Made away themselves.
Ah British dancing around the point terms.
Causes of Death in London (1623)
Submitted 5 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to science_memes@mander.xyz
https://mander.xyz/pictrs/image/c4f58789-eb32-4edd-a37d-2253806351b6.png
Comments
someguy3@lemmy.world 5 months ago
NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 5 months ago
We’d still say “done away with themself”.
ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 5 months ago
“Unalive” is the current dance. Euphemism isn’t new.
Agent641@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Just trying to avoid the YouTube censors
flamingo_pinyata@sopuli.xyz 5 months ago
Kill’d by several accidents
When the universe is out to get you, but you survive the first accident
Agent641@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Rasputin syndrome
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Like this guy. The only thing that could kill him was himself apparently.
Sabata11792@ani.social 5 months ago
Ye olde’ Final Destination.
dutchkimble@lemy.lol 5 months ago
Is 2 several? Or 3? At which point do you come under the several category
Natanox@discuss.tchncs.de 5 months ago
“My teeth are killing me” meant something pretty different back then.
Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
“Teeth” actually meant “a child who’s still teething.” As with “chrisomes and infants,” so many little ones died that often they were categorized by age rather than a specific cause. Probably the only reason to specify “overlaid, and starved at nurse” would be to blame and punish the wet-nurse.
sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 months ago
So aggravating to not be able to sort by columns
webghost0101@sopuli.xyz 5 months ago
Planet ?!?
HoneyMustardGas@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Scary:
“Dying of planet” was a term used in the 17th and 18th centuries to describe a sudden and severe illness or paralysis that was attributed to astrology and the influence of malevolent planets. People who died from “planet” exhibited symptoms similar to strokes, heart attacks, and aneurysms. At the time, people who picked up bodies for burial often knew little about the cause of death. Other causes of death listed in The Diseases, and Casualties this year being 1632 included “affrighted” and “made away themselves”. -Via Overview.
happybadger@hexbear.net 5 months ago
Someone translated the antiquated diagnoses: reddit.com/…/causes_of_death_in_london_in_1632/
spoiler
Bear in mind that there was neither modern medicine, diagnostics or autopsies in the 1600s, so diseases we would treat separately would be lumped together. Abortive and stillborn – mostly natural miscarriages and stillbirths, but there was always someone who knew how to induce a miscarriage with either herbs or physical interventions. Affrighted – it’s not really possible to die of fright, but if you died for no reason, or had a stroke or heart attack which left your face twisted in an expression of fear or pain… Ague – the alternating fevers and chills associated with malaria Apoplex and megrom – strokes and other catastrophic brain damage, such as burst aneurysms (megrom is migraine, migraines don’t kill you but it’s a sudden, excruciating pain in the head, some of which are a symptom of something fatal). Bit with a mad dog – rabies, or, just a dog bite in a bad place such as by an artery or one that got infected. Bleeding – any number of causes, just like today. Bloody flux, scowring and flux – various ways of shitting yourself inside out. Bruised, issues, sores and ulcers – self-explanatory. Sores and ulcers that got infected would almost certainly kill you. Severe bruises could be indicative of some sort of haemorrhagic fever. Burnt and scalded – homes were heated by and food was cooked on open fires. Only five deaths from burns and scalds in a year is a miracle. Burst and rupture – could be appendix, but unlikely as that would almost certainly require autopsy to diagnose. More likely hernia. Cancer, and wolf – discussed in other comments but the same thing, essentially. Wolf was particularly aggressive tumours that ate someone alive from the inside. Canker – ulceration of mouth and lips from herpes. Secondary infection was what probably finished you off, but a mouth full of sores will make it difficult to eat. Childbed – women would make their will shortly before they were due to give birth, because it could go so wrong in so many, many ways. Chrisomes and infants – Chrisomes were babies who died within the first month of life, around the time they were baptised, the chrisome is the cloth used during the baptism. Cold and cough – wrap up warm or you’ll catch your death. Colick, stone and strangury – all sorts of pains in your intestines, hernias, colic, bowel obstructions, appendicitis, difficulty urinating. Consumption – probably tuberculosis, but possibly other lung diseases such as lung cancer etc. Convulsions – epilepsy or other fits, possibly febrile convulsions in infants. Cut of the stone – death during or after surgical removal of kidney or bladder stones. This is the 17th century. No anaesthesia, no aseptic surgery, imagine how desperate you would have to be from pain to let some butcher in his bloody apron anywhere near you. Dead in the street and starved – homeless and froze to death. Dropsie and swelling – symptom of heart disease and early stage failure. Drowned – fairly self- explanatory. Could be accidental or deliberate. Executed and prest to death – executed is obvious. Pressing was a form of torture used if a prisoner refused to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty, they would have heavier and heavier weights placed on their chests until they either gave in and entered a plea or died under the weight. Falling sickness – epilepsy Fever – could be anything involving a high temperature Fistula – almost certainly obstetric fistula. Women who labour long and hard can incur all sorts of physical injury, a fistula is caused when the pressure of a baby that can’t get through causes necrosis as the blood supply to the genitals is cut off. In extreme cases, the bowel, vagina and bladder become one big hole through which urine and faeces pass uncontrollably. Fistula has other causes, if you want to horrify yourself you can read the wikipedia page. Flocks and smallpox – flocks is a euphemism for syphilis, smallpox is smallpox, hurrah for vaccines, we don’t have this one any more. French pox – syphilis Gangrene – infected wounds Gout – err, gout. Grief – how many times has one of a couple died and the other one followed them shortly after? Jaundice – liver disease. Jawsaln – lockjaw, also known as tetanus. Get your shots, especially if you fertilise your garden using horse manure. Impostume – abscesses in various places. These can cause septicaemia Kil’d by several accidents – this just means “several people died by various accidents” it doesn’t mean some poor unfortunate soul fell off the roof and was hit by a cart and then fell in the Thames. King’s evil – scrofula, a tuberculosis infection of the bones and glands in the neck. It was believed the king or queen could cure it by touching the affected place. Lethargie – presumably some sort of chronic fatigue Livergrown – swollen liver, could be caused by various diseases. Lunatique – insanity of one sort or another. Made away themselves – suicide Measles – measles Murthered – there’s been a murder! It’s of course almost certain that some of the other deaths were murders, especially those of babies, the accidents, and drownings. Overlaid and starved at nurse - Overlaid is either what we these days would call smothering, usually caused by an adult sleeping in the same bed as the baby and either rolling on top of them in their sleep or trapping the baby under the blankets, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Or, of course, deliberately stopping a child breathing. Starved at nurse could be what used to be called “failure to thrive” or issues with the mother or wet-nurse’s milk supply. In the case of wet nurses, they would often take on too many babies and couldn’t produce enough milk for all of them. Palsie – paralysis or uncontrolled tremor of muscles. Some cases were probably Parkinson’s. Piles – these can cause septicaemia Plague – febrile disease carried by the fleas that normally live on rats or other rodents. Planet - afflicted by the astrological influence of a planet. People believed that the planets had a significant influence on people’s moods, behaviour and health. Could be applied to any sudden death such as a heart attack or aneurysm. Pleurisie and spleen – pleurisy is a chest infection, I’m not sure why spleen is grouped here, I’ve had pleurisy and I definitely knew my spleen wasn’t involved. Purples and spotted fever – typhus or any other disease which causes subcutaneous haemorrhage. Severe bruising. Broken blood vessels caused by underlying disease. Quinsie – a complication of tonsillitis, an abscess in the back of the throat. Rising of the lights – the coughing and choking as your lungs fill up with fluid as your organs fail. Sometimes asthma, croup, pneumonia, anything characterised by a feeling of choking. Sciatica – sciatica. This can be crippling if not treated. Scurvey and itch – scurvy can cause death. It stops wounds healing and it also reopens old wounds and death results from either bleeding or infection. Suddenly – heart attacks, strokes or aneurysms. Surfeit – an excess of something. Either eating too much of something which is toxic in excess (Henry I and his lampreys), or untreated diabetes, or drinking too much. Swine pox – swine pox isn’t transmissible to humans, this is a euphemism for syphilis. Teeth – either babies who died as their teeth were coming in, or deaths from abscesses. Thrush and sore mouth – sores make it hard to eat. Could be a bad case of mouth ulcers, herpes, a number of things. Tympany – a swollen abdomen that sounds hollow when tapped. Fatal if caused by kidney disease. Tissick – the wheezing and coughing associated with asthma or TB Vomiting – long-term vomiting can prove fatal. Worms – a thoroughgoing worm infestation can fuck you up good and proper. If it’s really bad, you can hear them, rustling inside you. Rustle rustle rustle.
Evilsandwichman@hexbear.net 5 months ago
Hey thanks for this, it was a very interesting read
DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 5 months ago
Until they got to the part about hearing the worms moving around inside you…
AbsoluteChicagoDog@lemm.ee 5 months ago
Cancer, and wolf
MadBob@feddit.nl 5 months ago
Wolf is an old name for Lupus, which of course is Latin for wolf.
Dasus@lemmy.world 5 months ago
pseudo@jlai.lu 5 months ago
It took me a will to figure out it was not a joke…
Professorozone@lemmy.world 5 months ago
And 10 at that!
DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 5 months ago
Goddamn wolves, targeting cancer patients!
Machinist@lemmy.world 5 months ago
The term I grew up with for botfly larva was wolves. Cancer was often diagnosed when the tumors erupted through the skin. The crab.
So, probably a bad death.
observes_depths@aussie.zone 5 months ago
The ultimate partnership
j4k3@lemmy.world 5 months ago
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
Mycobacterial cervical lymphadenitis
swab148@lemm.ee 5 months ago
I’m gonna call it the other thing
NutWrench@lemmy.world 5 months ago
“Killed by several accidents.”
lol.
LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Hah! It’ll take more than ONE accident to kill me, you bastards!!!
qprimed@lemmy.ml 5 months ago
oh, cool - RFKs suggested DSM just dropped!
Zwiebel@feddit.org 5 months ago
Cause: Suddenly.
x_ray_rabbit@lemmy.world 5 months ago
aka heart attack.
intensely_human@lemm.ee 5 months ago
If was the covid vaccine and you know it!
The_Che_Banana@beehaw.org 5 months ago
Heart attack (not listed as such)
masterofn001@lemmy.ca 5 months ago
Over-laid sounds like a good way to go.
I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.org 5 months ago
Death by snu-snu!
Maalus@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I know right? Especially when it’s so good you starve to death. And she’s a nurse too
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Better than King’s Evil.
captainlezbian@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Don’t know why they felt the need to have it and executions separately
ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
Only 7 murders? The population of London was apparently about 400,000 back then so that’s 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…
Plagiatus@lemmy.world 5 months ago
a relatively safe city […] 37.8 murders per million
Ignoring that in 1632 it might’ve been easier for murder to go undetected, here are the numbers of present day London. It’s about 13.1 mpm, even lower than in 1632, about a third of present day New York.
www.statista.com/statistics/…/murders-in-london/
America is not really a shining example when it comes to those things…
ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
New York’s murder rate (and the overall murder rate in the USA) is shaped by a history of race relations which London did not experience. A white person in New York is much less likely (and conversely a black or Hispanic person is much more likely) to be murdered than the overall murder rate for the city might lead someone to think.
ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 5 months ago
It’s a lot harder to murder somebody when you actually have to stab them or beat their head in with something.
Klear@lemmy.world 5 months ago
present-day New York City (which is considered a relatively safe city).
Relative to USA. It would easily be one of the most violent cities in Europe.
RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 5 months ago
It’s for the greater good!
Danquebec@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
I’m especially doubfounded as I thought that before there was an important police force and a mature legal system, murders were far more frequent than after.
At the same time, it’s possible I’m imagining 1632 London to be more primitive than it really was.
Mbourgon@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Chrisomes : died while under a month old.
Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
Not sure, but I’m guessing part of the reason to specify the difference between “infants” and “Chrisomes” (baptized babies) might be to say where they’d be buried/where their souls would go.
rational_lib@lemmy.world 5 months ago
“And in other news, the death figures were released today. Once again, the leading cause of death is: being a baby. Over the last year, 2,268 infants died naturally of babyness.”
Agent641@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Spawnkill
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 5 months ago
You 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.
2ugly2live@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Spelling “Lunatic” as “Lunatique” now. Sound out to the poor folks that just died in the street and starved. Surprised it’s only 6.
Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee 5 months ago
I 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.
The_Che_Banana@beehaw.org 5 months ago
Rising of the lights?
qx128@lemmy.world 5 months ago
“Suddenly” 😂
lemmur@szmer.info 5 months ago
Planet
wtf where they smoking in London?
intensely_human@lemm.ee 5 months ago
That one guy that died of Sciatica 😣
captainlezbian@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I never thought to combine deaths by cancer and by wolves to save space or because they’re similar enough. I can’t comprehend why they thought it was a good idea either.
RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Tpu can read about the modern meanings of the words here:
PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 5 months ago
Dying 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.merc@sh.itjust.works 5 months ago
Olde 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 daniskarma@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 months ago
‘Planet’ goes hard.
Famko@lemmy.world 5 months ago
King’s Evil sounds like they were executed to me, but I have no clue what it could actually mean.
shiny_idea@aussie.zone 5 months ago
Planet.
intensely_human@lemm.ee 5 months ago
Bit with a mad dog
This makes it seem like someone wielded the dog as a weapon
hactar42@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I found a blog with a bunch of the definitions
neatorama.com/…/Leading-Causes-of-Deaths-in-Londo…
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Thanks. I have so many questions about some of these. Cut of the stone, king’s evil, Planet, rising of the lights, teeth… I’m mostly curious what king’s evil is in this context. Gonna go look.
lightnsfw@reddthat.com 5 months ago
Teeth might be dental infections. Those can get nasty if u treated.
spankmonkey@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Thank you!