History Linkage!

[magog_83]

Off to work, but was just reading this on the BBC website and found it fascinating :)

Shakespeare's real Ophelia found by historians?

The probate, court and coroner records for the early modern period are a real treasure trove of information, there are so many wonderful incidental details and small insights into local rivalries,relationships and traditions.

Comments

[archaeologist-d.livejournal.com]

That is really interesting. I love that they have so much history written down there.

[magog-83.livejournal.com]

It's fascinating :) When I was volunteering in the county archives near my uni, I sorted through the coroner's reports from the war and there was some amazing stuff there. Then in the court records for my period, there were all these fights and hilarious insults exchanged. The depth of detail they record is brilliant.

[jelazakazone.livejournal.com]

The one history class I took in college was fascinating to me because we were reading primary sources and I loved these little tidbits that people threw in their (re)tellings of whatever it was they were talking about. I could see how history could be a compelling major. Alas, I was two semesters away from graduating and not about to change my major at that point.

[katie-andrew.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was neat. I like reading about possible inspiration behind characters and stories.

The information on the other types of deaths reminds me of a book Strange Deaths that I had once. I mean, who wants to have their last moment be relieving themselves?

[magog-83.livejournal.com]

That would be rather embarrassing! Wasn't there a British King who died on the loo? *googles* George II apparently!

I had a good book once all about strange wills and death-related stories, including the inappropriately hilarious tale of the Scottish widow prosecuted after being found dancing on her husband's grave, singing "Who's Sorry Now". That really shouldn't be as funny as it is.

The strangest one I found in my research was a game of football that devolved into a fatal scuffle, presumably someone disagreed with the Ref's decision! This was in the 1590s though...

[katie-andrew.livejournal.com]

I'm inappropriately chortling right now. :)

[opusnone.livejournal.com]

I'm fascinated by the various descriptions of the other poor souls' departures:
There were also three fatalities involving performing bears
(Death by) the crushing of his testicles "during a Christmas game"
and most intriguingly
And a man from Scotland died while demonstrating how he liked to lie down and be tied up, a recreation which he had claimed to be popular in his homeland.

Wild times.

[magog-83.livejournal.com]

Early modernists have all the fun! The most exciting one I ever found was death by football :D Although I will always have a special place in my heart for the Newport man who was so afeared for his life, that he ran away with the rolls of the court, legging it down Newport high street in the 1580s (after ruffians broke into a council meeting).

[jamie15.livejournal.com]

Oh! I read about that in the guardian today :D. I was quite intrigued by it - especially by her name. They raised a really good point about even Shakespeare being a bit unsure about the spelling of his own name, so they thought that they could've been related even.

At the end they brought quite an interesting list of extraordinary deaths - like the guy who avoided being crushed by a maypole but got hit by the rock that was dislodged instead, or the man who fell into the cesspit and ... drowned? Is that the word? Anyway ... poor fellows ... looks like they would've been contestants for the Darwin Awards ...

[magog-83.livejournal.com]

That has to be one of the most hideous deaths I've ever heard of! Imagine drowning in a cess pit DDDD:

It's all the random detail and exaggeration that makes early modern records so amusing to me. They are always "in fear of their life!" and there are lots of references to people breaking their skulls and bleeding heavily for a week (in which case, they would surely be dead in the sixteenth century).

I bet there are lots more fascinating incidents to come out yet :D I wish my Latin was better so I could work on projects like that too. My supervisor is going through the Welsh court records for the 1590s and there is loads of stuff there too.

[jamie15.livejournal.com]

Yup! It is pretty disgusting ... but on the other hand, I think I saw something similar on that BBC documentary called 'Filthy Cities' a while ago, where the muckraker guy fell into his own privy and drowned (the floorboards had become rotten and he fell through) ... :(!

What a terrifying way to die though, to bleed heavily from a headwound for a whole week! O.o

[pen-rabbit.livejournal.com]

Oh, thats so interesting! I love all the details from the coroners reports. :)

[magog-83.livejournal.com]

Me too! Considering how formal so much knowledge of that period is, it's wonderful to get little insights into life for ordinary people and all the incidental details :D