The Bezoar Goat

PIERRE POMET, A COMPLEAT HISTORY OF DRUGGS, 2ND EDN (LONDON, 1725)

British Library

In his very first Potions lesson, Professor Snape asked Harry Potter, ‘Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?’ Bezoars are a mass of undigested fibre formed in the stomach of animals, which are believed to be an antidote to poison. They have been found in the guts of cows and even elephants, but mostly they come from the ‘bezoar goat’. According to A Compleat History of Druggs, first published in French in 1694, the medicinal strength of the bezoar depended on the animal that produced it. ‘Bezoar Stones taken from Cows,’ for instance, ‘have nothing near the good Qualities’ of the true bezoar goat. On the other hand, a mere two grains of ‘the Bezoar that is found in Apes’ will have a far greater effect than that of a mere goat.

“There are lots of interesting stories and anecdotes about bezoars. Scrapings of the stone were swallowed in a bid to cure a range of illnesses. Repelling poison may not have been such a stretch, as ingesting the stone would be likely to cause sickness.”

Alexander Lock
Curator