Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Those accident-prone Tudors
There is little doubt in my view that if I were to choose the best bits of the BBC their historical documentaries would be up there as some of the most intriquing and interesting television on offer.
In this vein their website does not disappoint either as is evidenced by this piece on ten strange ways that Tudors died. There amongst citizens being savaged by bears, accidental shootings, falling into a moat whilst baking bread, drowning in a cesspit, suffering a fatal maypole injury and being gored by a mad cow is this little gem:
How do you shoot yourself in the head with your own bow? In 1552, Henry Pert, gentleman, in Welbeck, Nottinghamshire, drew his bow to its full extent with the aim of shooting straight up into the air.
The arrow lodged in the bow, and while he was leaning over to look, the arrow was released. He died the next day. Of embarrassment.
Still, I suppose it beats dying by falling out of bed.
In this vein their website does not disappoint either as is evidenced by this piece on ten strange ways that Tudors died. There amongst citizens being savaged by bears, accidental shootings, falling into a moat whilst baking bread, drowning in a cesspit, suffering a fatal maypole injury and being gored by a mad cow is this little gem:
How do you shoot yourself in the head with your own bow? In 1552, Henry Pert, gentleman, in Welbeck, Nottinghamshire, drew his bow to its full extent with the aim of shooting straight up into the air.
The arrow lodged in the bow, and while he was leaning over to look, the arrow was released. He died the next day. Of embarrassment.
Still, I suppose it beats dying by falling out of bed.
