We all think about death on occasion. Sometimes this leads us to become hypochondriacs for a bit,
other times we think about what happens in the after life. If you lived in 17th century London
there were some truly frightening and bizarre ways you might have died. From records collected during
the time period we’ve found some oddly named causes of death from the sixteen hundreds. Perhaps
you would die of ague, or jawfain, or worst of all: the King’s Evil. We are going to look at
some of the most unusual causes of death in 17th century London, and what they entail.
The causes of death are going to be broken down into different categories
starting with basic pathogens, and ending with the weirdest cause of death. By the
time we get to the end you’ll be wondering how anyone survived in 17th century London at all.
Epidemiology and other medical fields had a long way to go in the 1600’s.
This meant that the curable diseases of today were much more likely to kill you at this time.
Even still, the names given to some of the diseases are perplexing.
If you were to die from “ague” it means you would most likely have had a fever.
Your muscles would ache, and you could have symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
This was because “ague” was the name given to malaria. Now we have antimalarial drugs that
will help someone recover from the pathogen, but in 1632 London, people were not so lucky.
In 1632 348 people died from “bloody flux.”
What this identification refers to is bloody diarrhea and dysentery.
The cause of death in today’s medical terms was most likely from a disease like cholera. There
was also a plethora of pox that killed people. Sometimes smallpox was identified as “flocks”
when death occured. Other people died from what was labeled as “French pox,” which was syphilis.
For really unlucky people they may have died from the “King’s Evil.”
This was an infection of the neck glands. Today we know this bacterial infection as tuberculosis.
Many parts of the world have now eradicated the disease by using antibiotic regimens. However,
in 17th century London, the only thing that was said to cure the disease, was the touch of a
king. Getting an antibiotic prescription from your doctor, and sticking with it,
is a much more effective way of surviving the “King’s Evil,” just in case you were wondering.
Another bacterial infection that was recorded was “jawfain.” This cause of death could
also have been called “jaw fallen” or “lockjaw.” Regardless of what the name was recorded as,
they all were the same disease: tetanus. It is a bacterial infection that can cause massive
muscle spasms. These contractions often happen in the jaw and neck,
which causes interference with breathing and can lead to death. Hence the name “jawfain.”
Although viruses and bacteria caused many people to die in London during the 1600s,
sometimes the body destroyed itself. A lot of this had to do with lifestyles of the day,
and a lack of understanding around healthy diets and cleanliness.
If you died of “apoplex” it meant that you were most likely paralyzed at the time of death.
However, this was not what killed you. Instead, a rupture or clogging of blood leading to an
aneurysm or internal bleeding would have been the cause of death. If “dopsie” was recorded
as your cause of death it meant that like with “apoplex,” your circulatory system let you down,
and caused massive swelling of a body part. This is what we call
edema today, but was identified as “dropsie” in 17th century London.
This next cause of death is a little gross, so if you have a weak stomach
prepare yourself. According to records, 13 people died of “fistula” in 1632 London. “Fistula” was an
anal abscess that became infected. This caused the anal cavity to fill with pus. The infection
could be cleared out, but if left untreated, it could also lead to death. “Fistula” would
have been an incredibly uncomfortable, and messy, way for those 13 people to have died.
Another cause of death that comes from problems in the rectum would have been identified as “piles.”
This identification referred to hemorrhoids, which are inflamed veins in the anus that are caused
from strained bowel movements. This condition can also develop during pregnancy, or from obesity. If
the bleeding resulting from “piles” or “fistula” was left untreated, the person would die.
One recorded cause of death that was not super specific was “purples.” This referred to someone
dying due to widespread bruising. Purples could have been caused by blunt force trauma, a number
of pathogens, or hemophilia, which affects the body’s ability to clot blood. By identifying the
cause of death as “purples” all the doctor was saying was that there were bruises on the body.
Seven people in the year 1632 died from “quinsie.” This was an inflammation of the tonsils,
most likely it was what we know as tonsillitis today. However,
a tonsillectomy would have been much harder with the lack of instruments
and medical knowledge of the day. When left untreated, those seven people died
from the tonsils obstructing their breathing pathway, causing them to suffocate to death.
A final cause of death related to the failure of the body was called “tympany.” This referred
to an abdominal growth, normally a tumor. It would lead to bloating of the abdomen due to trapped air
or gas. The person would swell up like a balloon. When being checked for “tympany,” a doctor would
“thump” the swollen part of the body, which would create a hollow sound not unlike a timpani drum.
This brings us to the more bizarre identifications and causes of death
from 1632 London. Some of this stuff is almost too crazy to believe.
It is hard growing up. All children take a nasty fall, or hurt themselves,
at some point while growing up. It is a part of learning. But for the most
part in today’s society we look out for the younger generations of our species. However,
in 17th century London, being a child seemed to come with some unique challenges and dangers.
As discussed before, medicine and medical knowledge had a long way
to go in 17th century London. That meant that many infants' cause of death were identified as
“childbed” or “chrisomes.” “Childbed” was a death that occurred shortly after
birth from complications in the delivery process. “Chrisomes” was the death of an unbaptized infant,
or one that was less than a month old. These identifications in and of themselves do not
provide a detailed explanation for the death, but since “chrisomes” was the highest cause of
death recorded at the time, it was clearly dangerous to be a newborn in 1632 London.
One of the crazier causes of death recorded during this time was “over-laid.”
This referred to when a parent accidentally rolled over onto their baby while they were sleeping,
and smothered the infant. This was an incredibly sad and unfortunate cause of death, yet it was
recorded several times during this time period in London. Also, in the same category as “over-laid”
was “starved at nurse.” This referred to the baby receiving insufficient amounts of breast milk,
or not gaining the weight required from the milk it was given to survive.
Either way, it was a sad day when any infant or child’s cause of death needed to be recorded.
Other than disease, and failure of a body system, there were also other causes of death that were
quite peculiar. Kidney stones are incredibly painful. If they grow large enough they need
to be surgically removed. When the cause of death for someone was recorded as “cut of the
stone,” it referred to someone dying as a result of the surgery to remove bladder or kidney stones
from the body. The distinction here is that the stones are not what killed the person, but the
“cut” that the doctor made, or an unsuccessful surgery, is what led to the person’s demise.
Today we view mental health as a serious aspect of life that needs to be addressed and treated with
care. However, in 17th century London very little was actually known about how the brain worked,
and different mental illnesses. Five people in 1632 were identified as dying from
“lunatique.” This was the term given to someone with mental health issues.
There is no distinction between what mental state the person was in,
however, there was a stigma against anyone who was suffering from an ailment of the mind.
Not understanding what was happening in someone’s mind led people to fear going insane.
The main worries seemed to be that death as a “lunatique” would not allow for
certain religious or deathbed rituals to occur before the person passed away.
This brings us to the most peculiar causes of death in 17th century London.
The names given to these causes of death, and the causes themselves, are baffling.
In 1632 one person’s cause of death was recorded as “affrighted.” This literally meant that the
person was scared to death. It is unclear what actually caused the person to become
so frightened, but it must have been incredibly scary to literally have frightened them to death.
Another really weird cause of death was listed as “planet.” This did not mean that they were
somehow crushed by an entire planet, instead, this cause of death referred to being planet-struck. It
was believed at the time a severe illness, or paralysis, could have been caused by the
influence of one of the celestial bodies in the sky. There is no scientific evidence that the
motion of the planets, or stars, has any effect on aspects of someone’s life. But in 17th century
London, it would seem that some doctors believed that the cosmos could directly cause someone to
become sick and die. We’re not sure why the stars and planets would concern themselves with making
someone sick on planet Earth, but apparently it happened in 1632 London thirteen times.
As a side note, this was not the first time a celestial body was associated with an ailment.
It was believed that the moon and its cycles could cause people to literally go insane.
This is where the word lunatic comes from. The prefix “luna” means moon,
and lunatic refers to insanity caused by the different phases of the moon.
One cause of death that is still shrouded in mystery is “rising of the lights.” It most
likely refers to an illness in the lungs. Perhaps the “lights” referred to the lightweight organs
that were the lungs, and the “rising up” referred to the movement of the chest
during severe coughing. It is unclear what would distinguish “rising of the lights” from
other respiratory illnesses, other than it sounds nicer than “death by lung infection.”
86 people died from “surfet” in1632 London. This is a surprisingly high number for what
“surfet” actually is. “Surfet” is death by overeating or gluttony. By eating too
much the person could have died due to dehydration from vomiting excessively.
This cause of death may also refer to people who died from being overweight,
or diseases connected from obesity such as diabetes or heart failure. It has also been
suggested the “surfet” could refer to someone who consumed too much alcohol, passed out, and then
died by choking on their own vomit. Either way, “surfet” would not have been a pleasant way to go.
Many of the causes of death in 17th century London are still around today, but
are not as prevalent as back then. The names of certain diseases and complications have
been changed over time with our understanding of how pathogens and the human body works. However,
it is still puzzling that some of the causes of death even occurred. Just be thankful that
you didn’t live in 1632 where you could have died by “planet,” “piles,” or “rising of the lights.”
Now check out “Worst Jobs That Will Literally Kill You.”
Or go and watch “Diseases That Will Kill You The Quickest.”