Unfortunate Ends

From the author of Twitter''s Medieval Death Bot comes Unfortunate Ends: On Murder and Misadventure in Medieval England, an illuminating collection of in-depth looks at the most interesting cases from medieval coroners’ rolls

Thomas, son of Henry Robekyn, died 1286 after cutting off his left foot and then his left hand in a frenzy

Henry Debordesle, died 1343. Long sick with diseases, smote himself in the belly with a knife worth one penny

A romp through the death records of medieval England. 

From the bizarre to the mundane, each death tells a tale from a dangerous time to be alive, and even to die. Coroners’ rolls list every inquest held for a death by misadventure – or accident – as well as grisly murders, some witnessed by others, some only coming to light when the hidden body was found. A handful of these dea