03 August 2023 , 13:17
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One of Britain's last medieval kings died of a sexually-transmitted infection (STI), a new study has claimed.
King Edward IV was only 40 when he passed away in early 1483, leaving the throne to his 12-year-old son Edward V who died just months later as one of the ill-fated princes in the Tower of London. Many theories have been put forward through the years over his mysterious cause of death, including malaria and even being poisoned.
But now historians believe they may have cracked the case, as new research appears to show the monarch lost his life not in battle or glutton-related illness, like many of his ancestors and descendants - but to syphilis. The disease was common in the Middle Ages and was usually contracted through unprotected sex.
The STI was initially thought to have broken out in the British Isles 10 years after the King's death, brought back by Christopher Columbus' crew on the landing of their America voyage in 1493. But new research shows its parent disease treponematosis was prevalent throughout Europe and Africa since ancient times.
Edward IV's cause of death has been a mystery for centuries (Getty Images)
King Edward IV is buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor (PA)King Edward IV was one of the last Plantagenet kings before his young son took on the throne and became incarcerated in one of England's greatest mysteries, subsequently passing the throne to the famous Richard III. The remains of King Richard were discovered beneath a council car park in Leicester in 2012.
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Historian Marylynn Salmon says centuries-old documents recording the final months of Edward's life appear to suggest symptoms which would indicate he was suffering from the late stages of syphilis. The venereal disease can take months to manifest, before eventually causing damage to the brain and nervous system if left untreated.
One document written at the time from Edward's court noted the king "was not old" and appearing to be suffering an illness doctors could not diagnose, adding he "fell into his bed around Eastertide and on the 9th of April gave up his spirit". Ms Salmon said the unusual choice of words would tie with him having syphilis, a completely unheard of disease at the time.
She said: “The comment makes little sense unless we consider the possibility that Edward suffered from treponematosis, a disease unusual for having different outcomes in its endemic and venereal forms. Apparently, the chronicler was familiar enough with the disease to understand this, indicating that it was common in fifteenth-century England.”
Another ancient record written by an Italian monk visiting England around the time of Edward's reign, who notes courtiers described the king suffering "a damp chill to his very marrow" during a fishing trip, which Ms Salmon believes was a contemporary term for having sex. The medieval document adds: "For this, he was seized by a disease from which he did not recover, and was even afflicted even further."
The historian notes that royals such as King Edward would have had poorer immunity systems at the time due to not mixing with as many people as ordinary members of the public. Many people would have likely been exposed to syphilis at the time, Ms Salmon writes in the book Medieval Syphilis and Treponemal Disease, but would have been better placed at fighting it off.