Poison Trials: Wonder Drugs, Experiment, and the Battle for Authority in Renaissance Science by Alisha Rankin documents the role that poison, antidotes, and trials that demonstrated their efficacy had on the political, social, and cultural dynamics in certain societies. This book presents a clear depiction of how the poison trials within a specific context of cultural and social values created the room for later experimental methods. Rankin holds a PhD in the history of science from Harvard University and currently teaches at Tufts University. In 2014 she received the Gerald Strauss Prize for her book Panaceia’s Daughters: Noblewomen as Healers in Early Modern Germany. She is also the co-editor of the book Secrets and Knowledge in Medicine and Science, 1500-1800 and her research interests include the history of early modern Europe, science, sexuality, and women.
The organization and subjects of the book shows a targeted interest to historians already interested in subjects such as hierarchies within the fields of social and cultural history, while the use of anecdotes can give an appeal to a lay audience interested in the time period. While the author primarily focuses her story on European men in the book, she also acknowledges that women and minorities were adversely affected by being closely associated with poison/poisoning, while there was little evidence that they were disproportionately involved. She mostly focuses her attention on western Europe and Europeans.
The author attempts to make several arguments in the book about the role of poison in the eventual development of experimentation in early modern Europe. She argues that scientists needed to necessarily refine their methods in the process of these trials and tackle the symbolic question of what it means to engage in human experimentation. They did this in contrast to the open marketplace poison demonstrations being performed by the less qualified empirical practitioners. Although she points out in Chapter 3 that even though scientists such as Mattioli warned of the practice of charlatans, many of those in power thought their self-administering of poison as being worthy enough to warrant a license to further their practices. As long as they could take poison and their antidote and live they could keep working. Further, these comparisons show that the eventual development of experimentation was interwoven with cultural elements. This is why this book should be targeted to cultural historians primarily. Prominent cultural historian Sidney Mintz put in his Sweetness and Power that “Culture must be understood ‘not simply as a product but also as production, not simply as socially constituted but also socially constituting.” It was not just the testing of antidotes but also the development of methods.
A strength for this monograph is that all arguments are addressed in detail using reliable methods. In one instance the author points out that in the book Theriac to Piso Galen shows that the focus was not necessarily on developing an antidote per se, but how to refine methods. He offers the use of animals in experimentation as an imperfect alternative. “At the same time, Theriac to Piso emphasized that theriac had been created not by blindly observing these sorts of tests, but through physicians’ careful reasoning.” (Page 28) Scientists following the legacy of Theriac to Piso refined their methods by offering different instructions to readers and testing on everything from cheese to pheasents.
For Rankin, justification for the poison trials were largely along social and cultural lines. She states, “The various attempts to make poison trials appear more acceptable, I argue, derive from two main problems: the interruption to the ingrained cultural and religious ritual of public execution, and the fear that princes and physicians might be viewed as poisoners.” (Page 115) It is repeated throughout the book that justification for the trials relied on them being perceived as consensual on the part of the prisoner and for the public good. Towards the end of Chapter 4 she shows how the German bureaucracy had to directly confront the question of using human subjects in the Tumler case and all the problems that lay in potentially violating their religious and cultural values. Also, in Chapter 3 Rankin highlights the comparison between those who tried to portray themselves as doing legitimate science in contrast to the empirical practitioners. They did this by developing models of procedures that made their practices legitimate in the eyes of potential critics.
This work also shows elements of influence from philosopher, Michel Foucault, with Rankin’s examination and emphasis on the Pope Clements’ reference to the convicted criminal test subjects as “bodies”, rather than human beings. Foucault does something similar in his Discipline and Punish as he examines the history of the prison. Edward Baptist also does this in his The Half Has Never Been Told when he tells the story of American slavery. He and Rankin cite Foucault directly.
This monograph is also careful to point out the gaps in historical evidence and is unafraid to point to where her research is not entirely confirmed. For instance, towards the end of Chapter 2 in the section “Oleum Clementis” it is written that there is serious doubt as to whether some of the products being tested were the same in different trials, or just similar, or entirely different. It is important for social scientists to point out what is not confirmed in order to take caveats into consideration and possibly open the door for further research. Another potential gap in this book that is not pointed out is the point of view of average citizens and their thoughts on these poison trials. Rankin outlines the points of view of aristocrats and popes, and even of a prisoner in Chapter 4, but we never see the perspective of the average citizen. This seems important because of Rankins claim that those in power needed these trials to be seen as legitimate by the public.
Overall, Poison Trials presents as a careful and thorough account of the role that experimenting with poison played in the development of experimenting methodology itself. Rankin has clear arguments that she addresses throughout the book, and does a good job pointing out where there are gaps in research. One can see how this project can lead to further scholarly endeavors.
