I read that Queen Jane died of puerperal fever. What is that?
Puerperal fever is an infection that sets in after childbirth, particularly when the birth is performed under unsanitary conditions. The infection spreads from the birth canal and uterus into the abdominal cavity, and if untreated, causes death from peritonitis. In Henry VIII’s time, of course, there were no antibiotics, and sanitary conditions were unheard of, so many women died of puerperal infection, known at the time as childbed fever. Katherine Parr also died from puerperal infection, after giving birth to her daugher by her fourth husband, Thomas Seymour. Henry’s mother, Elizabeth of York, died in her mid forties, after her eldest child, Arthur, was already married, giving birth to her seventh child. It was not at all uncommon for men to go through a series of wives — death due to complications of childbirth and pregnancy were probably the leading cause of death among women of childbearing age.
