DISEASE: the
plague swept through London in 1563, 1578-9, 1582, 1592-3, and 1603,
with the ones in 1563 and 1603 each wiping out over one quarter of London's
population. During the outbreak of 1592-93, the Crown ordered the
complete closure of all theatres in London.
Plague Symptons: Swellings (some ‘as large as an apple’) in
the groin/armpits, Swellings spread around the body, black and red spots on the
skin, rash, pain all over, lethargy, increased body temperature, speech less
intelligible, deliria, lymphatic glands became swollen and
inflamed, buboes, bleeding underneath the skin
The average time of death from the first symptom was
between four to seven days. It is thought that between 50% and 75% of those who
caught the disease died.
The smallpox virus caused causes high fever, vomiting,
excessive bleeding, and pus-filled scabs that leave deep pitted scars. The
Queen recovered from smallpox but she was rendered completely bald and forced
to wear an extra thick layer of make-up made from white lead and egg whites.
Syphilis caused raging fever (referred to as "burnt
blood"), tortuous body aches, blindness, full body pustules, meningitis,
insanity, and leaking heart valves
Epidemics of louse-borne typhus ravaged
London several times during the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. Crowded,
filthy conditions and a near total lack of bathing made room for body lice,
which would defecate on a person's skin, which would enter through cuts/wounds,
causing high fever, delirium, and gangrenous sores. There was a serious
outbreak of the disease in the year Shakespeare died.
Malaria,
caused by the marshy conditions made its victims suffer from fever,
unbearable chills, vomiting, enlarged liver, low blood pressure, seizures, and
comas.
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