Course Description:
In this course, I will be going over several elements in daily Medieval society that enforced hallucinations on the inhabitants. Some of these things were known by the people and were intentionally incorporated in to their daily intake. There is evidence that some of these things were not known, but could have been recognized by the upper echelon of the hierarchy and not familiarized by the peasant populace. Alcohol was a daily consumption, especially wine. At the closing of the 1700’s there was the discovery and epidemic of Gin, that needs to be closely reviewed. The stages of alcoholism, starting at fun with friends and ending with depression and suicide was well known. McLeod syndrome is a nerve disease that effects the mind and the body in a very unique way. It is reported that this disease incorporates high levels of schizophrenic thinking and other mental ailments that are similar to the thought pattern needed for business/corporation success. Inclusive with these mental ailments there was the unknown hallucinogen ingestion of Ergot poisoning. Today, Ergot is found in the street drug LSD. In the Medieval times circumstances developed where the populace had to eat rotten rye/wheat. When rye rotted it turned black and contained a chemical that has been identified as Ergot. This chemical, inclusive with other hallucinogens have assisted in advanced thinking and exploration of the mind that other races do not express in having. Another vice during the times was the Amanita Muscaria mushroom. This is the red mushroom with white dots that is also considered to be the strongest hallucinogenic mushroom. The mushroom was intentionally taken as a past time. Lead Poisoning was also a very serious mind altering chemical and still is to this day. Scholars say it enhances the desires to witness violence and makes a person sterile to intervening or helping a person who may be a victim. Last but not least there is Jenkem. Jenkem is a term used to identify the process of getting hi from the smell of fermented feces. It is stated that when one does “trip” off of this inhalation they go into a realm of seeing “dead people”. The smell of feces, inclusive with rotting carcasses was common in the air during these times. It was so common that it is safe to guesstimate that this scent had its own atmospheric level. When all of these things are considered, we can clearly see that intoxication was at an extreme level. In discovery, we will encounter how these things effect the modern population in both habit and socialism.