Fascinating causes of death 1632

I'm thinking of The Queens nose but it isn't about that. Although I think it was the book that first made me look up touching the kings evil..

Greyduster

Kings Evil was apparently a disease called scrofula which eventually just went away by itself but gave rise to the myth that it could be cured by a touch from the monarch!

"Touching for the King's Evil" was a medieval royal healing ceremony where English and French monarchs laid their hands on sufferers of scrofula, believing their divine right granted them miraculous curative powers.What Was the King's Evil?The "King's Evil" was an old name for scrofula, a form of tuberculosis that causes swollen, painful lumps in the neck's lymph glands.The condition often clears up on its own, which helped build the myth that the king's touch worked a miracle.People called it an "evil" because "evil" simply meant an illness or sickness in older English.History of the Royal TouchEdward the Confessor in England and King Philip I in France were early adopters of the tradition in the 11th century.Monarchs like Edward I touched tens of thousands of afflicted people, even while on military campaigns.Charles II revived the custom on a massive scale after the restoration of the monarchy to help prove his divine right to rule.Queen Anne was the last official English sovereign to perform the ceremony in 1712, famously touching a young Samuel Johnson.The Ceremony and Touchpieces. Isn't there a Dick King Smith book that refers to it?

Common Causes of Death in Folk SongsDrowning: Submersion is a frequent fate, whether accidental or malicious. Examples include The Cruel Sister (pushed by a jealous sibling) and The Outlandish Knight (drowning a deceitful lover).Murder and Execution: Violent stabbings, hangings, and poisonings drive the entire subgenre of "murder ballads". Famous examples include Knoxville Girl, Long Lankin, and execution songs for highwaymen.Broken Heart / Grief: Many lovers pass away simply from sorrow after the death or betrayal of a partner, as heard in Barbara Allan.War and Combat: Soldiers falling in the "cruel wars" make up a massive percentage of traditional British and American broadside ballads.Mistaken Identity: A tragic and bizarrely specific trope where a hunter mistakes a lover for a swan or animal, famously found in Polly Vaughn.Supernatural and Fairy Abduction: Characters are spirited away by the Queen of Elfhand, cursed by mothers, or lured away by the Devil (The Daemon Lover).Exposure: Wandering off, getting lost in dark woods, and laying down to die.
I've always rather liked this one, especially the last one; the graph is better but I can't copy it...

We’re so lucky to have been born when and where we have.
I can remember being taught, at quite a young age, about the plague, ‘bring out your dead!’ and all that; not to mention the tortures and punishments dealt out.
I wonder if it’s still so…

I had to Google King's Evil; apparently it was a TB infection!

Teeth seemed to be quite high.

We may be revisiting this again. If we don't get more NHS Dentists.

Witzend

I wonder what scared the poor ‘affrighted’ person to death?

Maybe a visitation from God!

Really fascinating.

Aldom Me too! A pair of cows lungs were unhooked from the fridge, slung dow on the chopping board and 6d worth was packed up in cream coloured paper, boiled and cut up in cubes for our cros lab/setter

What is sad is how many of these people would have survived if they had access to antibiotics. It is easy to forget what a life saver they are.

Would be lovely to have that on a death certificate, died due to visitation by God, instead of some doom mongering disease.

I have a very,very long genealogy on one side of the family and people most definitely died much sooner amongst my lot. Even the ‘posh’ ones !

Brilliant,, What a fascinating document

Forgot to say one of my Gt grandfather's died of 'Decay of the aged' at 75.

This is so fascinating! I sent it to a Trumpian Maga anti vax friend who hates doctors, scientists and 'Big Pharma' (Witchcraft) & thinks people lived much longer in the past.

Aldom

Yes BlueBelle lights are an old word for lungs. Not heard these days, but when I was a child my mother would buy lights from the butcher.
She boiled them to feed to our dog.

Yes, my mother bought them for the cat. They smelt absolutely vile when cooking.

No idea where Valdali. Just the difference between 1 and 20.

Someone in my family "died of decline" when she was a baby in the 1850s. She died at sea when the family was emigrating so I presume she was buried at sea.

Mollygo

Only one death bit by a mad dog.
In 2023 there were 20 deaths caused by dogs. Not an improvement!

Not 20 in london, I don't think...

I think that bloody flux is a form of dysentery.

Church burial records rarely mention cause of death but on my family tree are several accidents, smallpox and ‘the bloody flux’. You can see when there was an epidemic by the big increase in deaths, often several children from the same family dying close together.
When a marriage is followed by a young woman’s death it was probably in childbirth and often mother and newborn buried together.
The diseases of old age which most of us will die from were rare or undiagnosed long ago.

I wonder what scared the poor ‘affrighted’ person to death?

anyone using them would have been accused of witchcraft. And, if found guilty, pressed to death presumably☹️!

When you remember that they had no useful treatment or medicines it's even more tragic. Doctors usually made things worse with their appalling remedies. Herbal treatments might have helped in some cases but anyone using them would have been accused of witchcraft.

I remember the vicar’s wife suffered from TB in her lymph nodes years ago when we lived in a Devon village. She survived and recovered😊. Probably thanks to anti-biotics?