Sweating Sickness

If you are a student of Tudor England or a viewer of TV shows and movies depicting the Tudor period, you may have heard of the sweating sickness. It was a disease that killed some of Henry VIII’s friends and court members and it ravaged parts of England in a manner similar to the bubonic plague though in far less numbers.

The sweating sickness began in 1485 and the last outbreak occurred in 1551. The onset of symptoms was swift and people could die within hours of contracting it. Scientists are unsure exactly what it is or where it came from but it is believed to be similar to the hantavirus. The symptoms were as follows: apprehension, cold shivers, giddiness, headache, severe pains, exhaustion. After the shivers, a period of extensive sweating would occur, which led to delirium and intense thirst. There would also be intense sleepiness and then death though some recovered but this did not seem to offer immunity.

There are theories the disease was brought from France when Henry VII returned with his troops to gain the English throne. However, some historians think it dated back to Richard III. It has been thought poor sanitation might have caused or spread the disease. Physicians during the time of the outbreak noted the symptoms and found it similar to typhus. It was also believed that King Arthur, Henry VIII’s brother and Catherine of Aragon’s first husband, might have died from the sickness. The disease spread to Ireland and killed Lord Chancellor, Hugh Inge. Henry VIII was very concerned and left London during an outbreak and switched residences repeatedly during that time. The sweating sickness was last seen in 1578.

The sweating sickness is depicted in The Tudors, in Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, in The King’s Curse by Philippa Gregory.