[Sca-cooks] Re Request for info on period poisons

[Decker, Terry D.]

Other poisons I have thought of, opium (from Papaver somniferum, opium
poppy), aconite (from Aconitum napellus, monkshood or wolfsbane), digitalis
(from Digitalis purpurea, foxglove), hyoscyamine (from Hyoscyamus niger,
hensbane), and hellebore (most of the genus Helleborus).  

For a period source on poisons which is contemporary to Shakespeare, Try
Giambattista della Porta's "Magia Naturalis" (1558).  He also appears as
Giovanni Battista Porta or della Porta.  Transcripts of the 1558 Latin text
and the 1658 English translation are webbed at: 

http://members.tscnet.com/pages/omard1/jportat3.html

This text also contains a section on cookery, so it is of interest to this
list beyond it's poisons.

Bear