Strange Ways to Die in the Dark Ages

by Emily Bush, Carrie Ingram-Gettins

Strange Ways to Die in the Dark Ages takes an amusing yet grim dive into the bizarre, unexpected, and downright ridiculous ways people met their untimely ends in early medieval Europe. Join us as we recount tales of battles gone awry and tell the stories of monarchs who demonstrated they might not be all that fit for the throne. Together, we will uncover what weird and wonderful ways our ancestors attempted to cure themselves or the awful inventions created to torture and execute each other. Tread carefully in the past, though, as you never quite know what perils are lurking.

From Viking warriors felled by cheese to kings who perished in toilet-related mishaps, this book uncovers the strange, often absurd realities of life and death in an age of superstition, blood feuds, and very questionable medical advice. Packed with dark humour, historical oddities, and stories so strange they simply must be true, this is history as you've never read it before—deadly, disturbing, and delightfully ridiculous!

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication April 28, 2026

Reviews

[✨ tweety ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like reading about history facts, you'd definitely enjoy this book. It gives a brief overview of Europe of the time first, so if you aren't familiar with history or need to refresh your memory, the authors got you covered and you can understand the historical context better. It tries to give a peek into Asian countries as well, because even though they didn't exactly refer as this period as dark ages, there were a lot of unhinged practices there too that were worth mentioning.

The dark ages aren't loved by everyone because well. There are plagues and famines and absurd practices that would get you a deep eye roll if they were done today. Some of these habits and practices would also give the most sensitive a scare because they were horrific. But it is fascinating to me to see how people lived and how they went through things that today we would fix differently. And how enemies were dealt with or how kings and queens tried to live another day. The dark ages were a chaotic period, and it showed.

I appreciated that a lot of countries were covered but obviously the focus was England and its neighbouring countries. A lot of these facts I already knew but it was worth going back to them. I wish there was more about Italy too since the dark ages were absolute chaos here (but I may be biased. I'm Italian). I would definitely read a book on that, if it ever comes.

This book dealt with a period that's usually seen as dark but also used humor to lighten the tones, and I liked this. I found myself smiling a lot and it kept me interested until the end.

Thanks to the editor for an ARC of this book.

[Darth C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to my new favorite reminder that humans have always been a disaster. This book is basically a medieval “Darwin Awards: Special Edition,” except with more chainmail, questionable hygiene, and approximately 400% more death-by-cheese. And yes, I absolutely cackled my way through every single page like the respectful little gremlin I am.

This was the perfect blend of grim history, unhinged humor, and “wow, our ancestors really said YOLO but in Latin.” The stories range from monarchs who died in ways that could only be described as “unfit for the throne and the toilet,” to doctors whose medical advice was essentially, “have you tried bleeding about it?”

Every chapter had me alternating between horrified fascination and laughing like an absolute menace. And somehow, despite the chaos, it still manages to be respectful to the real people involved(which I appreciate because I may be feral but I’m not heartless).

If you love learning, laughing, and whispering “there’s no way that really happened” while knowing full well it DID… this one delivers. I inhaled it, giggled, winced, and immediately wanted to tell everyone around me about the weirder deaths like it was medieval gossip hour.

Five stars for:
• Making me laugh at things I definitely shouldn’t laugh at
• Deeply cursed historical facts
• A gentle reminder that no matter how unhinged modern life gets, at least we’re not dying from falling chamber pots

Highly recommend if you like your history with a side of existential dread and unholy giggles.

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wild and amusing romp through the dark ages learning about the strange ways people died - either through wars, famines, plagues, proofs of witchcraft or crimes - often convoluted ways warped minds with no scientific information to bolster the methods chosen as proof the method worked - or just crazy theatrics the Vikings, Romans, Celts or other dark age groups thought up. It was great fun to read. (thank you NetGalley and Pen & Sword publishers)

I’m a history nerd and enjoy unusual adventures into the past. This book certainly supplied a lot of these for me. As I read, whenever the Vikings came to be discussed, I thought of the epic Netflix series, The Lost Kingdom (the Bernard Cornwall series, The Saxon Tales, on which the series is based is equally good) and these sections of the book really came to life for me. Plus, all the “tongue in check comments” (like the heading Tormod Kaldrunarskald: The Poet Warrior Who Died Like A Drama Queen -LOL- to mention but one humorous moment). These were so snarky I just grew to love this book more. I also enjoyed the Richard the Lionheart section (reminded me Kingdom of Heaven, historically inaccurate movie but great scenes of Jerusalem - much better is James Reston, Jr’s, Warriors of God, great book about the 3rd crusade). That’s what I loved about this book - it brought history to life - as gruesome as the topic was. And, I loved whenever “whilest” appeared - as an American this is not frequently used.

The book is very historically accurate, which makes it an especially good read. The citations and bibliography were most impressive. As a side political note from an American, I hope RFK, Jr, doesn’t hear of this book. He might consider it worthy of US health policy - though he’s not much for truth or transparency - but he seems to like the dark ages.

Highly recommend.

[Tzia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really fun and entertaining look at how humans have always been our own worst enemies, and invites the question '...so how HAVE we actually survived this long?' Something I particularly enjoyed was the sense of humour this book has, the personalities of the authors really come through so rather than this being a dry, heavy essay; it's a genuinely funny book to read as well as being a genuine non-fiction learning experience.

There are examples of unfortunate endings from all over the world, though England and Europe are the main focus of the book. The chapters cover religion, medicine, food and much more and gives the reader a whistle-stop tour of an often overlooked period of history.

The writing does loop back on itself, tries to cover a lot in a very short page count, and although I loved the humour it does get in the way a little at points - hence the rating. Nonetheless though, really good book and definitely one I would recommend for anyone with something of an eye for the unusual.

- Thanks to NetGalley for granting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review -

[Angelina Titeryakova · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this book to everyone that has an interest in death during the middle ages, especially in England and its royals.

I have always appreciated that English books related to history, aimed at the masses, are commonly written with a sense of humor and this is no exception.
I like how the book starts with a bit of a background, so you'll know the overall frame of the events taking places in the timeline. It is divided into a few chapters, that also makes it easy to read and digest. You can tell how much time, research,love and personal touch the authors have put into this book.
However, for me the title is misleading - most of the death that are described aren't really that strange and quite appropriate for the time period. I expected for the book to be about England and it was (well, England and other connections to it),I did not expect that most of them will be connected to royals. So for me, a title like 'Ways to die in Dark Age England' or 'Royal deaths in Dark Age England' or something like that would be more fitting.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and authors for the ARC

[Emelia (emeliaisreading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Strange Ways to Die in the Dark Ages by Emily Bush and Carrie Ingram-Gettins
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Nonfiction History
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: April 28, 2026

I'm not generally a non-fiction reader, but I have always had an interest in the macabre, so I knew I needed to read Strange Ways to Die in the Dark Ages.

The book’s structure is fantastic. It quickly sets the historical scene, then jumps right into compelling chapters covering everything from poisoning and the witch hunts to execution methods and deaths during major battles.

I was hooked, with "Deadly Superstitions" and "Kill or Cure" being my top chapters. The seamless cross-references kept the read immersive while including even more content if you want it, and the inclusion of pictures at the end was a great finish!

This book gathers the most interesting and gruesome deaths, delivering them with a bit of humor that makes the tough content easier to digest. For a fun, highly recommended non-fiction read, look no further!

Thank you so much Pen and Sword History and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy!

The authors try to hard at times to be funny, bringing in lots of pop culture references that will, sadly, quickly get dated. Also, I began to get a headache from all the bouncing around time and place. I appreciate they were trying to tackle death-by-type, but it didn't even really feel like any of the chapters had a cohesive theme to them. I did like that they covered a lot of ground acknowledging the Dark Ages is more than just England, and even checking in on events as far away from Greenwich Mean Time as Japan. I also liked the individual events as they get into particular spicey episodes of the era, with, understandable, heavy emphasis on the Vikings. My favorite part was the White Ship Disaster, which gets proper attention, as they make the obvious point far too many serious historians miss that all of Western history took a 180 turn because one drink teenager decided to go on a booze cruise.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

A breezy, speedy account of death, medicine, and funerary practices in the "Dark Ages."

First, the title of the book is a misnomer: disease, famine, and armed conflict are all common ways to die both then and now. The authors do give some examples of uncommon deaths, like Henry I dying after eating a surfeit of lampreys, but mostly it's recounting the same stuff that was covered in history class.

The authors are not always rigorous in presenting information in a way that distinguishes between verifiable facts and apocryphal tales, presenting the legend of Alfred and the cakes in the same way they do instances of the plague.

There is a lighthearted tone to the writing that makes the book an entertaining read despite the gruesome subject, but I do recommend it for anyone looking to educate themselves about the time period.

Two and a half stars.

Received via NetGalley.

[Emily Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The selection of the stories seemed geared toward the interesting, though the introductory chapter was a little dry. This book is grouped and organized by type of death rather than by chronology. Therefore, I feel that readers who are already very interested in history, and thus familiar with the general scope of events will enjoy this book more than people not very familiar with the scope of history who may become confused by the back and forth. The title is a little misleading in that you might think 'strange' refers to methods of death unique to the time and not now, such as blood eagles, Viking raids, etc. However, there are quite a few deaths such as illnesses which we have now. I did like the background on what caused some illnesses though, such as ergotism, which was interesting. I received this book as a digital ARC.

[Vanessa Valenzuela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an informative and entertaining book!! I didn’t know how much I didn’t know about the dark ages! (Very thankful for the notes and glossary section! ) this book is well researched and the information is presented in a very digestible way. It is SO interesting! I love reading about how people die and react to death! A great read!

I received this book in exchange for a review ! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this!!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the publishers – Pen & Sword History – for giving me access to this book as an E-ARC via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoy reading about history in this way. Easily accessible, and even though the theme is dark it was presented in a light-hearted, informative and fun way. It was nice with a sort of wider perspective to look at strange deaths in other parts of the world too.

It was an enjoyable read.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Netgalley ARC- Decent start to an interesting paper. The writing seemed incomplete in spots, more like a school paper than a published work. The style was great, had a good rhythm until they repeated some stuff. I'd read more by them if it got polished a bit more. This topic was definitely a great pick to write about

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book…the facts and learning strange ways that people passed in the dark ages was really enjoyable. Would definitely purchase and read again. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and share my thoughts.

[Georgi_Lvs_Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘While it is a fact that everybody must, at one point, face the consequences of their mortality, not everybody will face it in the same way or with quite the same level of dignity.’

An interesting read and entertaining at times however, I didn’t enjoy this as much as I had hoped I would.

For history readers.

‘Under the law, some gruesome punishments included the Blood Eagle, drowning, beheading or being buried alive.’