#ive read a theory that britannicus was poisoned using laurel water

[theromaboo]

The Sixth Day of Julius Caesar

I once heard someone attributing Julius Caesar's illness (which might've been epilepsy or mini strokes or something else or maybe it wasn't a specific chronic illness at all. It's controversial right now) to wearing a laurel wreath, and I don't really understand how that works.

During Caesar's time, a laurel wreath would've most likely been made out of the plant Laurus nobilis, you know, bay leaves. Caesar might've gotten a stomachache if he ate a significant amount of them, but I am yet to read any sources that mention Caesar eating straight laurel!

Laurel wreaths could also be made out of a plant called Prunus laurocerasus (though I don't know if it was used for laurel wreaths in ancient Rome. I can't find anything about that). Its common name is cherry laurel, and it is toxic. I've read that you can irritate your skin if you touch it too much, but you'll have to eat it if you want to get the really bad effects.

I don't think Caesar was out here constantly eating all of his laurel wreaths. I'd assume that if he was, people would've made fun of him for it and therefore it would be mentioned somewhere.

I think the reason someone came up with this idea is because it's ironic. Caesar apparently liked his privilege of wearing a laurel wreath at all times because it hid his thinning hair (Suetonius, Life of Julius Caesar, 45.2). It'll be so ironic if his illness was caused by it. However, without any evidence of Caesar eating laurel wreaths made out of cherry laurel, this is an incredibly weak theory.