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The English Sweating Sickness: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Disease That Plagued Medieval London
Plague and pestilence have both fascinated and terrified humanity from the very beginning. Societies and individuals have struggled to make sense of them, and more importantly, they’ve often struggled to avoid them.
Before the scientific age, people had no knowledge of the microbiological agents - unseen bacteria and viruses - which afflicted them, and thus, the maladies were often ascribed to wrathful supernatural forces. Even when advances in knowledge posited natural causes for epidemics and pandemics, medicine struggled to deal with them, and for hundreds of years, religion continued to work hand-in-hand with medicine.
It was only in the mid-19th century that scientists established a definitive link between viruses and bacteria and disease, and this allowed the development of vaccines to prevent the spread of killers such as smallpox, typhus, and diphtheria.
In the early 20th century, the development of antibiotics helped immensely, but as the Spanish Flu of 1918 and the recent coronavirus outbreak demonstrated, people have not succeeded in conquering all infectious diseases. In fact, it was not until World War II that most of the pestilences that have afflicted people in the past could be effectively prevented, but the fear of contagion remains strong.
The plague, for all its horrors, became a known quantity that moved through a predictable progression, so by the 15th century, citizens learned to go on with their lives, resigned to the fact that these curses seemed inescapable.
However, in the mid-15th century, a new “febrile” disease of an entirely unknown cause struck again in Britain in a series of erratically paced and lethal outbreaks between 1485 and 1551. Confined almost entirely to England, the new and unfamiliar wave of illness paled before the statistical destruction caused by the Black Death. However, what came to be known as the “English sweating sickness” reappeared through the decades in a stunning display of unpredictable timing and terrifying symptoms.
The anxiety produced by its rapid and grim emergence rivaled that of the previous continental scourge. Surviving the disease offered no defense against reinfection, and what began as mild discomfort in the morning often left a victim dead by nightfall. The new plague’s arrival was indeed poorly timed for a country still recovering from the Black Death.
To worsen the burden, respiratory diseases already stalked various communities throughout the British Isles, and a syphilis epidemic was widespread. Typhus and malaria were well known to larger Britain. All that the citizens of England knew was that the new peril was different, lacking the rash of typhus or the boils of bubonic plague, cold comfort at best. The new “sweating sickness” was not preying on Britain - only England.
In an uncustomary manner, the sweating sickness chose the aristocracy for its primary target, rather than the usual assault on the poor. Worse for the wealthy and ruling class, including the royals, the sweating sickness uncharacteristically infiltrated the ranks of young men aspiring to high places in society and government.
In turn, few men and women in their households were spared. The poor suffered as well, but as with the plague, they were mandated to continue their daily regimens in the absence of any alternative. For the well-to-do, the disease struck at the heart of England’s existence, personal and economical, with a predilection for those being groomed for state leadership or royal positions
Before the scientific age, people had no knowledge of the microbiological agents - unseen bacteria and viruses - which afflicted them, and thus, the maladies were often ascribed to wrathful supernatural forces. Even when advances in knowledge posited natural causes for epidemics and pandemics, medicine struggled to deal with them, and for hundreds of years, religion continued to work hand-in-hand with medicine.
It was only in the mid-19th century that scientists established a definitive link between viruses and bacteria and disease, and this allowed the development of vaccines to prevent the spread of killers such as smallpox, typhus, and diphtheria.
In the early 20th century, the development of antibiotics helped immensely, but as the Spanish Flu of 1918 and the recent coronavirus outbreak demonstrated, people have not succeeded in conquering all infectious diseases. In fact, it was not until World War II that most of the pestilences that have afflicted people in the past could be effectively prevented, but the fear of contagion remains strong.
The plague, for all its horrors, became a known quantity that moved through a predictable progression, so by the 15th century, citizens learned to go on with their lives, resigned to the fact that these curses seemed inescapable.
However, in the mid-15th century, a new “febrile” disease of an entirely unknown cause struck again in Britain in a series of erratically paced and lethal outbreaks between 1485 and 1551. Confined almost entirely to England, the new and unfamiliar wave of illness paled before the statistical destruction caused by the Black Death. However, what came to be known as the “English sweating sickness” reappeared through the decades in a stunning display of unpredictable timing and terrifying symptoms.
The anxiety produced by its rapid and grim emergence rivaled that of the previous continental scourge. Surviving the disease offered no defense against reinfection, and what began as mild discomfort in the morning often left a victim dead by nightfall. The new plague’s arrival was indeed poorly timed for a country still recovering from the Black Death.
To worsen the burden, respiratory diseases already stalked various communities throughout the British Isles, and a syphilis epidemic was widespread. Typhus and malaria were well known to larger Britain. All that the citizens of England knew was that the new peril was different, lacking the rash of typhus or the boils of bubonic plague, cold comfort at best. The new “sweating sickness” was not preying on Britain - only England.
In an uncustomary manner, the sweating sickness chose the aristocracy for its primary target, rather than the usual assault on the poor. Worse for the wealthy and ruling class, including the royals, the sweating sickness uncharacteristically infiltrated the ranks of young men aspiring to high places in society and government.
In turn, few men and women in their households were spared. The poor suffered as well, but as with the plague, they were mandated to continue their daily regimens in the absence of any alternative. For the well-to-do, the disease struck at the heart of England’s existence, personal and economical, with a predilection for those being groomed for state leadership or royal positions
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Published July 25, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 4, 2026
4 stars
short review for busy readers:
A short overview of the mysterious illness that appeared in 1485 and plagued England, especially London, well into the 1500s before disappearing just as mysteriously. Clear and concisely written. Focuses both on what the Sickness could have been, and its impact on Tudor society.
in detail:
The English Sweating Sickness has been a medical mystery for 500 years.
What caused the rapid ailing and death of so many? Why did it only appear in the summer months with highly irregular outbreaks? Why did it only strike England, but not Wales, Scotland or Ireland?
And most importantly to the people of the time: why did it disproportionally target the wealthy, especially wealthy men, earning it the name "Stopknave" or "Stoopknave"?
Symptoms (from Wikipedia): "sense of apprehension, followed by cold shivers (sometimes very violent), dizziness, headache, and severe pains in the neck, shoulders, and limbs, with great exhaustion.
The characteristic sweat broke out suddenly without any obvious cause. A sense of heat, headache, delirium, rapid pulse, and intense thirst accompanied the sweat. Palpitations and pain in the heart were frequent symptoms.
In the final stages there was either general exhaustion and collapse, or an irresistible urge to sleep."
Covid 19 made armchair virologists of us all. The course the Sweating Sickness took is easy to follow because we know how a virus mutates into weaker and weaker strains. We understand how people with co-morbidities will be struck faster and harder. We also understand herd immunity works and why isolating at home with family is not a terribly effective measure.
That makes watching how the Tudor era population dealt with the problem all the more interesting -- and sad. They knew none of what we do, and were utterly perplexed at who, and how, the Sickness struck and what to do about it.
Unless you were Henry VIII. Then you just jumped on a horse and rode miles away the minute anybody started coughing!
Unfortunately, even DNA analysis of those who died of the Sickness doesn't tell us much, as after so long, there are no more traces of it in bones.
Two of the most likely possibilities proposed are:
a) Hantavirus, which is spread by a transparent mite hosted by deer mice.
b) Anthrax poisoning from raw wool or animal carcasses.
but neither explains everything people at the time reported. The mystery continues....
short review for busy readers:
A short overview of the mysterious illness that appeared in 1485 and plagued England, especially London, well into the 1500s before disappearing just as mysteriously. Clear and concisely written. Focuses both on what the Sickness could have been, and its impact on Tudor society.
in detail:
The English Sweating Sickness has been a medical mystery for 500 years.
What caused the rapid ailing and death of so many? Why did it only appear in the summer months with highly irregular outbreaks? Why did it only strike England, but not Wales, Scotland or Ireland?
And most importantly to the people of the time: why did it disproportionally target the wealthy, especially wealthy men, earning it the name "Stopknave" or "Stoopknave"?
Symptoms (from Wikipedia): "sense of apprehension, followed by cold shivers (sometimes very violent), dizziness, headache, and severe pains in the neck, shoulders, and limbs, with great exhaustion.
The characteristic sweat broke out suddenly without any obvious cause. A sense of heat, headache, delirium, rapid pulse, and intense thirst accompanied the sweat. Palpitations and pain in the heart were frequent symptoms.
In the final stages there was either general exhaustion and collapse, or an irresistible urge to sleep."
Covid 19 made armchair virologists of us all. The course the Sweating Sickness took is easy to follow because we know how a virus mutates into weaker and weaker strains. We understand how people with co-morbidities will be struck faster and harder. We also understand herd immunity works and why isolating at home with family is not a terribly effective measure.
That makes watching how the Tudor era population dealt with the problem all the more interesting -- and sad. They knew none of what we do, and were utterly perplexed at who, and how, the Sickness struck and what to do about it.
Unless you were Henry VIII. Then you just jumped on a horse and rode miles away the minute anybody started coughing!
Unfortunately, even DNA analysis of those who died of the Sickness doesn't tell us much, as after so long, there are no more traces of it in bones.
Two of the most likely possibilities proposed are:
a) Hantavirus, which is spread by a transparent mite hosted by deer mice.
b) Anthrax poisoning from raw wool or animal carcasses.
but neither explains everything people at the time reported. The mystery continues....
January 27, 2021
Perhaps we are not familiar with the 'sweating sickness' because it was lumped with the plagues that swept through Europe during various ages. In fact, this book makes a point of saying that the sweating sickness had abated, when a bit later the Bubonic Plague blew through London and killed more people than the sweat. This disease tended to affect the wealthy and people living in close quarters (university students and monastery inhabitants ).
What is absolutely fascinating is that this sweating disease attacked the wealthy and upper classes instead of the poor. It also just hit England, not Ireland, Wales, or Scotland. In fact, it tells the story of King Arthur and Catherine of Aragon's marriage (and Arthur's death) and Henry VIII's early life through the prism of the sweating sickness. People thought Arthur died of scarlet fever, but it might have been sweating sickness. Henry VIII spent much of his life trying to avoid the dreaded disease. Anne Boleyn got it and survived.
When Henry split with the Catholic Church over his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, it was bandied about that the sweating sickness was God's punishment on the English for Henry's sin against the Church and God. There's a great sentence that sums up the terrible status of medical attention at the time of the plagues and sweating sickness, "... medical professionals of the era were literary, medical, and religious hybrids, .... " There were 5 outbreaks of this sweating disease; with gaps of 22, 10, 11, and 23 years between them.
This book is very interesting because it separates the sweating sickness from the various plagues. The author talks about the established medical theories of the day and how medical science is still trying to figure out what was/is the source of the sweating sickness. Great reading.
What is absolutely fascinating is that this sweating disease attacked the wealthy and upper classes instead of the poor. It also just hit England, not Ireland, Wales, or Scotland. In fact, it tells the story of King Arthur and Catherine of Aragon's marriage (and Arthur's death) and Henry VIII's early life through the prism of the sweating sickness. People thought Arthur died of scarlet fever, but it might have been sweating sickness. Henry VIII spent much of his life trying to avoid the dreaded disease. Anne Boleyn got it and survived.
When Henry split with the Catholic Church over his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, it was bandied about that the sweating sickness was God's punishment on the English for Henry's sin against the Church and God. There's a great sentence that sums up the terrible status of medical attention at the time of the plagues and sweating sickness, "... medical professionals of the era were literary, medical, and religious hybrids, .... " There were 5 outbreaks of this sweating disease; with gaps of 22, 10, 11, and 23 years between them.
This book is very interesting because it separates the sweating sickness from the various plagues. The author talks about the established medical theories of the day and how medical science is still trying to figure out what was/is the source of the sweating sickness. Great reading.
April 15, 2026
More of a compilation of everything we already know about The Sweating Sickness rather than adding anything new but was interesting nonetheless.
September 17, 2026
Listened to this as an audiobook. A nice introduction to the sweating sickness and to Medieval / Renaissance approaches to medicine. Great for anyone who is new to medical history and wants a relatively simple overview, just be mindful of the more speculative elements.
July 27, 2025
Not bad, but very speculative. The actual history of events and personal accounts of the times were fascinating. But trying to diagnose it from those records is at best guesswork. Theorizing how it affected history is interesting, but obviously speculative.
October 12, 2022
Concise but thorough discussion of the topic. Listened to audio version.
July 20, 2024
Good overview, does pay some attention to the different theories as well as the impact ont he different social levels.
September 28, 2026
A quick little recap of the Sweating Sickness! I listened to the audio book on my drive to work, and it was an engaging story.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews