We rarely have time to write about all the cool science stories that come our way. 12 days of Christmas series posts. The Black Prince died of malaria and inflammatory bowel disease. He did not have chronic dysentery as previously thought.
Edward of Woodstock, better known as the Black Prince, was a formidable mid-14th-century warrior who fought several battles relatively unscathed until he fell ill at the relatively young age of 45. Historians have long believed that he died of chronic dysentery. However, James Robert Anderson, a military historian with the 21st Regiment of Engineers, believes the Black Prince was most likely brought down by malaria or inflammatory bowel disease. He and his co-authors argued in his December brief paper published in the journal BMJ Military Health..
“There are several diverse infectious or inflammatory conditions that may have led to his death,” Anderson said. and others. I have written. “These may include long-term complications of malaria, brucellosis, inflammatory bowel disease, or acute dysentery, but chronic dysentery is probably less likely.”
As previously reported, Edward of Woodstock was the eldest son of Edward III and heir to the throne. He was educated in philosophy and logic and well trained in the art of warfare. This technology proved useful during this particular period of the Hundred Years’ War, when French invasion was a constant threat.
Edward’s first battle came in 1346 when he was at the spearhead of the famous Battle of Crécy. when he was still 16 years old. Edward III declined his request, claiming that he wanted his son to “prove his spurs” in battle. The young prince won and launched his impressive military career. One of his greatest victories was his Battle of Poitiers in 1356, where he and his men routed the French army and captured King John II of France.
Historians disagree about how he came to be called the Black Prince. The first known reference to Edward as the Black Prince is in two of his manuscript notes by the 16th-century poet and historian John Leland. Shakespeare calls him “that black name, Edward, the Negro Prince of Wales.” Henry Vwritten around 1599 and includes references to Richard III (c. 1595). Thus, by the end of the 16th century the designation was established.
One popular theory is that Edward wore black armor to battle.There is one French account that describes him wearing clothes In black armor of polished iron (“Black Armor of Polished Steel”). But otherwise, the evidence for this is scant. Another hypothesis is that the name derives from Edward’s well-documented reputation for brutality in battle. Though hailed as the epitome of noble chivalry, the French of Aquitaine saw it very differently.
Upon his return to England in 1371, Edward’s health deteriorated rapidly. He died at Westminster Palace on his 8 June 1376. Historians have long claimed that he suffered from severe dysentery, sometimes passing out in fits. There are reports of dysentery dating back to Hippocrates, and it is sometimes called “blood flow” because the main symptom is bloody diarrhea. It is usually accompanied by fever and abdominal pain and often leads to dehydration. Louis IX of France (1270), Edward I of England (1307), Philip V of France (1322) and Henry V of England (1422).
According to the author, the disease of the Black Prince appeared in the early summer of 1367 after his victory at the Battle of Nazira. According to historical accounts, as many as 80% of Edward’s army may have died of dysentery and other diseases, after enduring great hardships and starvation during the campaign. It is described that he had to be carried in garbage to command the Siege of Limoges. He recovered enough to board ships for his last military campaign in 1372, but from 1374 to 1375 he appears to have been inactive, suggesting that the symptoms may have returned. It suggests.
National Library of France
Amoebic dysentery often causes chronic complications such as colitis, toxic megacolon, and colonic ulcers. This coincides with Edward’s recurrent illness and prolonged decline.But Anderson othersA 2009 review article argued that it was unlikely that he was allowed to board that ship with chronic dysentery in 1372, and suggested fistula, nephritis, or cirrhosis (or a combination thereof) as alternative diagnoses. citing complications from acute However, dysentery may fit the bill.
Other possibilities include edema, known today as swelling under the skin (edema), often associated with liver, heart, or kidney failure, but Anderson othersI don’t think Edward would have survived a few years without treatment. Dehydration from the Spanish campaign likely led to kidney stones.
Alternatively, Edward may have suffered from brucellosis. It is usually contracted by consuming unpasteurized dairy products or raw meat, causing fatigue, recurrent fevers, and inflammation of the heart and joints. , its symptoms (fever, headache, myalgia, gastrointestinal disturbances, chronic anemia, fatigue, and increased vulnerability to infection) can lead to multiple organ failure.
Regardless of the cause of death, Edward’s untimely death changed the course of British history and caused instability for more than a century. He ascended the throne as Richard II. Richard II was deposed in 1399 by the exiled Henry Bolingbroke (son of the Black Prince’s brother John of Gaunt and one of his other grandchildren of Edward III) and became Henry IV. In the 15th century the Wars of the Roses broke out, causing an internal strife between his two branches of the House of Plantagenet (the Lancasters and the Houses of York), effectively wiping out the male heirs of both lines, and leading to the rise of the House of Tudor. Connected.
“Even in modern conflict and war zones, disease has caused enormous morbidity and loss of life, and this has remained consistent over the centuries,” said Anderson. . others. concluded. “Efforts to protect and treat deployed troops are just as important as they were in the 1370s.”
DOI: BMJ Military Health, 2022. 10.1136/military-2022-002282 (About DOI).
