这种植物可能使维京人在战斗前发狂
这种植物可能使维京人在战斗前发狂
More than a thousand years ago, Viking armies knew a thing or two about instilling dread in those who would stand in their way.
一千多年前，维京人的军队就知道如何向那些阻碍他们前进的人灌输恐惧。
Henbane may look demure in nature, but it's a powerful drug. (Photo: SakSa/Shutterstock)
Many of their victims lived in monasteries in the British Isles, a favorite source of slaves and plunder for raiding parties.
他们的许多受害者住在不列颠群岛的修道院中，那里是奴隶和掠夺者的最爱。
Imagine what those pious, god-fearing men heard when a Viking force assembled outside their gate — especially with a few "berserkers" in their ranks.
想象一下，当北欧海盗在他们的门外集结时，那些虔诚的、敬畏上帝的人听到了什么——尤其是在他们队伍中有几个“狂战士”的时候。
Like devils on their doorstep, they gnawed at their shields, foamed at the mouth, and bayed like blood-hungry beasts. Berserkers may have even convinced themselves they weren't human.
他们咬自己的盾牌，口吐白沫，又像饿血的野兽吼叫，好像站在门前的恶魔。暴怒者甚至可能认为自己不是人类。
Apparently, they just were really high.
很明显，他们真的很疯狂。
Berserkers were so ferocious they often had trouble distinguishing friend from foe. (Photo: Fotokvadrat/Shutterstock)
Scholars have long puzzled over what kind of drugs these alpha warriors took to enter the blood-frenzied state known as berserkergang. Was it the mushroom A. muscaria — known for its hallucinogenic properties? Or a kind of bog myrtle northmen used to spike their own drinks? Or maybe they were just really angry drunks?
长期以来，学者们一直在困惑，这些阿尔法战士是用什么药物进入这个被称为“狂暴之邦”(berserkergang)的血战状态的。是蘑菇A. muscaria吗?或者是一种桃金娘北方人用来给自己的饮料加烈酒的沼泽?或者他们只是愤怒的醉汉?
In a recent paper published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, researchers say they've zeroed in on the berserker's drug of choice: henbane.
在最近发表在《民族药理学杂志》(Journal of Ethnopharmacology)上的一篇论文中，研究人员表示，他们已经锁定了狂暴者的首选药物:天仙子(henbane)。
Also known as Hyoscyamus niger or more appropriately, Witch's Drug, the plant has a long tradition as a painkiller and anesthetic in Europe. And depending on a person's state of mind, it can incite blinding anger.
这种植物在欧洲作为止痛药和麻醉剂有着悠久的历史。这取决于一个人的精神状态，它能激起令人失明的愤怒。
"This anger effect can range from agitation to full-blown rage and combativeness depending on the dosage and the individual's mental set," Karsten Fatur, a professor at Slovenia's University of Ljubljana, notes in the study. "As this is perhaps the most defining component of the berserker state, this symptom is of central importance in identifying the potential causes and provides a very critical reason as to why H. niger is a more appropriate theoretical intoxicant for the berserkers than A. muscaria."
斯洛文尼亚卢布尔雅那大学(University of Ljubljana)教授卡斯滕·法图尔(Karsten Fatur)在研究中指出:“这种愤怒效应的范围从激动到全面爆发和好斗，取决于剂量和个人的心理状态。”“由于这可能是狂暴状态中最具决定性的组成部分，这种症状在确定潜在原因方面至关重要，并提供了一个非常关键的理由，说明为什么尼日尔河嗜血杆菌对狂暴者来说是一种比麝香杆菌更合适的理论醉药。”
For the ancient monks of the British Isles, a Viking raiding party must have seemed like a pack of bloodthirsty devils. (Photo: Nejron Photo/Shutterstock)
Here's how German writer Gustav Schenk describes the effects of henbane after sampling it for his 1966 treatise, "Brain & Belief: An Exploration of the Human Soul."
以下是德国作家古斯塔夫·申克(Gustav Schenk)在1966年的著作《大脑与信仰:对人类灵魂的探索》中对天仙子进行取样后的描述。
"My teeth were clenched and a dizzy rage took possession of me … I was permeated by a peculiar sense of well-being connected with the crazy sensation that my feet were growing lighter, expanding and breaking loose from my body."
“我咬紧牙关，一阵头晕目眩的怒火攫住了我……我被一种特殊的幸福感所感染，这种幸福感与一种疯狂的感觉联系在一起，那就是我的脚越来越轻，越来越大，越来越放松。”
Henbane is a heck of a drug.
天仙子是一种很厉害的药。
In fact, berserkers were also known for being so disconnected from themselves that their fellow Vikings had to give them a wide berth in battle — the rage-addled warriors couldn't distinguish friend from foe. And then there's the Viking reputation for being able to cleave an opponent with a single blow.
事实上，狂暴者也以与自己隔绝而闻名，他们的维京同胞不得不在战斗中给他们一个广阔的空间——愤怒的战士无法区分朋友和敌人。此外，维京人还以一击就能将对手劈成两半而闻名。
In modern times, henbane is more likely to be used as a medicinal extract than a hallucinogenic, but it's difficult to get that image of an axe-wielding Viking out of your head.
在现代，天仙子更有可能被用作药用提取物，而不是迷幻药，但你很难摆脱挥舞斧头的维京人的形象。
