The Middle Ages, also called the Medieval Period, stretched from the 5th to the 15th century and wrapped up with Richard III’s fall at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Back then, death wasn’t the sanitized, quiet affair we think of today – it was as common as a rainy day, and often outrageously strange. This roundup walks you through some of the most famously bizarre deaths recorded in history.
Bizarre Deaths in the Medieval World
1 Richard I
In 1199, King Richard the Lionheart found himself short on cash after the expensive Third Crusade and a hefty ransom. Rumor had it a pot of gold was hidden at Castle Chalus‑Chabrol in France, so he set out to seize it. During the siege, a youngster armed with a frying pan grabbed a crossbow and let loose a shot that struck a knight’s shoulder. The knight stood up, praised the boy’s aim – and that knight was none other than Richard himself. The wound festered, turned gangrenous, and the king died days later. In a bizarre twist of chivalry, he rewarded his accidental assassin with a hundred shillings, only for the boy to be flayed alive later on.
2 Martin, Count of Barcelona
At a lavish 1410 banquet, Martin, Count of Barcelona and King of Aragon, met his end in a truly odd fashion. He’d been battling severe indigestion – likely from overindulging in eels – when a bout of hysterical laughter sent him into a dramatic collapse at the dinner table. The combination of a swollen stomach and uncontrollable mirth proved fatal, and the king’s life could not be saved.
3 Arthur of Brittany
Arthur of Brittany, a teenage rebel against King John, was captured at Mirebeau Castle and thrown into Rouen’s dungeon. While some tales claim he was castrated and blinded, the most chilling version says John, drunk with fury, stabbed the sixteen‑year‑old in his cell. He then tied a massive rock to the boy’s body and dumped it into the Seine, where fishermen later retrieved the corpse.
4 George Plantagenet
George Plantagenet, brother to Edward IV and Richard III, earned a reputation as a heavy drinker. After being convicted of treason in 1478, the usual noble execution – beheading – was bypassed. Instead, at his own request, he was forced to drown in a massive vat of his favorite Malmsey wine. His corpse was later transferred to an abbey still swimming in wine.
5 Pope Adrian IV
Adrian IV, the only English pope, reigned from 1154 to 1159. In his final months he suffered from quinsy, a nasty form of tonsillitis that creates pus in the throat. While sipping wine, a fly buzzed into his goblet, and he choked on it. The combination of pus and the insect caused a rapid death by asphyxiation.
6 Bela I of Hungary
Bela I ruled Hungary for three short years before meeting his demise in 1063. While seated on his throne, the canopy above collapsed, crushing him instantly. Some whispered it was a clever assassination, given Bela’s violent rise to power, but no proof ever emerged.
7 Musta’sim
When Hulagu Khan’s Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258, they captured Caliph Al-Musta’sim. Superstitious about spilling royal blood, the invaders rolled the caliph inside a rug and trampled him repeatedly with horses. The gruesome execution lasted about fifteen minutes before he finally succumbed.
8 Thomas Beckett
Archbishop Thomas Becket clashed with Henry II over the king’s legal reforms. In December 1170, four knights stormed Canterbury Cathedral to arrest him. After a brutal blow to the head, Becket fell to his knees, prayed, and then suffered a fatal decapitation – the sword shattered on impact, and one knight even scooped out the brain, scattering it on the floor.
9 Sigurd Eysteinsson
Sigurd the Mighty, after a victorious battle, strapped the severed head of his foe Mael Brigte (the Tusk) to his horse. While riding away, the dead man’s iconic buck teeth scratched Sigurd’s leg, introducing a gangrenous infection that ultimately claimed his life.
10 Edward II
After being deposed, Edward II languished in Berkeley Castle. According to rumor, assassins forced a red‑hot iron poker into his rectum, delivering a painfully swift end. Legend says his anguished cries still echo through the castle walls.
11 Edward V & Richard of Shrewsbury
The “Princes in the Tower” – Edward V and his brother Richard of Shrewsbury – vanished from the Tower of London in 1483. While their exact fate remains a mystery, many suspect Richard III ordered their murder to secure the throne. Their skeletal remains were discovered beneath a staircase in 1674 and later examined in 1933, confirming their ages at death matched the missing princes.