Everyday Poisons

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.