On Monday, November 19, 2001 at 11:11:24 AM UTC-8, Deborah Wright wrote:
Hi!
I know this isn't, strictly speaking, about an Historic Food, but I hope somebody can help me here.
'The Histories' by Herodotus (circa 5th century BC Greece) refer to
"drinking bull's blood" as a way to commit suicide. One of the 'Falco' novels (70's AD Rome) also mentions this. In 'Wide Sargasso Sea' by Jean Rhys (1830's Jamaica) the Jamaican servant offers strong coffee to her hated master saying "Taste my bull's blood".
Since drinking bull's blood generally isn't fatal I take this to be the once common discription for some kind of poison, the identity of which has since been forgotten. Does anybody know what bull's blood really was in this connotation, please?
The only promising result I had searching the internet was a reference to Bull's Blood Beetroot - but I rapidly concluded that the only way this could prove fatal would be if someone swollowed one whole and choked! A less than noble end.:)
Thanks,
Deborah
*******
it's u :)
off
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