New research has shown that, of the four seasons, summer was the most dangerous for the inhabitants of Tudor England.
If you weren't killed by a scythe or falling from a tree you were probably likely to be mangled by a water mill or be suffocated by hay instead.
Cart crashes, scythes and falling from an oak tree…why summertime living was most dangerous time of year for the Tudors
By Kevin Widdop
5 April 2012
Daily Mail
Summertime living was far from easy in Tudor England, newly discovered records have revealed, as the risk of farming accidents rose sharply in warmer weather.
Deaths caused by cart crash, scythe malfunction or falling from an oak tree were all very real possibilities for inhabitants of an England still dominated by rural routine.
And, as many as three-quarters of all fatal accidents between 1558 and 1560 occurred during the summer months between April and September.
Accession: Queen Elizabeth took to the throne in 1558 at a time when summertime farm injuries were on the rise
Dr Steven Gunn, of the history faculty at Oxford University, revealed the findings in research gleaned from 9,000 sixteenth-century coroners' reports.
Dr Gunn said: 'Most people are enjoying the recent warmer weather but this wasn't always good news in Tudor England, in which nearly three-quarters of all fatal accidents in 1558-60 occurred between April and September when farming work was at its height.
'Deaths happened in various and unexpected ways - some were straightforward accidents with scythes or cart crashes, but other unfortunate people are recorded as mangling themselves in the machinery of windmills or water mills, turning carts on top of themselves when loading them with barley, falling out of trees when gathering fruit and nuts and even falling asleep by piles of hay that collapsed and suffocated them.'
WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN 1558-1560?
1558: Queen Mary I of England dies
1558: Queen Elizabeth I's accession
1558: Mary Queen of Scots marries Francis II, of France
1559: Queen Elizabeth is crowned
1559-1560: Scottish rebellion established Protestantism as state religion in the country
1558-60: Witchcraft trials continue with thousands tried and executed across Europe
With modern health and safety regulations not being in place back in the sixteenth century, around 14 per cent of work accidents involved cutting or transporting wood.
Dr Gunn added: 'Tudor lumberjack technique seems to have been a bit wanting.
'Men in Bedfordshire, Cumberland, Hampshire, Somerset, Westmorland and Yorkshire were all hit by ash, oak or poplar trees they were cutting down.
'John Broke, a cloth-maker from Dalton in Yorkshire, was particularly unlucky because he was building a fence when an oak tree cut down some time before suddenly rolled downhill and hit him.'
Injuries from handling livestock were also a particular hazard, with horses causing 93 per cent of all such casualties.
Falling oak trees were a major cause of farming accidents in Tudor England during summertime, a new study has found
Cart crashes and falling from an oak tree¿ why summertime living was most dangerous time of year for the Tudors | Mail
If you weren't killed by a scythe or falling from a tree you were probably likely to be mangled by a water mill or be suffocated by hay instead.
Cart crashes, scythes and falling from an oak tree…why summertime living was most dangerous time of year for the Tudors
By Kevin Widdop
5 April 2012
Daily Mail
Summertime living was far from easy in Tudor England, newly discovered records have revealed, as the risk of farming accidents rose sharply in warmer weather.
Deaths caused by cart crash, scythe malfunction or falling from an oak tree were all very real possibilities for inhabitants of an England still dominated by rural routine.
And, as many as three-quarters of all fatal accidents between 1558 and 1560 occurred during the summer months between April and September.
Accession: Queen Elizabeth took to the throne in 1558 at a time when summertime farm injuries were on the rise
Dr Steven Gunn, of the history faculty at Oxford University, revealed the findings in research gleaned from 9,000 sixteenth-century coroners' reports.
Dr Gunn said: 'Most people are enjoying the recent warmer weather but this wasn't always good news in Tudor England, in which nearly three-quarters of all fatal accidents in 1558-60 occurred between April and September when farming work was at its height.
'Deaths happened in various and unexpected ways - some were straightforward accidents with scythes or cart crashes, but other unfortunate people are recorded as mangling themselves in the machinery of windmills or water mills, turning carts on top of themselves when loading them with barley, falling out of trees when gathering fruit and nuts and even falling asleep by piles of hay that collapsed and suffocated them.'
WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN 1558-1560?
1558: Queen Mary I of England dies
1558: Queen Elizabeth I's accession
1558: Mary Queen of Scots marries Francis II, of France
1559: Queen Elizabeth is crowned
1559-1560: Scottish rebellion established Protestantism as state religion in the country
1558-60: Witchcraft trials continue with thousands tried and executed across Europe
With modern health and safety regulations not being in place back in the sixteenth century, around 14 per cent of work accidents involved cutting or transporting wood.
Dr Gunn added: 'Tudor lumberjack technique seems to have been a bit wanting.
'Men in Bedfordshire, Cumberland, Hampshire, Somerset, Westmorland and Yorkshire were all hit by ash, oak or poplar trees they were cutting down.
'John Broke, a cloth-maker from Dalton in Yorkshire, was particularly unlucky because he was building a fence when an oak tree cut down some time before suddenly rolled downhill and hit him.'
Injuries from handling livestock were also a particular hazard, with horses causing 93 per cent of all such casualties.
Falling oak trees were a major cause of farming accidents in Tudor England during summertime, a new study has found
Cart crashes and falling from an oak tree¿ why summertime living was most dangerous time of year for the Tudors | Mail
