Bring out Your Dead - Causes of death- London 1632

[packman]

[Hortensis]

1. "Chrisomes, and Infants 2268"

Apparently chrisom was a baptismal cloth placed over the face, so stillborn and dying at or soon after birth?

Apparently a good year for "Bloody flux, scowring, and flux" Only 348.

[NutmegYankee]

31. Usually within a month of baptism. Nt

[Hortensis]

34. Poor tiny, fragile things and families trying not to love them

too much too soon. Thanks, Nutmeg.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

2. I don't want to go on the cart! (nt)

[redwitch]

19. I'm not dead yet!

This thread is destined to become a classic!

[NutmegYankee]

32. I can't take him like that, it's against regulation.

[TexLaProgressive]

3. I was surprised to not see Tetanus (lockjaw) listed but Jawfaln is a candidate, 8 deaths.

http://alaskaweb.org/misc/misc-diseases.html
For the definition, site won’t let me copy and paste.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. 470 killed by "Teeth" and 98 by "Rising of the Lights". . . . nt

[struggle4progress]

15. I think 'Rising of the Lights' was a post-partum infection

"Teeth" may include dental abcesses

[NutmegYankee]

29. It was croup or other upper airway infections.

[struggle4progress]

35. That seems to be conjecture, based on butchers' use of "lights" for "lungs"

Other conjectures include "hysteria," which (however) is typically not fatal (in its modern meaning)

The primitive state of seventeenth century medical diagnosis, theory, and treatment is well-illustrated by the fact that reported protocols for "rising of the lights" sometimes included feeding the patient lead shot or liquid mercury

The older meaning of "hysteria" is womb-related; and the conjecture that "rising of the lights" means "hysteria" suggests it may have been a women's ailment

The first person to compile systematic reports based on English death records was John Graunt, who sometimes used the combination "rising of the lights and mother" in his tabulations. The common causes of death associated with motherhood at that time would have included post-partum infections, hence my conjecture

[tblue37]

18. My great grandmother, who was a cornhusker, was cut by a husk while working. It got infected,

& she died of tetanus.

[mcar]

4. Wonder what "rising of the lights" is

[BlackSkimmer]

7. Or "planet."

No clue.

[scipan]

28. "Any sudden severe affliction or paralysis "

Like a stroke? Spinal injury?

[NutmegYankee]

30. aka planet-struck

Any very sudden severe illness or paralysis that was thought to result from the "influence" of a planet. Like how the moon (luna) was once thought to cause insanity (creating lunatics).

[hatrack]

9. Sounds like a catch-all for respiratory infection . . .

Rising of the Lights

The disease “Rising of the Lights” was a standard entry on bills of ­mortality (published death statistics) in the 17th century. As any butcher would be able to tell you, lights is an old name for lungs. Many doctors believed that only vulgar people used the term to ­describe a tightening sensation in the chest, difficulty breathing and a cough.

In 1630, Sir William Vaughan, who promoted colonisation in Newfoundland, suggested a rather different treatment. He explained that the best cure was made by soaking the lungs of a fox in vinegar then drying them out in an oven, and then taking the resultant product in liquor. Sir William claimed that everyone knew that “of all Creatures the Foxe hath the longest breath, and the strongest Winde”. It therefore made sense that eating a fox’s lungs would improve lung capacity and cure the disease.

EDIT

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/books/horrid-coughs-and-sneezes-and-dead-diseases-1771852

[mcar]

13. Thanks!

[Hugin]

10. Lights were heavier in those days and lacked the ubiquitous modern warning labels.

Sometimes, the loose garments of the times would get caught up in them and the poor victim would get hauled up with them never to be seen again until nightfall?

[struggle4progress]

17. Here are several LTTE in the BMJ from 1926

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2523749/?page=1

[BlackSkimmer]

5. Wow, teeth at 470!

[Hugin]

8. Um, I have a question...

Does "Kil'd by several accidents" mean those people were killed by one miscellaneous accident each or a series of several accidents such-as fell off a horse then trampled by a mob and finally fell into a well? You know, a really bad day like most of us have experienced.

Also, what in the heck is "King's Evil"? I certainly hope I've had the vaccine. I'll have to check my shot record.

[ironflange]

16. Google to the rescue

Tuberculous lymphadenitis (scrofula) was known as the “king's evil” in Europe, where the royal touch was believed to cure the disease until the 18th century.

[Hugin]

22. So, in this instance the sovereign was seen as curative?

A rumor started by those aspiring to the throne to expose the current royalty to as much disease as possible, no doubt.

I must admit I thought at first it was a catch-all category for royal hunting accidents, coach collisions, and a few visits to the oubliette.

[Shermann]

11. Odd that "cancer" and "wolf" are combined

I suspect cancer is underreported here.

Death by wolf does not sound good.

[Hugin]

12. Werewolves were endemic in London...

until the 1980's.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

20. And their hair was ... perfect! (nt)

[Corgigal]

24. Good movie.

Didn’t know it’s was a historical film.

[Hugin]

25. I didn't know Idiocracy was a documentary until recently, either.

Funny how that works.

[Corgigal]

26. And that is almost

scary. No, actually scary and true.

[Sneederbunk]

14. 62 had a bad case of the Suddenly.

[Shermann]

21. A lot are listed here

http://www.homeoint.org/cazalet/oldnames.htm

So "wolf" is actually a tumor. Interesting stuff.

[LeftInTX]

23. The fonts are definitely not from the 17th century!

This is late 19th century typeset....

[FakeNoose]

27. Yes it might have been taken from a more recent book

... however the information could still be true.

There's no reference to infection because they didn't know what it was in the 1600's. By the 1800's they did know about infection, but they didn't have antibiotics until just before World War II.

I'm thankful to be living in the times of modern medicine.

[Mr.Bill]

33. To me, that list shows

they knew more about medical matters than I would have guessed.

My historical knowledge is a bit weak when it comes to that era. In Catholic school, all history after the year zero sort of becomes religion class.