive ability. The drug LSD was synthesized in 1938 from lysergic acid, which is derived from ergotamine.

Because a cure was attributed to St. Anthony, a hospital was founded in his name to treat others. Let me tell you tomorrow about the Hospital Brothers of Saint Anthony. See you then.

The Apostle of the Gauls

Gregory of Tours tells the story of the 3rd century Pope Fabian sending seven bishops to different parts of Gaul. One of them, Martial, went to Limoges, where he was very successful at converting locals to Christianity. After his death, his burial site outside of Limoges became an important pilgrimage site, growing in popularity over the years and generating many stories of miracles.

The 9th century Miracula Martialis ("Miracles of Martial") gives an idea of how popular he was: it pushes his origin story earlier in time so that he was made a bishop by St. Peter himself (illustrated here in a fresco from the Palais des Papes in Avignon, commissioned by Pope Clement VI from Matteo Giovannetti).

The Miracula gives him credit for evangelizing all of Aquitaine and miracles such as reviving a dead man by touching him with the staff given to him by Peter in the illustration. The medieval compendium of saints' lives called the Golden Legend adds casting out demons to his repertoire.

Martial's intercession was invoked during an epidemic of ergot poisoning in 994. The staff mentioned above (more accurately, a staff that is said to have been Martial's staff) is kept in the Basilica Saint-Seurin in Bordeaux and used in processions during outbreaks of illness to invoke his aid.

His importance in southern Gaul and link (however fictional) to Peter made him attractive to Clement VI, leading to the above-mentioned chapel. His burial site became the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Martial with a library second only to Cluny's. The chronicler Geoffroy du Breuil worked in the library. The Abbey was damaged so badly in the 19th century that little remained; some manuscripts had been bought by King Louis XV and were therefore saved and are noe in the Bibliotheque Nationale.

Ergot epidemics were quite common in the Middle Ages, so divine intervention was frequently sought. Let's talk about ergot poisoning in the Middle Ages next.

The Pope's Artist

When Pope Clement VI wanted to build a new chapel connected to the papal complex in Avignon and have it lavishly decorated, he called on Matteo Giovannetti. Giovanetti (c.1322 - 1368) was in his 20s at the time, and according to the oldest documentation we have about him, he was a priest.

He received a large salary to lead a team to design and decorate chapels, the Grand Audience room (where the pope meets visitors), the Consistory (where the pope meets with the cardinals), and more. He created altarpieces and paintings that the pope would offer to churches and monasteries.

One of his chief projects was to paint the new Saint-Martial Chapel, begun in 1344, attached to the Tinel, the pope's grand dining hall. The chapel's paintings tell the life story of Saint Martial in 13 scenes. Giovannetti even worked Clement into one of the frescoes (see illustration).

He also decorated the chapels of St. John located below the chapel of Saint Martial. He included events in the life of John the Baptist as well as John the Evangelist, including their parents. The frescoes deteriorated over time, but in the 1990s a restoration program began.

Giovanetti remained employed by the popes after Clement's death. He accompanied Pope Urban V on Urban's return to Rome in 1367. We are told that he worked on paintings at the Vatican Palace. It is the receipts for his payment that allow us to identify his works and track his movements. After 1368, however, we have no records for him, and we do not know where he ended up or how long he may have lived after that. In 1368 he was only in his late 40s, and his lifestyle would have kept him well-nourished and housed, so "old age" seems an unlikely ending. We simply do not know anything more about him, but the Vatican records allow us to give attribution to his work—not always the case for medieval art.

Why was Saint Martial important to Clement VI, so much so that he was the subject of a new chapel? I'll explain next time.