Vinum Liminis Mortis

Apart from a few hard-working historians and academics with access to archives that are forgotten, unknown or closed to the general public, few would recognise the name Isabel Mendonça Travassos.

Let’s begin by recounting that she was the first person to be honoured with the now-defunct Royal Order of Merit and Excellence, at a ceremony held in Oporto, presided over by all the titles and high offices of the Northern Monarchy. This honour was particularly important, not just because of the award itself, but because it was the only known case in the history of Portugal and the world of a dead woman being honoured on a stage.

The unusual event was due to the extraordinary contribution of this researcher and oenologist to the effort to maintain the monarchical zone in the North, using the now illegal and highly sought-after vinum liminis mortis – popularised as ‘wine of the dead’.

It should be noted that there are contemporary drinks of a similar denomination (perhaps taking advantage of the name and the huge demand for this wine), but in no way resemble the original. Neither the effect nor the mode of production, the former being subordinate to the latter.

As expected, given the secrecy of the project, little is known about the exact process of creating the authentic wine of the dead, but extensive research on the subject has confirmed at least two fundamental stages.

The first, and crucially important, was the location of the vineyard. Not just a dry, loose, well-drained soil, but one where the presence of cadaverine was at quite high levels – certainly above those desired in any other situation. This meant that the best land for this cultivation would have an abundance of corpses, in different states of decomposition, with compulsory ‘refuelling’. A continuous flow of spies, petty criminals and undesirables of all kinds provided the roots of the vines with easy access to a copious deposit of miasma. The outcome were black, voluminous and shiny grapes – a variety with unique properties, capable of bringing about physical and mental transformations after undergoing a mysterious and not yet refined treatment during the fermentation phase.

The second part of the process also concerns the use of corpses, but as a means of storage. During the maturation phase, these bodies were gutted and drained, and the wine was sealed inside in special wineskins to ensure the preservation of the Dionysian content. It’s also worth noting that the human casings could vary in gender, age and social stratum (nobles, clerics or commoners), with examples of elderly people, women and even children having hollow abdomens and showing hand-sewn marks. All the receptacles presumably gave the wine a certain particular flavour or aroma.

The biggest result, however, and the reason for its great demand and celebration, was invariable. Just half a litre of wine of the dead had the immediate effect of appeasing illness (the Spanish Flu being the best example) and consigning any moderately serious injury to inconsequence. Regular consumption – attested to by written testimonies – guaranteed its consumers a state close to immortality, rendering any poison, sharp blow or shot from a firearm harmless. The injury persisted, there was no mistake, but without any major consequences, except perhaps the aesthetic issue – the bruises, the necrosis, the greyish skin that came to be associated with its users, usually prominent figures in the kingdom, with private collections and unrestricted access to the admirable elixir.

It’s easy to imagine what such a discovery would have meant for the war effort, even though the soldiers fighting for the Monarchy only had access to a watery version of the wine, the so-called ‘funeral water’, an impoverished variant, but with curative attributes.

It has yet to be determined by what process this highly toxic substance, in all its guises, would be suitable for occasional or successive ingestion, although it cannot be said, in the light of various reports, that the same ingestion (or libation) would not prove harmful.

The first cases investigated date back almost a year after Isabel Mendonça Travassos received her award. Various medical reports, printed reports and descriptions by police and judicial authorities mention cases of cadaverous-looking people vomiting a thick, black matter, some showing symptoms ranging from trance to stupor, unable to reason or live in society. Few ones can be alive to enjoy their death. The auspicious maxim, once widespread, took on a more sinister meaning.

It is unknow for certain what could have caused this change, whether it was pure wine or one of its derivatives, or its continued use or abuse, since not all users have experienced such serious symptoms. It is known, however, that many of those who displayed them were quickly and discreetly removed from circulation, often permanently, when the situation proved irreversible.

It is thought that the sedative properties of the wine also acted as an antidote to pain. Any pain. This explains the enormous additive potential of this substance – and the inclination it could have to excess or to produce less reliable and regulated products. This explains the enormous additive potential of this substance –- and the inclination it could cause to excess or to the pursuit of less reliable and regulated products. This gives rise to the hypothesis of what might have precipitated the fall of the Northern Monarchy in the space of a year.

It is not possible at this time to determine how many of these effects were already known – or what could have been predicted – at the time of the ceremony in which the creator of the wine was honoured. The wine’s popular name, however, already seemed to foretell it.

Perhaps nobody wanted to see beyond the astonishing spectacle that punctuated the celebration, where such an oenological breakthrough sounded like victory and promises of unbridled greatness. After all, Isabel Mendonça Travassos had triumphantly taken to the stage hours after a successful assassination attempt. It is known that she gave a speech at the event, although the content remains lost. One assumes, however, that the hole above her left eyebrow said all that was needed.