Milk of the Poppy is an opiate made from the poppy flower. It has pain-killing properties but can become addictive when taken too much. Because of how much it sometimes clouds one thinking, many people prefer to be in unnerving pain than take Milk of the Poppy. Poppy fields are prevalent in Essos, near Volon Therys.
Injured lords and knights used Milk of the Poppy regularly throughout the Seven Kingdoms. However, it had a bad reputation for making its users less aware of themselves; this caused some injured people to prefer to wallow in pain than take it.
Milk of the Poppy Details
Milk of the Poppy is a powerful opiate used in Essos and Westeros. It causes its users to sleep through even the most intense pain, making it beneficial in treating mortally wounded people. While under the medicine’s influence, people have strange dreams dubbed poppy dreams; this, coupled with a feeling of intense haziness, discourages some from taking the drink. Excess use of Milk of the Poppy leads to tolerance and addiction, and some people may get physical side effects like a puffy face.
Some cultures have variations of the Milk of the Poppy. Dothraki herbwomen make a derivative of the opiate called poppy wine. Maesters in Westeros also created this variation. Some pit fighters in Meereen drink poppy juice to reduce the pain they feel during combat.
History
After delivering her stillbirth daughter, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen was given Milk of the Poppy to ease her pain. The drug later became important during House Targaryen’s Dance of the Dragons. During the Battle of Rook’s Rest, King Aegon II Targaryen suffered a broken hip and ribs and had half of his body burned by dragon fire. He was given Milk of the Poppy and fell into unconsciousness for a long time. Aegon was further injured when the Greens took Dragonstone. However, he refused to take the opiate drink and lived in pain for the rest of his life.
Relevance in A Song of Ice and Fire
A Game of Thrones
When Lord Eddard Stark arrives in King’s Landing, he starts investigating the death of Lord Jon Arryn, the former Hand of the King. He learns that Grand Maester Pycelle used Milk of the Poppy to treat Jon Arryn.
When King Robert Baratheon calls the small council to order, Lord Ned refuses to partake in sending assassins to kill Daenerys Targaryen. He quits the role of being the Hand of the King and leaves to investigate Jon’s death. While returning, Ser Jaime Lannister and his men confront him. A fight erupts, and Ned’s horse falls on him, shattering his legs. He returns to the Tower of the Hand, where maester Pycelle gives him Milk of the Poppy. Ned sleeps for six days and seven nights under the influence and dreams of the fight at the Tower of Joy.
When a boar injures King Robert Baratheon, maester Pycelle gives him Milk of the Poppy to ease the pain. However, he succumbs to his wounds. Meanwhile, at Castle Black, Jon Snow is badly burned during the confrontation with some wights. Maester Aemon gives him Milk of the Poppy to help with the injury.
When Khal Drogo suffers an injury in battle, Mirri Maz Duur tells him to avoid Milk of the Poppy. However, he does not listen to her and drinks poppy wine. He later falls sick and gets killed by Daenerys.
A Clash of Kings
Tyrion Lannister suffers an injury across the face during the Battle of the Blackwater. He is given Milk of the Poppy and sleeps for many days. However, he refuses to take the medicine anymore, even with the pain.
A Feast for Crows
Joss Stilwood, Ser Gregor Clegane’s squire, tells Qyburn that the knight drinks Milk of the Poppy like men drink ale; this causes Gregor to feel incredible pain after his fight with Prince Oberyn Martell, as the Milk of the Poppy fails to ease his pain. Meanwhile, Prince Doran Martell is treated in Dorne for his gout and learns of his brother’s death.
In the Vale of Arryn, Maester Colemeon treats young Robert for his shaking sickness. When it is time for the journey to the Gates of the Moon, Robert refuses to leave out of fear for the journey. His maester suggests drugging him for the duration of the trip.
A Dance with Dragons
Prince Doran keeps taking Milk of the Poppy to ease his pain. However, he refuses the drug when he meets the Sans Snakes, as he wants to keep his head clear. In Meereen, Quentyn Martell tries to take control of one of Daenerys’s dragons. However, the other roasts him. He is given Milk of the Poppy for the pain, but he dies from the burns.
Relevance in Adaptations
In House of the Dragon, King Viserys Targaryen, portrayed by Paddy Considine, is given Milk of the Poppy to ease his pain. However, his daughter and heir, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, starts suspecting that Alicent, portrayed by Olivia Cooke, and her father conspired to give the King the medicinal drink to make him enter an unclear state of mind. However, she later realizes her father cannot do without the drug as he will be in unbearable pain.
Milk of the Poppy: The Drug of Dreams
Milk of the Poppy was the morphine of the world of Ice and Fire. It was supposed to help people live through the worst pains anyone can see. However, it also had terrible side effects, like making its user fall into a trance-like state where they are not in control of their mind. However, for many people, not being in control was worse than pain; this made them refuse the Milk of the Poppy.
