Everyday Poisons. The many faces of poison in Medieval and Early Modern Treatises.

Everyday Poisons

The many faces of poison in Medieval and Early Modern Treatises

Poison was strongly present at all times in the daily life of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age. It was used as a weapon, deliberately and otherwise, but it could be found in even the simplest actions, used with an awareness of its lethality but also of how useful and fundamental certain poisonous substances could actually be in art, medicine, or cosmetics. This workshop, therefore, intends to analyze all aspects of that dealt with poisonous elements, materials, plants or animals. This workshop focuses on treatises and recipe collections, which explain how to prepare pigments, binders or varnish, but also jams, syrups, or even beauty finds.

nternational workshop, Paris, C2RM, 19 March, 2025

Presentation

Poison was strongly present at all times in the daily life of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age. It was used as a weapon, deliberately and otherwise, but it could be found in even the simplest actions, used with an awareness of its lethality but also of how useful and fundamental certain poisonous substances could actually be in art, medicine, or cosmetics. This workshop, therefore, intends to analyze all aspects of that dealt with poisonous elements, materials, plants or animals. This workshop focuses on treatises and recipe collections, which explain how to prepare pigments, binders or varnish, but also jams, syrups, or even beauty finds. Among the many recipes, however, one can find not only those for counteracting the effect of certain poisons, but also those for preparing them. The contributions discuss ingredients, substances, minerals, plants, and any reference to poison in treatise literature and cookbooks from the 15th to 18th centuries.

Programme

  • 10.00: welcome and opening Victor Etgens, Head of the Research Department (C2RMF), Maddalena Bellavitis (C2RMF), Anil Paralkar (University of Heidelberg, Witten/Herdecke University)

10.15: morning session

  • Lucas Vanhevel, University of Leiden Questionable fruits: Mushrooms and the Other in mid-sixteenth century Antwerp
  • Pierre Tchekhoff, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne Witches and poisons in Early modern art: deadly vapors, toxic plants and maleficia
  • Victoria Munn, University of Auckland ‘They destroy life it selfe’: hair dyes and toxic substances in early modern Europe

11.30: coffee break

  • Maria Gaia Redavid, Sapienza University of Rome – Simona Andrisano, Fabbrica di San Pietro, Vatican Francesco Fracanzano, the painter between dust pestilence and conspiracies
  • Julia Roumier et Carmen Ruiz Arribas, AMERIBER, Université Bordeaux Montaigne and Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) Omniprésents poisons:  dangers, antidotes et remèdes au sein de la nature selon les textes hispaniques (XVe et XVIe siècle)
  • Maria Muñoz-Benavent, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche Antidotes in recipe books of the sixteenth century

13.15: Discussion and conclusions

Attendance

There is no participation fee, but it is necessary to register sending an e-mail to: maddalena.bellavitis@culture.gouv.fr

Catégories

Lieux

  • Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France (C2RMF) – 14 Quai François Mitterrand
    Paris, France (75001)

Format de l’événement

Événement uniquement sur site

Dates

  • mercredi 19 mars 2025

Fichiers attachés

Mots-clés

  • poison, art Hhstory, botany, cosmetic

Contacts

  • Maddalena Bellavitis
    courriel : maddalena [dot] bellavitis [at] culture [dot] gouv [dot] fr

Source de l’information

  • Maddalena Bellavitis
    courriel : maddalena [dot] bellavitis [at] culture [dot] gouv [dot] fr

Licence

Cette annonce est mise à disposition selon les termes de la Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universel.

Pour citer cette annonce

« Everyday Poisons », Journée d’étude, Calenda, Publié le jeudi 13 mars 2025, https://doi.org/10.58079/13gm7