henbane

Ingredients

henbane (Hyoscyamus niger)

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The herbal identifies three varieties or 'kendes' of henbane characterized by their colors: red ('rede'), yellow ('yelwe'), and black ('blake') (p. 148). The narrator of the verse expresses 'dowte' regarding the identity of these varieties but notes they all share offensive sensory properties ('wykkyd of odour and smake') (p. 148).

Evidence

"But of henbane be kendes thre / I am in dowte qwich he schulde be / For ther is of hem rede . yelwe . and blake / And all ben wykkyd of odour and smake"

Remarks

The 'black henbane' variety is noted for its 'toxic and narcotic properties' and was specifically labeled as 'venemous' in 14th-century translations of Bartholomew of England (p. 149). The narrator's explicit declaration of uncertainty ('I am in dowte') is framed as a product of the 'verse medium and its connections to orality,' contrasting with the confident attributions typically found in prose herbals (p. 148-149).