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Prickly heat in medieval England: description of the disease, causes, treatment. Sweating in ancient england

What cannot be said about the manifestation of this disease in the Middle Ages in England, when people first spoke about this disease with horror and fear. And what troubles did prickly heat cause in the Middle Ages? What is its origin? In order to find out, you need to look into history.

English sweat epidemic

In the Middle Ages, English prickly heat was called English sweating fever and denoted an infectious disease with an unclear genesis. A feature of the disease is a high mortality rate among the population. It should be noted that the inhabitants of England suffered from the disease from 1485 to 1551.

According to sources, prickly heat in England was not of English origin, since it began with the advent of the Tudor dynasty to the government. In the summer of 1485, Henry Tudor and the Earl of Richmond (who lived in Britain) landed in Wales, defeated Richard III at Bosworth, after which Tudor became King Henry VII. His army consisted of French and British mercenaries, in the wake of which was the disease.

The disease was first witnessed in England between the landing and the battle, namely from 7 to 22 August 1485. England prickly heat is an epidemic, already one month later (from September to October) it “took” several thousand people, after which it subsided.

People perceived this beginning of the reign of King Henry as a bad omen and said that he was destined to rule in torment. Further, the prickly heat disease in the Middle Ages progressed in 7 years and took away half of the country's population, spread to the continents in Calais and Antwerp, where it flared up in the form of a local lesion.

After 11 years (1528), the sweat epidemic broke out in England for the fourth time. During this period, the whole country was in a fever, the king dismissed the court and left the capital. The disease of the century spread, first spreading to Hamburg, then Switzerland, Rome, Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Novgorod, Norway and Switzerland.

As a rule, in these countries, the epidemic lasted no more than two weeks. By the end of 1528, she disappeared everywhere, with the exception of Switzerland, where she "mastered" until the next year. Italy and France remained "untouched".

The last time an outbreak of English sweat was recorded in 1551.

The first symptoms of miliaria and the course of the disease

Prickly heat in medieval England began with severe chills, accompanied by headaches and dizziness, later, there was severe pain in the neck, shoulders and limbs. Three hours later, a person developed a severe fever, a huge amount of sweat appeared, he was disturbed by a feeling of thirst, increased heart rate, sharp pains in the heart, and delirium was noted. There were no characteristic skin rashes. If, after another two hours, the person did not die, a rash appeared on his body. Initially, it affected the neck, chest, after which it spread throughout the body.

The nature of the rash is morbilliform, scarlet-like or hemorrhagic, on top of which transparent bubbles with liquid formed, which, later, dried up and in their place there was a slight peeling of the skin. The main and most dangerous symptom of prickly heat in the Middle Ages was drowsiness, since it was believed that if the patient was allowed to fall asleep, he would no longer wake up.

If the person managed to survive, the temperature dropped and by the end of the week, he was healthy.

It is rare that someone managed to survive from the manifestation of the disease, but if a person fell ill for the second time, he was no longer destined to survive, since the immune system was no longer restored after the first attack. As a rule, out of 100 infected, no more than two or three people survived. The most interesting thing is that prickly heat in England, as a disease of the century after 1551, was no longer diagnosed.

It was believed that the patient could be cured by making him sweat even more. But, as a rule, a person died much faster from such treatment.

What caused prickly heat in the Middle Ages?

Despite the fact that prickly heat in the Middle Ages was a fairly common problem, but still, even to this day, the causes of the disease of the century remain mysterious. Thomas More ( English writer, thinker, humanist) and his descendants believed that in England prickly heat arose as a result of dirt and the presence of certain harmful substances and other unsafe components in nature.

In some sources, one can find references to the fact that the sweat disease was identified with relapsing fever, which was spread by lice and ticks, but there is no mention of the presence of characteristic bites and their marks (irritation).

Other sources say that the disease of the middle age in England arose due to hantavirus, which causes a pulmonary syndrome, hemorrhagic fever. But, the peculiarity is that it is extremely rarely transmitted, which is why this identification is not generally recognized.

Some sources say that the manifestation of prickly heat in those days was a form of influenza, but most scientists are critical of this statement.

A theory is put forward that this form of prickly heat is the work of man and is the result of testing the first bacteriological weapon that had a directed effect.

Affected by outbreaks

Some sources claim that the bulk of those who died from the disease of the century are healthy men who lived in London and England as a whole. Women, children and the elderly were less likely to become infected. The incubation period ranged from 24 to 48 hours, after which the first symptoms appeared. As a rule, already in the next few hours a person either died or survived (this was known for 24 hours). It is also important to note that high-ranking people were among the victims, namely two lords - mayors of London, three sheriffs and six aldermen (outbreak of 1485).

The royal family of the Tudor king also suffered. It is believed that Arthur and the Prince of Wales, and the king's eldest son, died from the "sweat of the century" (outbreak of 1502). In 1528, Henry's wife, Anne Boleyn, was infected, but they recovered and managed to survive the epidemic of the century.

The outbreak of 1551 claimed the boys, aged 16 and 14, Henry and Charles Brandon, who were the children of Henry's daughter Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon.

One can find many descriptions of this disease of the century in the literature.

Popular history of medicine

During the Middle Ages, the most horrific disasters seemed insignificant compared to the massive infectious diseases that claimed more lives than war or famine. In the 14th century alone, about a third of the inhabitants of Europe died from a colossal plague epidemic. The history of mankind has three pandemics of the bubonic plague (from the Greek bubon - “swelling in the groin”), one of which was the “plague of Justinian”. In 542, the disease appeared in Egypt, from where it spread along the northern coast of Africa and into Western Asia. From Syria, Arabia, Persia and Asia Minor, the epidemic spread to Constantinople, quickly took on a devastating character and did not leave the city for several years. Every day 5-10 thousand people died from the disease; the flight only contributed to the spread of the infection. In 543, outbreaks of plague were noted in Italy, Gaul, in the villages of the left bank of the Rhine, and in 558 the Black Death returned to Constantinople. Subsequently, the plague appeared regularly, almost every decade, causing great damage to European states. In addition to the bubonic form, which was characterized by the appearance of dark tumors on the body, other forms of this disease were observed, for example, pulmonary or fulminant, in which there were no symptoms and death seemed to overtake healthy person. According to ancient engravings, one can form an opinion about the scale of the tragedy caused by the complete impotence of doctors in the face of a deadly infection. The devastating effect of the plague is clearly expressed in the lines of A. Pushkin's poem "A Feast During the Plague":

Now the church is empty;

The school is deafly locked;

Niva idly overripe;

The dark grove is empty;

And the village as a dwelling

Everything is quiet, one cemetery

Not empty, not silent.

Every minute they carry the dead,

And the groans of the living

Fearfully ask God

Soothe their souls!

Every minute you need a place

And graves among themselves,

Like a frightened herd

Cling in a tight line!

People died a few hours after infection, barely having time to realize their condition. The living did not have time to bury the dead, and the corpses lay in the streets, filling the city with a poisonous stench. In the absence of effective medicines, doctors were left to trust in God and give way to the man with the “black wagon”. This was the name of the gravedigger, whose services were really needed: the timely burning of corpses partly contributed to the reduction of the disease. It has been noticed that people serving the city during the epidemic became infected much less often than their fellow citizens. Recorded in historical chronicles amazing facts selectivity, when the disease bypassed entire neighborhoods or individual houses.

I dreamed of a terrible demon: all black, white-eyed ...

He called me to his cart, in it lay the dead and babbled

Terrible unknown speech ... Tell me, was it in a dream?

Though the street is all our silent refuge from death,

Shelter of feasts, imperturbable by nothing,

This black cart has the right to go everywhere.

The saddest pages of history are associated with the second plague pandemic, which began in 1347. During the 60 years of the Black Death in Europe, 25 million people died, that is, approximately a quarter of the population of the continent, including the inhabitants of England and Greenland. According to medieval chronicles, “because of the plague, entire villages and cities, castles and markets were depopulated to such an extent that it was difficult to find a living person on the street. The infection was so strong that the one who touched the sick or the dead was soon caught by the disease himself and died. Confessors and confessors were buried at the same time. The fear of death kept people from loving their neighbor and the priest from fulfilling his last duty to the departed.” In France, the victims of the second plague pandemic were Jeanne of Bourbon, wife of the French king Philippe of Valois; Joan of Navarre, daughter of Louis X. Spain and Germany buried their rulers Alphonse of Spain and Gunther; all the brothers of the Swedish king died. After the disease receded, residents of many cities in Europe erected monuments to the victims of the plague. Reliable events associated with the epidemic were reflected in literature and painting. The Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) was in Florence in 1348. Shocked by the death of his father and all the horrors experienced during several years of living in an infected city, he described the plague in the famous novel The Decameron. Boccaccio was the only writer who presented the "Black Death" not only as a historical fact or allegory. The composition consisted of 100 stories told on behalf of the noble Florentine ladies and young people. The story takes place against the backdrop of a plague epidemic, from which a noble society was hiding in a country estate. The author considered the plague as a social tragedy or a crisis in the state of society during the transition from the Middle Ages to the New Age. At the height of the epidemic in big cities 500 - 1200 people died daily, and it was impossible to bury such a huge number of dead in the ground. Pope Clement VI, who was then in Avignon (Southern France), consecrated the waters of the Rhone River, allowing corpses to be thrown into it. “Happy descendants, you will not know such hellish misfortunes and consider our testimony about them as scary tale", - exclaimed the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca, reporting in a letter about the tragedy of the beautiful Italian city Florence. In Italy, about half of the population died from the plague: in Genoa - 40 thousand, in Naples - 60 thousand, in Florence and Venice 100 thousand died, a person, which accounted for two-thirds of the population. The plague is believed to have been introduced into Western Europe from East Asia, through the ports of North Africa came to Genoa, Venice and Naples. According to one version, ships with crews that died from the plague washed up on the shores of Italy. Ship rats, who did not leave the ship in time, settled in port cities and transmitted a deadly infection through fleas, which were carriers of the so-called plague sticks. On the littered streets, the rats have found ideal living conditions. Through rat fleas, soil, grain, domestic animals, and people were infected.

Modern doctors associate the epidemic nature of the plague with the terrifying unsanitary conditions of medieval cities, which, from the point of view of hygiene, differed unfavorably from ancient policies. With the fall of the Roman Empire, the useful sanitary and hygienic achievements of antiquity became a thing of the past, the strict instructions regarding the elimination of waste were gradually forgotten. The rapid growth of European cities, deprived of basic hygienic conditions, was accompanied by the accumulation of household waste, dirt and sewage, an increase in the number of flies and rats that became carriers of various infections. English peasants moved to a new place of residence in the cities, capturing livestock and poultry along with their belongings. Geese, ducks, pigs roamed the narrow crooked streets of London, mixing excrement with mud and garbage. The unpaved, rutted streets looked like sewers. Piles of waste grew to unthinkable limits; only after the stench had become unbearable were the heaps raked to the end of the street and sometimes dumped into the Thames. In summer, the sun's rays did not penetrate the caustic layer of dust, and after the rain, the streets turned into impenetrable swamps. Not wanting to drown in the mud, the practical Germans invented a special "spring shoes of a city dweller", which was an ordinary wooden stilts. The solemn entry of the German Emperor Frederick III into Rettlingen almost ended in drama when the monarch's horse got bogged down in sewage. Nuremberg was considered the most comfortable city in Germany, along the streets of which it was forbidden for pigs to roam, so that they "do not spoil and spoil the air."

Every morning, the townspeople emptied chamber pots directly from doors or windows, sometimes pouring a fragrant liquid on the head of a passerby. Once such a nuisance happened to the French king Louis IX. After that, the monarch issued a decree allowing the inhabitants of Paris to pour sewage out the window only after shouting “Beware!” Three times. Probably, perfumery was invented in order to make it easier to endure the stench: the first perfumes were produced in the form of aromatic balls that medieval aristocrats applied to their noses while driving through city streets.

The Dutch theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam (1467-1536), who visited England at the beginning of the 16th century, forever remained an ardent opponent of the British way of life. “All the floors here are made of clay and covered with marsh reeds,” he told his friends, “and the bedding is so rarely updated that the lower layer often lies for decades. It is soaked in saliva, vomit, human and dog urine, spilled ale, mixed with fish leftovers and other rubbish. When the weather changes, a stench rises from the floors, in my opinion, very unhealthy.” One of the descriptions of Erasmus of Rotterdam spoke of the narrow streets of London, resembling winding forest paths, barely separating the tall houses hanging on both sides. An indispensable attribute of the "paths" was a muddy stream into which butchers threw tripe, soap makers and dyers poured poisonous residues from vats. The muddy stream flowed into the Thames, which served as a sewer in the absence of a sewer. The poisonous liquid seeped into the ground, poisoning the wells, so Londoners bought water from peddlers. If the traditional 3 gallons (13.5 liters) was enough for drinking, cooking and rinsing chamber pots, then bathing, washing and mopping could only be dreamed of. The few baths of that time were also brothels, so the pious townspeople preferred to wash at home, arranging a bath in front of the fireplace once every few years. In the spring, the cities were inhabited by spiders, and in the summer, flies overcame. Wooden parts of buildings, floors, beds, wardrobes infested with fleas and lice. The clothes of a "civilized" European were clean only after purchase. Former peasants washed according to village custom using a mixture of manure, nettle, hemlock and soap crumbs. Clothes treated with such a substance stank worse than dirty ones, which is why they washed them in case of emergency, for example, after falling into a puddle.

The plague pandemic provided the physicians of the XIV century huge material to study the plague, its signs and methods of spread. For many centuries, people did not associate epidemic diseases with unsanitary conditions of existence, attributing ailments to divine wrath. Only the most courageous healers tried to apply, albeit primitive, but real therapy. Taking advantage of the desperation of the relatives of the infected, numerous impostors "from among blacksmiths, weavers and women" "healed" through magical rituals. Mumbling prayers indistinctly, often using sacred signs, healers gave drugs of dubious quality to the sick, at the same time appealing to God.

In one of the English chronicles, a healing procedure is described, during which the healer already read spells first into the right ear, then into the left, then into the armpits, did not forget to whisper into the back of the thighs, and ended the healing with the utterance of "Our Father" next to the heart. After that, the patient, if possible, with his own hand, wrote sacred words on a leaf of laurel, signed his name and put the leaf under his head. Such a procedure usually ended with the promise of a quick recovery, but the patients died soon after the doctor left.

Erasmus of Rotterdam was one of the first to note the relationship between hygiene and the spread of epidemic diseases. Using the example of the English, the theologian condemned bad customs that contributed to the transition of individual ailments into epidemics. In particular, overcrowded, poorly ventilated hotels were criticized, where even during the day there was twilight. Bed linen was rarely changed in London houses, households drank from a common cup and kissed everyone they knew when they met on the street. The society accepted the views of the Dutch theologian with doubt, suspecting a lack of faith in his words: “He has gone too far, just think, he says that even such sacred traditions as confession, washing children in a common font, pilgrimage to distant tombs contribute to the spread of infection! His hypochondria is known; on the subject of his own health, he corresponds with a large number of doctors, sending daily reports on the state of his urine.

After the devastating epidemic of the 14th century, scientists had to recognize the infectious nature of the plague and begin to develop measures to prevent its spread. The first quarantines (from Italian quaranta gironi - "forty days") appeared in the port cities of Italy in 1348. By order of the magistrates, visitors with goods were detained for 40 days. In 1403, the Italians organized a hospital on the island of Lazarus, where the monks cared for patients who fell ill on ships during forced detention. Later, such hospitals became known as infirmaries. By the end of the 15th century, the kingdoms of Italy had a reasonable quarantine system that made it possible to isolate and treat people who came from infected countries without difficulty.

The idea of isolating contagious patients, which initially referred to the plague, gradually spread to other diseases. Since the 16th century, the monks of the Order of St. Lazarus have taken lepers to their hospitals. After the inglorious end crusades leprosy appeared in Europe. Fear of an unknown disease, which disfigured not only the appearance, but also the human psyche, determined the intolerant attitude towards the unfortunate on the part of society, secular and church authorities. It has now been found out that leprosy is not as contagious as it was imagined by medieval inhabitants. Not a single case of infection of doctors or nurses in modern leper colonies has yet been registered, although the staff is in direct contact with the infected.

The period from infection to death often lasted several decades, but all the languid years the sick person was officially considered dead. Lepers were publicly buried in the temple and declared dead. Before the advent of shelters, these people gathered in colonies arranged far from any settlements in specially designated areas. The "dead" were forbidden to work, but they were allowed to beg, passing through the city walls only on appointed days. Dressed in black mantles and hats with a white ribbon, the lepers walked in a mournful procession through the streets, scaring off those they met with the ringing of a bell. When shopping, they silently pointed at the goods with a long cane, and in the narrow streets they pressed against the walls, maintaining the prescribed distance between themselves and the passerby.

After the end of the Crusades, leprosy spread across Europe on an unprecedented scale. Such a number of patients was not in antiquity and will not be in the future. During the reign of Louis VIII (1187-1226), there were 2,000 leper shelters in France, and there were about 19,000 on the continent. With the beginning of the Renaissance, the incidence of leprosy began to weaken and almost disappeared in modern times. In 1892, a new plague pandemic shocked the world, but the disease arose and remained in Asia. India lost 6 million of its citizens, a few years later the plague appeared in the Azores and reached South America.

In addition to the "black death", the inhabitants of medieval Europe suffered from the "red death", naming the pestilence as such. According to Greek mythology, the king of the island of Crete, the grandson of the legendary Minos, once during a storm promised Poseidon for returning home to sacrifice the first person he met. It turned out to be the son of the ruler, but the victim was considered objectionable, and the gods punished Crete with a pestilence. The mention of this disease, which was often considered a form of the plague, was found in ancient Roman chronicles. An epidemic of pestilence began in besieged Rome in 87 BC. e., becoming the result of hunger and lack of water. The symptoms of the "Red Death" are described in the story of the American writer Edgar Allan Poe, who presented the disease in the image fantastic creature“The Red Death has long ravaged England. No epidemic has ever been so terrible and destructive. Blood was her coat of arms and her seal - a terrible crimson of blood!

An unexpected dizziness, a painful convulsion, then blood began to ooze from all the time and death came. As soon as purple spots appeared on the body of the victim, and especially on the face, none of the neighbors any longer dared to support or help the plague-stricken. The illness, from its first symptoms to its last, lasted less than half an hour.

The first sanitary systems in European cities began to be built only in the 15th century. The initiator and head of the construction of hydrotechnical complexes in the Polish cities of Torun, Olsztyn, Warmia and Frombrok was the great astronomer and physician N. Copernicus. On the water tower in Frombroke, the inscription has survived to this day:

Here conquered waters are forced to flow up the mountain,

To quench the thirst of the inhabitants with an abundant spring.

What nature denied people -

Art overcame Copernicus.

This creation, among others, is a witness to his glorious life. The beneficial effect of cleanliness was reflected in the nature and frequency of epidemics. The installation of water pipes, sewerage, regular garbage collection in European cities helped to get rid of the most terrible diseases of the Middle Ages - such as plague, cholera, smallpox, leprosy. However, infections of a respiratory (respiratory) nature continued to rage, notorious for the inhabitants of the cold European continent also from time immemorial.

In the 14th century, Europeans recognized a mysterious ailment that manifested itself in profuse sweating, intense thirst, and headaches. According to the main symptom, the disease was called prickly heat, although from the point of view of modern medicine it was one of the forms of influenza with a complication in the lungs. From time to time the disease appeared in different countries Europe, but most often disturbed the inhabitants of foggy Albion, which is probably why it received a second name - "English sweat". Suddenly ill, a person sweated profusely, his body became red and stank unbearably, then a rash appeared, turning into scabs. The patient died within a few hours, without even having time to see a doctor.

According to the surviving records of English doctors, one can restore the course of another epidemic in London: “People fell dead while working, in church, on the street, often not having time to get home. Some died opening the window, others stopped breathing while playing with children. The more robust prickly heat killed in two hours, for others one was enough. Others died in their sleep, others agonized at the moment of awakening; the population died in joy and sorrow, rest and work. The hungry and the well-fed, the poor and the rich, perished; in other families, all members of the household died one by one. There was black humor among the people about those who "had fun at dinner and died at dinner." The suddenness of infection and equally quick death caused considerable difficulties of a religious nature. Relatives usually did not have enough time to send for a confessor, a person died without unction, taking away all his sins to the next world. In this case, the church forbade the burial of the body, and the corpses were piled up behind the cemetery fence.

Lord, quench human grief,

They went to the happy land of their children,

The hour of death and misfortune was given ...

Human losses from prickly heat were comparable only to mortality during the plague. In 1517, 10,000 Englishmen died. People fled London in panic, but the epidemic took over the whole country. Cities and villages were frightened by empty houses with boarded up windows, empty streets with occasional passers-by who "dragged home to die on staggering legs." By analogy with the plague, prickly heat affected the population selectively. Oddly enough, the first to become infected were “young and beautiful”, “middle-aged men full of life”. Poor, thin, infirm men, as well as women and children, had a great chance of surviving. If such persons fell ill, they endured the crisis quite easily, eventually recovering quickly. Wealthy citizens of strong physique, on the contrary, died in the first hours of the disease. The chronicles preserved recipes for prophylactic potions compiled by healers, taking into account superstitions. According to one of the descriptions, it was required to "crush and mix nightshade, chicory, sow thistle, calendula and blueberry leaves." In difficult situations, a more elaborate method was suggested: "Mix 3 large spoons of dragon saliva with 1/2 spoon of crushed unicorn horn." Powder from the horn of the unicorn has become an indispensable component of all medicines; it was believed that he could keep fresh for 20-30 years, and only increasing its effectiveness. Due to the fantastic nature of this animal, the drug existed only in the imagination of healers, so people died without finding real medical help. The most devastating epidemic of prickly heat in England coincided with the reign of King Henry VIII, famous for his cruelty. There were rumors among the people that the Tudors were to blame for the spread of the infection and the "sweat" would not stop as long as they occupy the throne. Then medicine showed its impotence, strengthening faith in the supernatural nature of the disease. Doctors and the sick themselves did not consider prickly heat an ailment, calling it "Christ's punishment" or "punishment of the Lord", angry at people for disobedience. However, in the summer of 1517, the monarch supported his subjects, unexpectedly being the best doctor in the state. Having buried most of the retinue, the royal family waited out the epidemic in a "remote and quiet dwelling." As a "handsome, overweight middle-aged man," Heinrich feared for his life, deciding to fight prickly heat with potions of his own making. The king's pharmaceutical experience successfully ended with the preparation of a drug called the "root of strength." The composition of the medicine included the roots of ginger and rue, mixed with elderberries and rosehip leaves. Preventive action occurred after 9 days of taking a mixture previously infused with white wine. The author of the method recommended keeping the potion "by the grace of God ready all year round." In the event that the disease occurred before the end of the course of prevention, then prickly heat was expelled from the body with the help of another drug - an extract of scabiosa, bead and a quart (1.14 l) of sweet molasses. IN critical stage, that is, with the appearance of a rash, Heinrich advised to apply the "root of power" to the skin and seal it with a plaster. Despite the king's conviction in the invincible strength of his methods, the courtiers "cured" by him dared to die. In 1518, the death rate from prickly heat increased, but measles and smallpox were added to the well-known disease. As a preventive measure, people who buried a relative were banned from appearing on the street. Straw bundles were hung over the doors of houses where a sick person was, reminding passers-by of the danger of infection. The French philosopher Emile Littre compared epidemics to natural disasters: “Sometimes one has to see how the ground suddenly shakes under peaceful cities and buildings collapse on the heads of the inhabitants. Just as suddenly, a deadly infection emerges from an unknown depth and, with its destructive breath, cuts off human generations, just as a reaper cuts off ears of corn. The causes are unknown, the action is terrible, the spread is immeasurable: nothing can cause greater anxiety. It seems that mortality will be limitless, devastation will be endless, and that the fire that has broken out will stop only due to a lack of food.

The colossal scale of the incidence terrified people, causing confusion and panic. At one time, physicians presented to the public the results of geographical observations, trying to connect epidemic diseases with earthquakes, supposedly always coinciding with epidemics. Many scholars have cited the theory of miasma, or "contagious fumes, generated by subterranean decay" and coming to the surface of the earth during volcanic eruptions. Astrologers offered their own version of the nature of epidemics. According to them, diseases arise due to the unfavorable position of the stars over a certain place. In recommending fellow citizens to leave "bad" places, the astrologers were right in many respects: by leaving the affected cities, people reduced crowding, involuntarily contributing to a decrease in the incidence.

One of the first scientifically based concepts was put forward by the Italian physician Girolamo Fracastoro (1478-1553). In his main work, the three-volume book "On contagion, contagious diseases and treatment" (1546), the scientist outlined a systematic doctrine of the infection and the ways of its transmission. Fracastoro studied at the "Patavinian Academy" in Padua, where he received a professorship and stayed on to teach. G. Galileo, S. Santorio, A. Vesalius, G. Fallopius, N. Copernicus and W. Harvey graduated from the University of Padua. The first section of the book is devoted to general theoretical provisions derived from the analysis of the works of the great predecessors - Hippocrates, Aristotle, Lucretius, Razi and Avicenna. The description of epidemic diseases is placed in the second volume; Fracastoro considered all known forms of measles, smallpox, malaria, prickly heat, not missing details in the discussion of rabies, malaria and leprosy. In the last part, ancient and modern methods of treatment are presented to the author.

The fundamental work of the Italian physician laid the foundation for scientific terminology regarding infectious diseases, their nature, distribution and methods of dealing with epidemics. Rejecting the popular theory of miasms, Fracastoro offered his colleagues his doctrine of "contagion". From the point of view of a professor from Padua, there were three ways of transmitting the infectious principle: bodily contact, through objects and by air. The word "contagia" was used to refer to a living, reproducing entity secreted by the affected organism. Being confident in the specificity of the causative agent of infection, Fracastoro introduced the concept of "infection" (from the Latin inficere - "infiltrate, poison"), by which he understood the imperceptible introduction of "contagion" into the body of a healthy person and his "damage". At the same time, the word “disinfection” took root in medicine, and in the 19th century, a follower of the Italian physician, a doctor from Germany, K. Hufeland, first used the designation “infectious diseases”.

With the weakening of the plague and leprosy, a new misfortune came to Europe: at the end of the 15th century, an epidemic of syphilis swept the continent. The most reliable reason for the appearance of this disease is the version of the infected sailors from the ships of Columbus. The American origin of lues, as syphilis was otherwise called, was confirmed in 1537 by the Spanish doctor Diaz de Isla, who had to treat the crew of a ship that arrived from the island of Haiti. Venereal diseases have existed since the Stone Age. Sexually transmitted diseases were mentioned in ancient manuscripts and were always associated with love excess. However, in the absence of knowledge about nature, their infectious principle was denied, the ability to be transmitted through common dishes or in utero, that is, from mother to child. Modern doctors know the causative agent of syphilis, which is pale treponema, as well as the fact that timely treatment ensures complete recovery. The sudden rapid spread of lues puzzled medieval doctors, although there was a clear relationship with long wars and mass movements of pilgrims. The desire for hygiene, which had barely begun, again began to decline: public baths began to close, which had previously been strongly recommended to the population in order to prevent the usual infection. In addition to syphilis, the unfortunate inhabitants of Europe suffered from smallpox epidemics. Mortality from a disease characterized by high fever and a rash that left scars on the face and body was extremely high. As a result of rapid transmission through the air, smallpox killed up to 10 million people every year, and the disease drove people of any age, rank and financial situation to the grave.

"English sweat" - a mysterious disease of the Middle Ages

"English sweat", "sweaty fever", "sweaty fever" - this is how they call the most mysterious disease 16th century, which claimed many lives. What do modern scientists think about the causes of its occurrence?

The plague, from which 60% of the population of medieval Europe died out, was called the "black death". The causative agent of this disease was eventually found, but they could not find the cause of another terrible disease- "sweating fever".

History of sweating fever

This mysterious disease has also been called "English Sweat" since its outbreaks were observed mainly in England. She did not mow down, like a plague, entire cities and villages, but they were no less afraid of her, since infected people died within 24 hours.

The disease began with a sudden fever, vomiting, severe pain in the neck, shoulders and abdomen. The chill was accompanied by profuse sweating, weakness, agonizing dyspnoea, and rapid pulse. The person "melted" before our eyes, and death soon followed.

The first outbreak of the disease was associated with the coup that Henry Tudor staged against Richard III in 1485. Henry's French mercenaries in 1480 participated in a company against Ottoman Empire in Rhodes, and from there they could bring the disease to England. "Sweating fever" relentlessly followed Henry and killed a man in London in 6 weeks.

In 1528, 2,000 people died during another outbreak, and then the fever migrated on ships to Germany. In Hamburg, more than a thousand people died within a month, in Danzig - 3,000, and soon the disease began to spread along the Baltic coast. This was the largest epidemic of "sweating fever", although another outbreak was documented in 1551.

Medieval doctors tried to understand the causes of the disease. Thomas Forrester in 1485 and John Keyes in 1552 devoted much time to the study of "English sweating fever" but were never able to identify the causative agent.

Research on the disease "English sweat"

Nowadays, some researchers are inclined to conclude that the fatal disease could be caused by hantavirus. It is transmitted by voles and rats, which do not get sick themselves, but infect humans. Infection occurs through inhalation of fumes from the urine or feces of rodents. The only case of human-to-human transmission of hantavirus was recorded in Argentina in 1996.

Symptoms of "English sweat" are similar to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome - a serious disease that has little to no treatment. Outbreaks of pulmonary syndrome occur in our time: in the United States in 1993, 10 people died, in the summer of 2012, several visitors fell ill national park in California (three of them died).

If we assume that hantavirus is the main culprit of the “sweat fever” and came to Eurasia from America, then a reasonable question arises: how to explain the fact that the “English sweat” epidemic began several years before the discovery of the New World? In addition, the European type of hantavirus causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, in which there is no excessive sweating. Scientists think that a merger of two viruses could have occurred, as a result of which the pulmonary syndrome began to be accompanied by sweating.

Anthrax spores

Microbiologist Edward McSwiegan believes that the causative agent of anthrax is a potential culprit for "sweating fever". Victims of bioterrorism in 2001 experienced very similar symptoms—sudden profuse sweating and extreme fatigue.

Depending on how the spores of anthrax bacteria get from animals to humans, a certain form of the disease develops:

It is possible that Dr. John Keyes in 1551 observed only the pulmonary or intestinal form of anthrax, while Forrester in 1485 encountered the skin form, as he saw black spots on the body of some affected people.

McSwiegan believes that anthrax spores were infected during the processing of animal hair, and if the bodies of the dead are exhumed, it is likely that these spores will be found.

climatic factors

Many scientists have been interested in the fact that the first outbreaks of "sweating fever" coincided in time with the onset of a period of cooling caused by a series of volcanic eruptions in Indonesia. Researcher

Paul Heyman found that the disease spread during flood years, as well as during periods of a sharp increase in the number of rodents. Probably, epidemics arose as a result of a combination of many circumstances.

After an outbreak in 1551, "English sweating fever" disappeared without a trace. It is difficult to say whether we can face this disease today. Unknown viruses regularly appear in the world, so this possibility cannot be ruled out.

(lat. Sudor anglicus, English Sweat sickness- an infectious disease of unknown origin with an extremely high mortality rate, which broke out several times in Europe (primarily in Tudor England) between 1485 and 1551. Now does not exist in natural conditions.

Epidemics

English prickly heat was probably of non-English origin and came to England with the Tudor dynasty. In August 1485, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who lived in Brittany, landed in Wales, defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, entered London and became King Henry VII. Disease followed his army, consisting mainly of French and Breton mercenaries. In the two weeks between Henry's landing on August 7 and the battle of Bosworth on August 22, she had already managed to manifest itself. In London for a month (September - October) several thousand people died through it. Then the epidemic subsided. The people perceived it as a bad sign for Henry VII: "he is destined to rule in agony, a sign back was a sweating disease at the beginning of his reign."

In 1492 the disease came to Ireland as english plague(Irl. Pláigh allais), although a number of researchers claim (citing the lack of evidence of sweat as a symptom in the sources) that it was typhus.

In 1507 and 1517 the disease flared up again throughout the country: in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, half the population died. Around this time, English prickly heat also penetrates the continent, in Calais (then still English possession) and Antwerp, but so far these have been only local outbreaks.

In May 1528 the disease was in London for the fourth time and raged throughout the country; King Henry VIII was forced to dissolve the court and leave the capital, often changing residence. This time, the disease seriously turned over to the continent, appearing first in Hamburg, then went south to Switzerland, and through the entire Holy Roman Empire east to Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Grand Duchy of Moscow (Novgorod), and north to Norway and Sweden . Usually, everywhere the epidemic lasted no more than two weeks. France and Italy were not affected by the disease. By the end of the year, she had disappeared everywhere except in the east of Switzerland, where she remained until the next year.

The last outbreak was in England in 1551. famous doctor John Keyes (latinizing his surname Keys to Caius - Guy) as a witness described him in a special book: A Boke or Counseill Against the Disease Commonly Called the Sweat, or Sweatyng Sicknesse.

In the 18th-19th centuries, a similar disease appeared in France, known as "Picardian prickly heat", but this was already a different disease, because, unlike English prickly heat, it was accompanied by a rash.

High profile victims

Among the victims of the first outbreak of 1485 were two Lord Mayors of London, six aldermen and three sheriffs.

On several occasions, the disease struck people close to the Tudor royal family. Perhaps because of her, Arthur, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of Henry VII, died in 1502. It is believed that the future (at that time) wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, survived the "English prickly heat" and recovered during the epidemic of 1528.

During the last outbreak in the summer of 1551, 16-year-old and 14-year-old boys, Henry and Charles Brandon, children of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, who was married to Henry VII's daughter and Henry VIII's sister Mary Tudor (they were born not from her, but from marriage to Katherine Willowby). At the same time, Charles Brandon Jr., who outlived his older brother in an hour, was a pen during that hour (3rd Duke of Suffolk).

Clinical manifestations

The disease began with severe chills, dizziness and headache, as well as severe pain in the neck, shoulders and limbs. After three hours of this stage, fever and super-strong sweat, thirst, increased heart rate, delirium, pain in the heart began. There were no skin rashes. characteristic feature illness was severe drowsiness, often preceded the onset of death after debilitating sweat, it was believed that if a person was allowed to fall asleep, then she would not wake up.

Once having had a sweating fever, a person did not produce immunity and could die from the next attack.

Causes

The reasons for the "English sweat" remain mysterious. Contemporaries (including Thomas More) and immediate descendants associated it with dirt and what harmful substances in nature. Sometimes it is identified with relapsing fever, which is carried by ticks and lice, but the sources do not mention the characteristic insect bite marks and irritation that occurs. Other authors considered the disease to be related to hantavirus, which causes hemorrhagic fevers and a pulmonary syndrome close to "English sweat", but it is rarely transmitted from person to person, and such an identification is also not generally accepted.

When and why did the epidemic start?

The cities of Oxford and Cambridge suffered the most from prickly heat. Half of the population died from the disease. Why did the disease of the 15th and 16th centuries arose and spread rapidly in England, which claimed so many lives?

Some versions of the disease:

dirt and unsanitary conditions in the old days were the main sources of infection and the beginning of epidemics. The air in England in the Middle Ages was polluted with poisonous fumes. Heaps of waste and contents of chamber pots were thrown through the window. Muddy streams flowed through the streets, poisoning the soil. The water in the wells was unusable. All these reasons provoked the appearance of infections, in particular, the development of the disease, which was previously called prickly heat;
according to one version, the cause of the disease in the 16th century was insect bites: ticks and lice, which are carriers of many diseases not only in the Middle Ages, but even now;
for some time it was believed that the disease of the Middle Ages called miliaria was caused by hantavirus, but this has not been proven;
there are suggestions that epidemics may be the results of tests of bacteriological weapons, and also that prickly heat in medieval England is some kind of flu;
one of the reasons for the development of prickly heat during the reign of Henry 8 in England is the addiction of the British to their favorite alcoholic drink ale;
it is assumed that Henry 8 is guilty, who appeared with his army of French legionnaires, thereby giving rise to the spread of the disease of the century - prickly heat.

According to medieval scholars, prickly heat arose from the damp climate of England, from the manner of dressing warmly in the warm season, and even from earthquakes and the influence of stars and planets.

Typical symptoms of rash

The first symptoms of prickly heat appeared immediately after infection. They began with a violent fever, chills and dizziness. Symptoms of prickly heat were accompanied by severe pain in the head, neck, shoulders, arms and legs. Then came fever, delirium, palpitations and thirst. The patient had a large amount of sweat. If the heart could withstand such a load, and the patient managed to survive, a rash appeared on the chest and neck, passing to the whole body.

Patients were placed in medical institutions

Doctors have identified two types of rash:

scarlet fever, which is a scaly patch;
hemorrhagic, with the formation of blisters that bleed when opened.

The appearance of drowsiness was very dangerous. For this reason, it was impossible to let the patient fall asleep, because if the patient falls asleep, he will never wake up. As a rule, if a person remained alive during the day, then he quickly recovered. Torment brought only bursting blisters on the skin.

Treatment of the disease seemed possible. If the temperature in the room was moderate and constant, he was dressed in moderation so that it was not cold or hot, his chances of recovery increased. The opinion about the need to sweat was erroneous, this method contributed to a speedy death.

No immunity was developed against this disease. A patient who had the opportunity to recover could fall ill repeatedly and repeatedly. In this case, the sick person was doomed. The immune system was affected, and it could no longer recover.

Who exactly was affected by sweating

Most often, outbreaks of the epidemic occurred during the warm seasons. English sweat struck selectively. Mostly they were English. Surprising is the fact that they were healthy, strong people from wealthy families. Rarely, the disease was transmitted to the elderly, women and children, as well as weak and thin men. If they fell ill, most of them easily endured sweating fever and quickly recovered. The lower strata of the population, as well as foreigners who were in the country during outbreaks of the disease, were bypassed by the epidemic. Conversely, noble and healthy city dwellers died in a matter of hours.

Notable people affected by prickly heat

The deadly disease did not spare noble and famous people. The epidemic claimed the lives of six aldermen, three sheriffs and two lords. Sweating did not pass by the royal families and their entourage. Rarely did the patient survive. Illness took away Crown Prince Arthur of Wales. Representatives of the Tudor dynasty also died. The future wife of Henry 8, Anne Boleyn, became a high-ranking victim of the epidemic, but she managed to recover. However, the disease did not spare the only beloved son of King Henry 8. Death also overtook the sons of the first Duke, Charles Brandon.

Anne Boleyn - wife of Henry 8

A sudden onslaught of disease took by surprise, leaving numerous victims in its path. Full of strength and health people died. The unknown disease brought with it many questions that still have no answers. The scale of the epidemic and the powerlessness in front of it kept people in constant fear for their lives.

The French philosopher Émile Littre wrote very truly about this:

“... Suddenly, a deadly infection emerges from an unknown depth and with its destructive breath cuts off human generations, like a reaper cuts off ears of corn. The causes are unknown, the action is terrible, the spread is immeasurable: nothing can cause greater anxiety. It seems that mortality will be limitless, devastation will be endless, and that the fire that has broken out will stop only due to a lack of food.

The last outbreak of sweating fever was seen in 1551. Since then, no one else in the world has heard of this disease. She disappeared without a trace as suddenly as she appeared. Is there any certainty that we will never face this terrible disease? Given the constant emergence of new viruses and epidemics, this possibility cannot be completely ruled out.

For modern medicine, it will not be difficult to cure prickly heat. A few days after the treatment, there will be no trace of an unpleasant disease on the skin.

Basically, prickly heat in children appears due to the fact that their sweat glands do not fully function. Now no one is afraid of prickly heat. Unlike Medieval England, where people trembled with fear at the mere mention of her.

When and why did the epidemic start?

The English suffered from this disease from 1485 to 1551. For 70 years in the XV and XVI centuries the epidemic broke out five times. In those days it was called English sweating fever. It was an infectious disease with an incomprehensible level of etiology. The main feature of the disease is the high mortality of the population.

Basically, the prickly heat covered English territory, stopping at the border with Scotland and Wales. According to some sources, this disease is not at all English in origin, but it appeared in the country with the beginning of the Tudor power. Henry Tudor at the battle of Bosworth in 1485 defeated Richard III and entered England as the reigning king Henry the Seventh. The army of the new king consisted of English soldiers and French legionnaires. In their wake came an epidemic of prickly heat, one of the most rapidly spreading diseases of those centuries.

During the two weeks between Henry's appearance in London and his victory, the first signs of the disease appeared, which progressed with incredible speed. Within a month, it claimed the lives of several thousand people, after which it subsided.

The population of England considered the appearance of prickly heat a bad omen for the new king. People said that he was “destined to reign in pain, and a sweating disease that arose at the beginning of the reign of the Tudors” in the 15th century was a sign of this. from 1507 to 1517, epidemic foci arose throughout the country. The university cities of Oxford and Cambridge have been hit hard by prickly heat. Half the people died there. Although for the Middle Ages such mortality in a short time was not unusual. In the 21st century, it is strange to hear about death in the throes of prickly heat.

Eleven years later, in the spring of 1528, prickly heat overtook the country for the fourth time. England was in such a fever that the king, due to a rampant epidemic, was forced to dissolve the court and left London, moving to different residences from time to time. The last time prickly heat "visited" the country in the 16th century in 1551.

Versions of the occurrence of prickly heat

Why this disease arose and quickly spread is unknown. The people of that time had several versions of this:

Some believed that the main cause was dirt, as well as unknown toxic substances hovering in the air.
According to another version of the pundits of the Middle Ages, lice and ticks were carriers of the disease, but in the sources of the 15th-16th centuries there is no information about the bite marks of these insects and the irritation that appears from them.
The third version suggests that the epidemic could have been caused by hantavirus, which causes hemorrhagic fever and pulmonary syndrome. But since it is practically not transmitted, the version remained unproven.

Many modern sources suggest that prickly heat is just one of the forms of the flu of those times. But scientists are extremely critical of this assumption.

Another interesting version says that the epidemic of "English sweat" was created by a person. And its occurrence in the XV-XVI centuries. - these are the consequences of the first tests of bacteriological weapons.

There are also such versions of medieval scientists about the causes of the epidemic:

The English habit of drinking ale;
The manner of dressing warmly in the summer;
uncleanliness of people;
The damp weather of England;
Earthquakes;
Influence of the stars;

Typical symptoms of rash

The disease manifested itself in symptoms beginning with severe fever, dizziness and headache. As well as pain in the shoulders, neck, legs and arms. After 3 hours, profuse sweat, fever, delirium, palpitations, and pain in the region of the heart, thirst appeared. At this stage, there were no skin rashes.

The rash appeared after two hours if the patient did not die during this time. At first, the chest and neck areas were affected, and then the whole body.

The rash had several types:

Scarlet-like;
Hemorrhagic;

With the latter, small bubbles appeared on top, transparent and filled with liquid. Then they dried up, leaving only a slight peeling of the skin.

The last and most dangerous symptom of miliaria was drowsiness. People believed that if the sick person was allowed to sleep, he would never wake up. But when the patient managed to survive during the day, a favorable result was provided.

The severity of prickly heat has more to do with the suddenness of its onset than with the difficulty of treatment. A lot of people died before certain care products were available.

If the patient was in a room with a constant temperature, his clothes, water were moderately warm, and the fire in the hearth was moderate, so that he was neither hot nor cold, the patient recovered in most cases.

The erroneous opinion was that the patient should sweat properly, then the disease will recede. With this treatment, a person died even faster.

Immunity against prickly heat did not appear. Those who suffered it could very well get sick again. And if this happened, the person was doomed. The first attack of miliaria hit the immune system, and she could not recover. One person could get prickly heat up to 12 times. Fr uh nsis B uh Kon in the book "History of the reign of Henry VII" described in detail the development of prickly heat.

Who exactly was affected by sweating

The epidemic broke out in the spring or summer and spread like lightning throughout the country. The disease mainly affected the English - healthy young men from the rich noble families. Older children and women were less likely to be at risk of infection. And if they got sick, they soon recovered. Foreigners who were in the country during epidemics were also not exposed to infection. Sweating has bypassed the lower strata of society.

The incubation period was from 24 to 28 hours, before the onset of the first symptoms. The few hours that followed were decisive. People either died or stayed alive.

Notable people affected by prickly heat

Six aldermen, two lord mayors and three sheriffs died in the first outbreak. Many times prickly heat also took away members of the royal dynasty. It may have taken the life of Henry the Seventh's eldest heir, Prince Arthur of Wales, in 1502. In 1528, sweating overtook Anne Boleyn, then the future wife of Henry the Eighth.

In the last focus of the epidemic in 1551 of the 16th century, the sons of Charles Brandon, who was the first Duke of Suffolk, died. He had a second marriage with the daughter of King Henry the Seventh, Mary Tudor, Charles and Henry Brandon also died, on whom the state had high hopes.

In the Middle Ages, medicine was undeveloped and could not find a cure for prickly heat, which claimed countless lives.

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