“Cursed hebanon.”

The jury is out on this one…

Two main theories exist about what “hebanon” could be, since it isn’t an identifiable substance as far as we know.

The first theory is that it could be Taxus baccata, or “yew”.

Here are the effects of ingesting yew:
“The action of the poison is extremely rapid because taxin is quickly absorbed in the digestive system. It is a very poisonous cardiovascular toxic substance and causes vomiting and abdominal pains, painful diarrhoea, dilated pupils, pallor, collapse, cramps, unconsciousness, and death due to cardiac arrest and respiratory failure often within an hour following ingestion.” Thanks to The-Tree.org.uk, here.

That doesn’t sound right to me.

The second is that hebanon is Hyoscyamus niger, or “henbane”.

Here’s what it does to you:
“You should notice your skin turning red, dry mouth, an irregular heartbeat, and enlarged pupils. As it gets worse you’ll feel sleepy, then restless, hallucinate, experience hyperactivity, and finally fall asleep.” Take too much and you die, of course. That nice description comes from the science project of Caitlin Baker, here.

I’m a fan of this conjecture, especially since it is not fast-acting, and the symptoms vary depending on dosage (which could account for the various effects on Gertrude, Laertes, Hamlet, and Hamlet Sr.).

Huckleberry Hamlet.

“To be, or not to be; that is the bare bodkin
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would fardels bear, till Birnam Wood do come to Dunsinane,
But that the fear of something after death
Murders the innocent sleep,
Great nature’s second course,
And makes us rather sling the arrows of outrageous fortune
Than fly to others that we know not of.
There’s the respect must give us pause:
Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The law’s delay, and the quietus which his pangs might take,
In the dead waste and middle of the night, when churchyards yawn
In customary suits of solemn black,
But that the undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns,
Breathes forth contagion on the world,
And thus the native hue of resolution, like the poor cat i’ the adage,
Is sicklied o’er with care,
And all the clouds that lowered o’er our housetops,
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.
‘Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. But soft you, the fair Ophelia:
Ope not thy ponderous and marble jaws,
But get thee to a nunnery–go!”

From Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, chapter 21. Characters on a barge work out a Shakespeare night for a small town and want to include Hamlet’s soliloquy, but don’t have the text. They have to rely on one man’s recollection of it. Found this on the Viacorp website, here.

“I must be cruel, only to be kind.”

12th and 13th Century Danish Coinage.

Two coins from the rule of Valdemar the Great, 12th Century.

And another from the rule of Valdemar II, 13th Century.

About the Ducat:
“In 1140 AD, Roger II of Sicily, Duke of Apulia, struck a coin in silver known as a ducat. It bore the inscription Sit tibi, Christe, datus, quem tu regis, iste ducatus – Lord, thou rulest this duchy, to thee be it dedicated – thus the name. Little did he know what it was that he had started, for the ducat was to become possibly the single most important coin the world has ever known.

During the Middle Ages, the value of silver coins was constantly changing. This was due to the coins themselves changing. Every time a ruler needed additional funds he would either create or raise taxes – or he would change the coinage by making the coins thinner and of less weight or he would debase the metal content. This was not peculiar to any particular nation or ruler – they all did it from time to time, especially in time of war. And as a result the various other nations and city states would not accept foreign coinage at the values set by the originators of the coinage. Instead, all foreign coinage was assayed and a value set by the nation conducting the assay.”

From Omnicoin.com. Click here.

The Common European Adder.

The most likely candidate for the snake that was purported to bite Hamlet senior is Vipera Berus, otherwise known as an Adder.

The Conventional Way?!

Enjoy below Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie’s amazing nonsense parody of studying Shakespeare.

This video comes on recommendation from Shawn Law, playing Hamlet.

Instruments of the Troubadours.

Here is a sampling of instruments Laertes may have encountered in 13th Century France.

Medieval Bagpipe

Lute

Pan Flute or Syrinx

Viol

Viola

Lyre

More info on Troubadours and Jongleurs, the men and women who would have played these instruments, can be found at French Minstrels of the 13th Century, here.

Extended Version of the Life of Amleth.

Here is a link to the full version of The Deeds of the Danes or The Danish History at the Online Medieval and Classical Library.

This is the third chapter, which contains the story of Amleth/Hamlet (the image below is of the facsimile of Saxo Gramaticus’s text) .

Click here.

Scandinavia in 1219.

The olive green is official Denmark, and the yellow are Danish occupied territories.

Images of Kronborg Castle.

How now? a rat?