This disease is generally associated with ergotism, a disease resulting from the ingestion of the ergot fungus that grows on rye. Most authorities assume that the name St. Anthony’s fire refers to St. Anthony the Great, a third-century A.D. hermit and founder of Christian ascetic monasticism. This saint renounced the world for the deserts of Egypt and, according to hagiographers, there combatted the devil numerous times. His visions of the devil took the form of worldly pleasures, seductive women, dragons, banquet tables, and the like. However, St. Anthony of Padua, born in the late twelfth century, may also be connected to the name of the disease. This saint was a noted preacher, popular for his ability to exorcise demons. He was also known for restoring the insane to health, and was credited with miraculously healing an individual whose limb had been amputated.

Supposedly the “fire” part of the name refers to the painful skin infections, gangrene, and neurological disturbances that occur with ergot poisoning. Thus, in France north of the Loire where rye was a traditional staple grain, attributing most cases of mal des ardents to ergotism has seemed reasonable to historians. Sufferers there reportedly lost limbs, attributable to the gangrenous form of ergotism, if they survived both the initial inflammatory process and the generalized famine that accompanied epidemics of the disease. On the other hand, it is also quite possible that erysipelas and other bacterial skin infections were at the root of the symptoms mentioned, for these diseases also flourish under conditions of famine.