2. Blood-Infected Diarrhoea Killed King John And Edward I (1216 and 1307)
Dysentery really must be a horrible way to go - diarrhoea mixed with blood floods out of the victim, who is left in excruciating pain and who never feels like they have fully defecated. And unfortunately this was the fate to befall Kings John and Edward I... John Lackland is believed to have contracted the illness while retreating from a French invasion across the marshy area known as The Wash in East Anglia before later dying in Newark Castle on October 18, 1216. Interestingly, some contemporary chroniclers even claim King John was killed after he consumed poisoned ale, plums and peaches, but this has never been proven. Edward I on the other hand contracted dysentery near the Scottish border at Burgh by Sands and this - coupled with possible cancer - saw him quickly become dehydrated and lose all strength before he died on July 7, 1307.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.