Sunday, August 21, 2022

Review of "Ergot. The fungi that ate medieval Europe" by Theophrastus von Oberstockstall

I'd always thought of ergotism as slightly amusing - all those medieval peasants going on a mass acid trip and seeing hallucinations that inspired art and religious movements. Well, I won't think that any more. Ergotism is really ghastly, and the consequences for medieval Europe were horrible. Lots in the short book (more of a pamphlet really) about the impact on culture and medieval institutions. At 99p it's almost free - if you are at all interested in medieval history, or the relationship between humans and plants, then buy it and read it.

One small concern though - the author appears to have no online existence apart from this pamphlet, which makes me a little cautious. 

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