A Brief History
On August 24, 1349, the Black Death broke out in the Prussian town of Elbing in Northern Germany. This horrifying illness became synonymous with death in the Middle Ages! Beginning in the fifth century and ending with the death of Richard III in the fifteenth century, the Middle Ages in Europe are sometimes referred to as the Medieval period. People in Medieval Europe had an average life expectancy of somewhere in the 30s-40s, far less than our own today. This article presents 10 ways people died during this time period. Some of the deaths were common; others rather unconventional.
Digging Deeper
10. Infection from a Dead Man’s Bite!
A Viking earl by the name of Sigurd Eysteinsson (ruled c. 875-892) engaged his enemy, Mael Brigte the Bucktoothed, in a battle in which each side could only bring 40 men. Sigurd the Mighty cheated and brought twice as many men. After claiming the severed head of Brigte as a war trophy, Sigurd strapped Brigte’s head to his horse. As he left the battle site, one of Mael Brigte’s famous buckteeth scratched Sigurd’s leg, causing an infection that eventually claimed his life. This incident proves that karma is indeed a bitch.
9. Crusade
When Pope Urban II urged Christians to rise up against the enemies of God who were claiming “their”Holy Land, he knew that this call would lead to a loss of Christian life. More important, however, was that in the process they kill any Muslims who were occupying the territory. There were as many as nine crusades or Holy Wars and people from all walks of life participated.
8. Martyrdom
While serving as Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket (c. 1118-1170) did not agree with King Henry II’s ideas about the church and justice. After Becket excommunicated some of the king’s favorite bishops, the King is said to have cried out, “Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?” Some of his knights took him at his word, traveled to Canterbury and slew Becket in his own cathedral by inflicting blows to the head. The knights were punished by having to go on Crusade, and Becket became a saint and his place of death a shrine.
7. She-Wolf?!
Have you ever wondered what a she-wolf would do to you if you crossed her? Isabella of France (c.1295 –1358), sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was known for her beauty, diplomacy and intellect. She was also the wife of Edward II of England who was notorious for having male favorites. Of these men, Hugh Despenser the Younger rose to prominence as royal chamberlain under Edward (no pun intended). By 1325, Isabella began an affair of her own with Roger Mortimer. In a pact arranged by feminine manipulation no doubt, the two gathered a small army and swept through England, hoping to remove Edward and the Despensers from power. After several years of battle, Isabella and Roger finally had the means to put Hugh Despenser on trial. He was found to be a traitor. Fueled by hatred, humiliation, and loss, Isabella had him drawn, disemboweled, castrated, and quartered.
6. Burping and Giggling
During a feast in 1410, King Martin of Aragon (c. 1356-1410) died under unfortunate circumstances. The combination of severe indigestion and uncontrollable laughter caused Martin to collapse at the dinner table. It is speculated that he first gorged himself on either eel or goose, causing heartburn, but it was a joke that did him in. As John Doran reported in his book “The History of Court Fools,” when Martin asked his jester where he had been recently, “the jester replied with: ‘Out of the next vineyard, where I saw a young deer hanging by his tail from a tree, as if someone had so punished him for stealing figs’.” Perhaps the king was a little bit drunk too…
5. Accident or Assassination?
Bela I of Hungary (c. 1020-1063) had taken the throne away from his brother Andrew. Many thought that Andrew’s son Solomon was the rightful king. As Bela was sitting on his throne, the canopy above him gave way, crushing him to death. Evidence of assassination was never found, but he was succeeded by Solomon.
4. Childbirth
In Medieval times, death during childbirth was common. Hygiene was not yet understood. Many women died of Puerperal Fever which was the result of infection in the reproductive organs. Both rich and poor were affected, and many queens died this way, affecting the course of history.
3. Choking on a Fly
Adrian IV (c. 1100-1159) was the only Englishman to be Pope. During the last few months of his life, he suffered from quinsy, an ailment better known as tonsillitis. Taking a sip of wine, the poor man inhaled a fly which had been swimming in his goblet. Without the existence yet of the Heimlich maneuver, Adrian IV choked on the combination of the fly and pus from his tonsils.
2. Mass Suicide
On February 25, 1336 approximately 4,000 individuals were defending Pilenai Castle in Lithuania. They were greatly outnumbered. Facing defeat by the Teutonic Knights and possibly slavery, their leader Duke Margiris ordered that they set fire to the castle and destroy their possessions before committing mass suicide.
1. Black Death
Weak immune systems, poor medical care, hunger, and infectious diseases caused countless deaths in Medieval times, but none were so devastating as the Black Death. As said in a lecture slide on the Black Death by History and Headlines’s own Dr. Matthew Zarzeczny, “the virulent combination of bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic plagues that destroyed one third or one half of the population of Europe between 1347 and 1352” is notably the most deadly force of all time. The pandemic swept through Europe in a short time and is responsible for the death of least 75 million people throughout Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East. Painful tumors, infected lesions, difficulty breathing and finally death overcame its helpless victims as swiftly as it swept from once person to the next.
While it is true that not everyone in the Middle Ages died before they reached their own middle age; however, many people did. Perhaps what makes some historical figures most notable is not how they lived but rather how they died.
Question for students (and subscribers): What do you think was the most bizarre way to die in the Middle Ages? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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For another interesting event that happened on August 24, please see the History and Headlines article: “A Bad Day to be Jewish or Why Jews Think They Need a Country of Their Own.”
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please read…
DuBruck, Edelgard E. and Barbara I. Gusick. Death and Dying in the Middle Ages. Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers, 1999.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="3479 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=3479">46 Comments
Number 3 is definitely my favorite, that is until I read the end of the paragraph. Chocking on pus is without a doubt the grosses way to die. -JM
I would have to say I found number 10 the most interesting and the most ironic.
-DM
I would have to saythat the Dead Man’s Bite and Choking on a fly had to be my favorite. Who knew death could be so humorous. – AL
None of these sound like a good way to die but I found number 10 and number 6 the most interesting. -JB
The most interesting way to die in my opinion was the Dead Man’s Bite, I can’t say I’ve ever really heard of someone dying from a human bite. The choking on a fly was a disgusting thought too.
-AD
I’d have to agree: 10, 6, & 3 were all pretty bizarre. I thought the Dead Man’s Bite one was really funny and ironic. The title made it sound like a zombies was the culprit. -JH!
I would say this was a pretty interesting article. Dead Man’s Bite i though was pretty interesting. It’s pretty interesting how a small unclean scratch can kill a human being without the correct medical precautions. -AC
I would have never thought that all of these simple things could lead to death. Burping, laughing, drinking and accidentally swallowing a fly. I have swallowed many bugs and I am fine! Burping and giggling was the one that sparked my attention the most because I do both of those things quite a lot! -LS
I would have never imagined that people would have died in such vast ways! From chocking on a fly, poor hygeine, child birth, and laughing at a dinner table. -RS
I thought choking on the fly and puss was pretty interesting. I fancy the gruesome and things that others might not be able to tolerate on a weak stomach. I can imagine the pope reaching over to get a sip of wine to for a bit of relief from his ailment only to meet his untimely demise. I found it to be a rather interesting read overall.
I think the most bizarre way to die in the Middle Ages was the “choking on a fly” that honestly, kind of caught me off guard when reading this article that and the “burping and giggling” one as well actually, all of these sound terrifying to me. – LL
I thought the entire article was very interesting. It just surprises me the number of ways that death could find you. No wonder the average life expectancy was so low! — David Wardle
I found this article very interesting! Especially the Dead Man’s Bite, never thought that could even happen!
It blows my mind that the average life expectancy was somewhere in the 30’s and 40’s. That helps me see my own lifespan in a much broader perspective, because if I was around back then I’d be on my way out. Also, the Black Death video was creative 🙂
Thank you for sharing my Top 10, Dr. Zarzeczny! Your class was full of very interesting history! I honestly never thought I would enjoy it as much as I did.
Dear Caryn, You’re welcome! 🙂 Sincerely, Dr. Zarzeczny
I like some of the satirical info that was used in this article, especially the “Dead Man’s Bite”. The fact that they hardly knew what hygiene was, and how it caused many deaths is also interesting. B.E
I feel bad for that jester.
The story about the man being killed by a dead mans teeth is riduculous!
Love lists like this. It is insane how different the ways people died back then compared to today. The plague was a big one but child birth really took me back! Women rarely die now-a-days during child birth. Now-a-days it seems to be pretty routine.
The burping in giggling death is one for the ages, huh? Anyways, mass suicide still happens today. Unreal…
It seems like people back then just needed to come to terms with the fact that everything and everyone could potentially be the reason for your death.
It is so interesting to see that these were just a few of the ways people were killed during this time period and it is so hard to imagine how some of these sounded like a good idea (aka mass suicide)
I hope I just die in my sleep
Burping and Giggling…really not sure about that one, but that is the last way that I would want to die. I still have that Hollaback Girl song stuck in my head about the fleas and rats that was mentioned in this article
The story of the Viking dying from being scratched by a severed heads tooth is unbelievable until you think about the amount of diseases that would have been in his mouth and that disinfectant hadn’t been invented yet.
Very intriguing article!
I really enjoyed this especially reading about the dead man bite and burping and laughing to death. Seems like I way I wouldn’t mind going out since it’s eating drinking and having a good time.
“The combination of severe indigestion and uncontrollable laughter caused Martin to collapse at the dinner table.” I thought this was very interesting
Honestly, thank God for the rebirth of Roman Law in the 12th Century Renaissance. Had it not been for that glimmer of hope, we may still be doing such horrible things today!
Death is so unpredictable now and back then.
I had never heard of burping as a possible way of death. I guess you can never be too safe!
The infection from Brigte the Bucktooth’s bucktooth is such perfect poetic justice, by far my favorite of the 10.
There are so many different ways that people have died and some are just crazy to think about =. I hope I die in a peaceful way that is for sure.
These sound like horrible ways to die! I know when I die I want to go in my sleep. As quickly and as painless as possible.
After reading this I was amazed at all the ways people could die.. it’s kind of scary
Out off all of these I’m not sure that any sound better than another, but it is clear that the black death swept out a large portion of the population during this time.
The Black Death must have been the most painful way to die through means of non-inflicted by others. It was almost pure luck whether or not you got sick and if you even survived it was a painful experience with no viable medical treatments. You just kinda waited it out.
I find the Black Death very interesting. As well as some accounts stating the craziest of ways on how people cured themselves.
I find it crazy to die over choking on a flie!
The death by the bite of a dead head sounds like a gruesome and disgusting fate
“Death by a dead man’s bite.” No thank you.
some o these ways of death make me laugh . can someone really die from some of these ways
No one never said dying would be fun and easy. So of these deaths were crazy
living in this time is very dangerous. not only other people you have to watch out for you have to watch out for diseases that come from fleas or other things! surely was a dark time.
Can’t even imagine dying from the Black Death. It would be such a horrible way to go