The Bills Of Mortality: A Glimpse Into London’s Deadly Past

With the advent of COVID-19, and the many articles and posts on social media about the pandemic, I became fascinated by the history of diseases that have afflicted London over the centuries.

One such example is the Great Plague of 1665, which decimated the city’s population.

As I looked into this topic, the name John Graunt kept coming up, again and again!

Who was John Graunt?

Graunt is considered by many historians to have founded the science of demography (The study of human population), and his work on the Bills of Mortality has left a lasting impact on our understanding of population statistics.

John Graunt was born on April 24th 1620, in London.

He was the son of a shopkeeper and became an apprentice to his father, who was a member of the Drapers’ Livery Company*. The drapers were the wool and cloth merchants.

*A livery company is a type of guild (or association) of craftsmen and merchants in a particular trade in the City of London. There are 110 Livery Companies today, but have been a part of the City of London since medieval times, representing the interests, fixing the prices and quality standards of their specific trade.

Graunt would go on to become a successful businessman in London and held many important positions in the Drapers’ Company. As he prospered, he became involved in politics. He would start to look into the mortality statistics, known as the Bills of Mortality.

The Bills of Mortality were lists of the dead that were published in London from the late 16th century.

Graunt’s Legacy

Graunt used the data to write his own book, “Natural and Political Observations”, which study religion, growth, disease, and government, and how the changes affected the city of London.

His 90-page work was presented at the newly formed Royal Society, a learned society founded in 1660 in London, dedicated to promoting and advancing scientific knowledge through research, education, and communication.

King Charles II himself endorsed his work, and Graunt was accepted as a member of the said Royal Society.

The year 1666, however, brought financial ruin to Graunt, as his clothing business was destroyed in the great fire! These financial problems would plague him (pun intended) for the rest of his life.

But if his name in not well known today, Graunt’s work has had a lasting impact on our understanding of population statistics.

He died on the 18th of April 1674, from jaundice (yes, we know that), and was buried at the medieval church of Saint-Dunstan-in-the-West on Fleet Street, London.

The Bills Of Mortality

The Bills of Mortality themselves offer a glimpse into London’s deadly past. They cover all the parishes in the City of London and would have been posted weekly.

I found this gem of a book at an online auction, which covers the years 1664 to 1665. Those are particularly interesting as they cover the Great Plague of London, the last major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England.

Medical Terms of the Time

One fascinating aspect of the Bills of Mortality is the medical terms used to describe the diseases. Here are a few examples:

Do not read if you are eating, ok?

Some of those are quite self explanatory, like ‘Feaver’, ‘Suddenly’, and even ‘Winde’,

But there are more tricky ones, like ‘Rising of the Lights’.

I was really hoping the 7 patients of that specific week had died happy ‘seing the light’,

But no, unfortunately it appears it is ‘an obstructive condition of the larynx or windpipe characterized by a hoarse, barking cough and difficulty breathing.’

And then there was:

‘The King’s Evil’

King’s Evil” was a term used to describe a type of scrofula, a lymphatic gland infection that was prevalent in medieval and early modern Europe.

I don’t put in any picture. You’ll thank me later.

The name originated in the time of Edward the Confessor (11th Century) with the belief that the disease could be cured by the touch of the King of England, and this led to a practice known as the Royal Touch.

It was based on the belief that monarchs were appointed by God and had the power to heal through their touch.

It was also believed that the disease was caused by sin, and that the touch of the king was a form of divine redemption that could cure the patient both of their sin AND their physical ailment.

Charles II was known to have performed the Royal Touch on numerous occasions during his reign.

Actually he was said to have performed the ritual on over 90,000 people, and the Royal Touch was even included in the Book of Common Prayer as a form of healing.

Today, we know that scrofula is caused by a bacterial infection and can be treated with antibiotics.

The idea of the Royal Touch as a cure for illness is considered a relic of a bygone era, but it remains an interesting historical footnote in the history of medicine.

Tony P.