I found a blog with a bunch of the definitions
https://www.neatorama.com/2022/03/09/Leading-Causes-of-Deaths-in-London-1632/
150So aggravating to not be able to sort by columns
43Only 7 murders? The population of London was apparently about 400,000 back then so that's less than half the murder rate of present-day New York City (which is considered a relatively safe city). I don't think that can be right...
1632 London: 7 / 400,000 = 17.5 murders per million people
2023 New York: 312 / 8,258,000 = 37.8 murders per million people
30oh, cool - RFKs suggested DSM just dropped!
30You guys are all laughing about 'planet,' but I'll have you know my uncle died of a cerebral hemorrhage when Neptune hit him on the back of the head. And we all thought it was just a glancing blow, but two days later, he dropped dead right in the middle of the supermarket.
You won't laugh so hard when it happens to someone you care about.
30Rising of the lights?
...found it
Rising of the lights was an illness or obstructive condition of the larynx, trachea or lungs, possibly croup. It was a common entry on bills of mortality in the 17th century.[1][2] Lights in this case referred to the lungs.[3]
24I saw this list on hidden killers of the Tudor home (even though this list is post-Tudor era). The specifically spoke about the 'teeth' part.
Basically what that mean was that a variety of tooth decay and oral issues pertaining to the teeth. This was an era that first saw a large consumption of sugar (which as you know LOVES to fuck with teeth) by wealthier people and coupled with a nonexistent oral hygiene practice and dentistry. Basically people's teeth would decay and cause gum disease or simply a shitload of pain that even the painful teeth pulling couldn't fully fix.
One thing that you must remember is that prior to widespread sugar availability most people's teeth were remarkably fine throughout life as people's diets didn't contain enough crap that will mess your teeth up. Of course this isn't to say that it was perfect. Braces would have been a good thing to have for many people and a simple toothbrush with half decent toothpaste would have been a very welcomed thing.
23You can read about the modern meanings of the words here:
https://mylittlebird.com/2021/03/public-health-stats-on-disease-in-1600s-london/
18Dying of piles sounds awful. Like, it would have been nice to marathon Ye Olde Stranger Things or Squide Game without having your arse falling to pieces on your
deathbeddeathsofa.14'Planet' goes hard.
14Olde Modern Count Abortive, and Stillborn Abortion and Stillbirth 445 Affrighted Fear? Possibly a heart issue? 1 Ague Malaria, or a disease involving fever and shivering 43 Apoplex, and Meagrom Stroke and severe headache, migraine 17 Bit with a mad dog Rabies 1 Bleeding Blood loss 3 Bloody flux, scowring and flux Dysentery and cholera 348 Bruised, Issues, sores and ulcers Bruising, open sores, either as a symptom of something else (hemorrhagic fever) or because they got infected 28 Burnt, and Scalded Same 5 Burst, and Rupture Probably an externally visible rupture 9 Cancer and Wolf Cancer and Lupus 10 Canker Mouth sores, maybe from herpes? Probably not the underlying cause of death 1 Childbed Death following complications from childbirth 171 Chrisomes, and Infants Babies less than 1 month old and Infants 2268 Cold, and Cough Same (but probably a symptom of something worse) 55 Colick, Stone, and Strangury Gallstones, kidney stones, and other intestinal and urinary blockages 56 Consumption Tuberculosis 1797 Convulsion Seizure, possibly caused by epilepsy 241 Cut of the Stone Died during surgery to remove kidney / gallstones 5 Dead in the street, and starved Exposure, hypothermia, starvation 6 Dropsie, and Swelling Edema, fluid retention, possibly caused by heart failure 267 Drowned Same 34 Executed, and prest to death Executed is obvious, "prest to death" is accidental death while being tortured (via pressing) to force a confession 18 Falling sickness Epilepsy, perhaps "petit mal" seizures vs "grand mal" which went under Convulsion 7 Fever Same, interesting that it's distinct from Ague 1108 Fistula Same, horrific, distinct from childbed -- I guess the women lived a bit longer? 13 Flocks, and small Pox Smallpox and other diseases causing pustules 531 French pox Syphilis 12 Gangrene Same 5 Gout Gout, or inflammatory arthritis, not the underlying cause of death, but a clear symptom 4 Grief Modern medicine would be more specific but... 11 Jaundies Jaundice, liver disease 43 Jawfaln Fallen jaw, lockjaw, tetanus 8 Impostume Abcess, a symptom of an infection 74 Kil'd by several accidents Trauma, I assume 46 King's Evil Scrofula or Mycobacterial cervical lymphadenitis 38 Lethargie Chronic fatigue, a symptom of something else 2 Livergrown Swollen liver, possibly cirrhosis from drinking 87 Lunatique Lunatic, mental illness -- curious about the actual cause of death though 5 Made away themselves Suicide 15 Measles Same 80 Murthered Murdered 7 Over-laid and starved at nurse A smothered baby, either accidentally or on purpose, starved from lack of milk 7 Palsie Paralysis, Parkinson's, similar things 25 Piles Hemorrhoids, not a cause of death, but a source of infections and an obvious symptom 1 Plague same 8 Planet Sudden death thought to be related to something astrological (planet alignment) 13 Pleurisie, and Spleen Pleurisy (chest infection), apparently it can sometimes be caused by damage to the spleen? 36 Purples and spotted Feaver Bruising and spotted fever (tick borne disease), distinct from bruising, listed earlier 38 Quinsie Quinsy, Peritonsillar abscess, can cause many other things 7 Rising of the Lights Fluid in the lungs, possibly caused by croup 98 Sciatica Same, possibly caused by spinal disc herniation 1 Scurvey, and Itch Ye Scurvy dogs! Ye been sailing with yer limes! 9 Suddenly um... 62 Surfet Surfeit, overeating, overdrinking, not fatal on its own, but perhaps blamed when it was the underlying reason 86 Swine Pox Possibly a euphemism for "French Pox"? 6 Teeth Probably children dying at an age when their permanent teeth were coming in. Similar to "Chrisomes" named for the cloth used when christening a child. Either that or serious tooth infections that led to complications. 470 Thrush, and Sore mouth Thrush (Candidiasis) could make it hard to eat or drink, or lead to other infections 40 Tympany Excess gas in the gastrointestinal tract making the belly like a drum, many potential underlying causes 13 Tissick A wasting disease, often associated with a cough 34 Vomiting Long term vomiting can cause dehydration, might also have been used for someone choking on vomit and dying from asphyxiation 1 Worms Ugh. 27 13This is just the extended discography of a gothic folk metal band?
11This will make a useful crib sheet for reading the causes of death in the US next year under Health Tsar RFK Jnr .
7It's interesting how there's a hint of science here, but so much non-science.
Like, trying to categorize things is a bit scientific. Trying to distinguish between similar but different things is a bit scientific. At the same time, so many of these causes of death are symptoms not causes. And, there are too many cases where they didn't bother to try to find a cause, like the "Planet" cases or "Suddenly". Also, almost all of the deaths are in children / infants, but in those cases they don't try to figure out the cause of death, they just note the age.
6Lots of great ideas here!
6Leeches cured my gout. If only they knew.
48 deaths from plague? Fake news, China plague.
4Does "murthered" mean murdered? If so I'm surprised there's only one. TV and movies make it look like life was cheap in old timey London.
3Murthered
Out in the streets they call it merther
When rhythm spacing out your head
2French pox.... CK3 RP incoming
2That many people were killed by infants! /s
Wait, does chrisomes mean they died during baptism?
1Prest is such an elegant way to spell pressed
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