Hello,
Apparently poison was still being used in Europe, specifically Spain, in the 16th and early 17th centuries when hunting game. Ralph Payne-Gallwey in his Book of the Crossbow cites examples from a work on field sports in Spain written by Alonzo Martinez Del Espinar, 1644. The poison in question is made from the root of the White Hellebore, I've actually got some of this stuff growing in the garden !!!!, which should be washed, pounded and pressed to extract the juice which then has to be strained, boiled and reduced to a viscous syrup. To test the poison you get a needle and thread, pass the thread through the poison syrup then pierce the foot of a chicken with the needle until it bleeds then draw the thread through the foot. In the time of saying 'Credo' the bird will nod and in a short time die. This poison seems to have been pretty strong as it was used to kill amongst other beasts, full grown stags. It was known as the 'Crossbowman's herb' and was smeared on the arrow shaft from the point downwards for five or six finger breadths then a strip of thin linen was wound around the poisoned part to which it adhered without the need for glue, there doesn't seem to be an explanation for the linen wrap but I suspect it was to either protect the bowman from the poison or the poison from being deposited in places it shouldn't be until use.
Regards,
Norman.
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