The late medieval period was a chaotic time in history. England and France were engaged in the Hundred Years’ War, and Italian city‑states were fighting one another for supremacy in the peninsula. In the absence of permanent standing armies, combatants relied on mercenary companies to do the fighting for them. The temporary peace brought about by the Treaty of Bretigny in 1360 unleashed thousands of unemployed men‑at‑arms looking to pillage to sustain themselves. Many coalesced around charismatic and intrepid leaders into what became known as “free companies.” In Italy, they were known as condottieri. This word is derived from condotta, meaning “contract,” the instrument by which they put themselves in the service of the highest bidder. These soldiers of fortune were the late medieval version of Mafia bosses, making their living with murder, extortion, and terror.

Why These 10 Swashbuckling Mercenaries Matter

Each of the ten figures below earned a reputation for ruthless efficiency, flamboyant bravado, and a willingness to switch sides for the right price. Their stories illuminate the chaotic world of medieval warfare and the shadowy economy of hired swords.

10 Roger de Flor

Roger de Flor was born in the then‑Catalonian province of Brindisi, Italy in 1267. As a boy he went out to sea and eventually became a Knight Templar. He took advantage of the Muslim capture of Acre in 1291 by robbing the refugees, and when his activities were exposed, he was expelled from the Templars. Fleeing to Genoa, he became commander of a force of Spanish mercenaries called Almogavares. Their name was derived from the Arab al‑mogauar, meaning “one who devastates,” and they were the descendants of the Iberians who accompanied Hannibal into Italy. In the seventh and eighth centuries they engaged in guerrilla operations against the Muslim invaders of Spain.

In 1303 the Byzantines recruited Roger, who was then in the service of the king of Aragon, to help fight the Ottoman Turks who had just wrested Bithynia from the Empire. In Constantinople Roger married a niece of Emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus and was made a grand duke. With 1,500 knights and 4,000 Almogavares called the Catalan Company, Roger won battles against the Turks, but he also pillaged and looted the Byzantine inhabitants of Anatolia in what is now Turkey. This led the authorities to denounce him as nothing better than a brigand, but success swelled his ego and he began dreaming of carving his own dominion in Anatolia.

Emperor Michael IX became convinced that Roger and his undisciplined Almogavares must be destroyed. In 1305 Roger was lured to Adrianople for a banquet hosted by Michael. There he was ambushed by another mercenary force and killed, along with 130 of his men. The remnants of the Catalan Company ravaged the countryside in revenge before settling in Greece and founding the Duchy of Athens in 1311.

9 Bascot de Mauleon

Bascot de Mauleon was captain of a group that marched into Burgundy with freebooters of various nationalities. Mauleon had his first experience of battle at Poitiers. Later he went to Prussia with the Count of Foix, crushing the peasant rebellion of the Jacquerie upon his return to France.

Mauleon estimated that about 12,000 men rode with him in the Loire region. This formidable force seized the castle of Brignais from the king and defeated the constable of France, amassing such wealth in ransoms and booty that the pope in Avignon feared for his safety.

Technically Mauleon fought for the king of England, but as an independent freebooter his main interest was money. Before he made it to the big time, Mauleon remembered, “Sometimes I have been so thoroughly down that I hadn’t even a horse to ride, and at other times fairly rich, as luck came and went.” His rags‑to‑riches tale was recorded by the French chronicler Froissart, who met him at a hostel in the Pyrenees. Froissart recalled, “He arrived with plenty of followers and baggage… He had as many pack horses with him as any great baron, and he and his people took their meals off silver plate.” Not a bad lifestyle for a highwayman.

8 Duke Werner von Urslingen

Taking upon himself the title of “Duke,” Werner von Urslingen stitched onto his doublet the motto “the enemy of pity, of mercy, and of God,” and lived up to it in the most horrific ways possible. Werner’s modus operandi was invading peaceful regions and robbing, raping, and killing the inhabitants before torching their property. He trumpeted his atrocities to authorities and threatened more unless he was paid, extorting vast sums from Siena, Perugia, Florence, and Bologna. In 1339 Werner and his band were denounced as “a plague of society.”

Werner founded the Great Company in 1342. At its height it numbered 6,000 men, mainly armored cavalry. He imposed strict discipline and a code of laws upon his men, including equal division of income. Later mercenary armies sought to model themselves after the powerful Great Company.

In 1347 Werner supported Queen Joanna I of Naples, sister‑in‑law of King Louis I of Hungary, after Louis invaded Naples to avenge his brother’s murder. Werner helped Joanna return to Naples and defended her against the opposing condottiere. On Joanna’s behalf Werner attacked the baronage of Meleto, raking in half a million florins’ worth of booty. Eventually both Werner and Wolfart were bought off, and Werner returned to Germany with his loot.

7 Conrad Of Landau

The German Conrad of Landau took command of the Great Company in 1354, operating in Tuscany, Umbria, the Romagna, and Lombardy. He held entire cities for ransom and reaped massive profits. As Conrad bluntly told a papal legate before invading church lands, “It is our custom to rob, sack, and pillage whoever resists. Our income is derived from the funds of the provinces we invade; he who values his life pays for peace and quiet from us at a steep price.”

On one occasion Conrad was ambushed by the Florentines on his way to Siena to fight Perugia. He was unhorsed and wounded, his force routed, and angry locals looted the remnants of the Company. It was a temporary setback, but Conrad continued to rake in vast revenues, enabling his father in Germany to buy back the family castle and lands lost to debt.

The Great Company was eventually hired by the Visconti rulers of Milan to drive away the rival White Company of Albert Sterz. In 1363 the two companies met at Canturino. Conrad held his line until his Hungarian contingents refused to fight fellow Hungarians in the opposing army. Their desertion tipped the scales to the White Company, and Conrad was killed in the ensuing battle.

6 Albert Sterz

The most infamous brigand group of all is the White Company, founded by the German Albert Sterz. It got its name from the white surcoats worn by its troops and the white banners they flew. Under Sterz, the Company was unmatched in efficiency. Its 3,500 horsemen and 2,000 infantry were impeccably organized and well equipped. Engineers even laid mines and built scaling ladders and siege towers within its ranks.

In 1360 Sterz moved the Company to Italy, the fertile field of constantly warring city‑states. Along the way he recruited an English knight named John Hawkwood, who swiftly rose through the ranks because of his negotiating skill. Sterz soon regretted his decision. Hawkwood’s men impressed him, deposed Sterz and gave command to the Englishman. The jealous Sterz sulked, biding his time for payback.

The Company drew up a contract with Pisa to attack rival Florence. The city was prepared, and Hawkwood’s attack stalled. Sterz seized his moment, switched sides, and carried his loyal men over to the Florentines. The White Company disintegrated, leaving Hawkwood with only 800 men. After the war Sterz merged the remnants with the German condottiere Hannekin Baumgarten, forming the Company of the Star, which enabled Sterz to crush Hawkwood.

5 Alberico de Barbiano

Alberico de Barbiano, a native of Cotignola in Romagna, began his career as a captain in the service of Milan. Later he was employed by Florence, Venice, Naples, and the papacy. Alberico’s most infamous moment came in 1377, when he participated in the horrific Massacre of Cesena, a town not far from his home, as captain of the forces under Cardinal Robert of Geneva (later anti‑pope Clement VII). Ordered by Pope Gregory XI to subdue the rebellious towns of Romagna, Cardinal Robert employed Breton mercenaries, “the most cruel and bestial seed of France.” Even after the townspeople surrendered their weapons, the inhabitants of Cesena were slaughtered in a three‑day bloodbath, their corpses left to be devoured by dogs.

In 1378 Alberico formed the Company of St. George, composed entirely of Italians who swore “hatred and eternal enmity” toward all foreigners. He turned against Clement VII and defeated his Breton force on behalf of Pope Urban VI, who proclaimed Italy “free of barbarians.” Yet the anti‑foreigner sentiment was empty bombast. After expelling the Bretons, Alberico began plundering Tuscan towns. His new band, the Company of the Hook, included Germans, Hungarians, and perhaps inevitably, Bretons.

At the close of the 14th century Alberico fought in wars between Florence and Milan, switching sides as it pleased him. He served Naples in the twilight of his career and died in 1409. Alberico is credited with military innovations such as improved armor and aggressive cavalry charges. His practice of recruiting troops from his own Romagnan feudatories, creating greater cohesion, is seen by some as a precursor to the eventual unification of Italy in the 19th century.

4 Muzio And Francesco Sforza

Muzio Attendolo was the first prominent member of the family that would later rule Milan. He hailed from Cotignola in Romagna and served under Alberico de Barbiano before striking out on his own. Alberico dubbed him Sforza, meaning “force,” and as an independent condottiere he made it his nom de guerre.

In 1398 Muzio entered the service of the Visconti rulers of Milan but soon departed to fight for Florence and then Ferrara. By 1412 Naples secured his services, and Muzio became constable of the kingdom. He endured a roller‑coaster career during the chaotic reign of Queen Joanna II, alternating between rewards of lands and offices and periods of imprisonment and torture. In 1424 Muzio drowned in a river while campaigning against a fellow condottiere.

Like a medieval Michael Corleone, Muzio’s son Francesco took up his father’s mantle and became the most successful mercenary captain of the 15th century. Francesco served the Visconti against Venice, then Venice against the Visconti, attacked the pope, then defended him. To bind Francesco permanently to Milan, Duke Filippo Visconti married him to his only daughter in 1441. Expecting to inherit the dukedom, Francesco was thwarted when Milan declared a republic. He besieged Milan and seized the title by force in 1450 – the Sforza name was earned.

3 Rodrigo de Villandrando

Many mercenaries were not averse to robbing their own employers. This was the case with Rodrigo de Villandrando, one of the greatest mercenaries of his era. Rodrigo was born in Castile in 1380. Seeking a military career he traveled to France and first joined the mercenary army of Amaury de Severac and the Burgundians.

Rodrigo formed his own mercenary company in 1420 and offered his services to the French Dauphin Charles. He extorted money from the cities and estates of Languedoc and pillaged the countryside, all within Charles’ realm. When Charles ordered him to attack the English, Rodrigo refused and instead went to Toulouse, recruiting more men. He eventually attacked English‑held Bordeaux and was pardoned by Charles. In a later battle at Anthon his 400 men defeated the Burgundians; one enemy soldier hid in a hollow tree, only to be crushed by his own armor. The tree was cut down in 1672, revealing his skeleton.

At his peak Rodrigo commanded 10,000 men, exacting ransoms from nobles and demanding “protection money” from locals who wished to avoid murder and pillage. His violent forays in Gascony earned him the title “Emperor of Pillagers.” Enriched, he retired in the 1440s, returned to Castile, willed his wealth to a monastery, and died in 1457.

2 Arnaud de Cervole

Born into a minor noble Gascon family, Arnaud de Cervole was the archpriest of Vélines in the diocese of Périgueux. Being a man of God didn’t stop him from mixing with brigands and men of base extraction. Deprived of his benefice by the bishop of Bordeaux, he turned to full‑time brigandage, specializing in stealing castles. At one point Arnaud and his band seized three castles in Angoulême as security until their employer paid their wages. The French crown charged him with theft when he took over a castle in Normandy, though he was then in the service of King Jean II.

After Jean II’s capture at Poitiers, Arnaud lost his patron and turned to pillaging, establishing a protection racket in the wealthy, peaceful region of Provence. He approached Avignon, terrifying the pope into a shakedown. Froissart records, “He entered Avignon with most of his followers by friendly agreement, and was received with as much respect as if he had been the king of France’s son, and dined several times with the pope and the cardinals. All his sins were remitted and when he left he was given 40,000 crowns (20,000 gold florins) to distribute among his companions.”

Shifting operations to Burgundy, Arnaud seized castle after castle until the count bought him off for 2,500 gold francs. In 1365 Pope Urban V recruited Arnaud to lead a crusade against the Turks, but the true aim was to move the freebooters away from the Rhône. Arnaud’s army reached Lyon but refused to march on. Unfed and unpaid, his men quarreled with him, which ended in his murder.

1 Sir John Hawkwood

Despite leading the murderous White Company, Sir John Hawkwood died a fairly rich man and was even honored by an equestrian fresco in the Florence Cathedral. The memorial was a personal affront to Victorian author Ferdinand Gregorovius, who lamented, “Florence, who denied Dante a resting place, erected a noble monument to a robber.”

Born to a minor Essex landowner, Hawkwood left for France to fight for Edward III at age 18. He was knighted for his role in the English victory at Poitiers, but after the Treaty of Bretigny he was left a poor knight without a job. He joined the Free Companies to support himself.

As a soldier of the king Hawkwood was an unknown, but as a freelancer he achieved astounding success. Seeking his fortune in the medieval snake pit of Italy, he became leader of the White Company, which terrorized Italy and earned a reputation as “perfidious and most wicked.” The only consolation was that “they did not mutilate or roast their victims like the Hungarians.” The locals called Hawkwood’s force “devils in human shape.”

Over the next thirty years Hawkwood’s business of murder, pillage, and blackmail prospered. His fighting skill was coveted by the pope, Florence, Milan, Pisa, and Perugia. Because his loyalty was only to money, he betrayed each client when a juicier offer appeared. Florins flowed so freely into his coffers that he rivaled banks and trading houses. The White Company employed lawyers and notaries to keep records of bribes and ransoms, accountants and secretaries to divide the plunder, and brokers to sell each soldier’s share.

Hawkwood became so influential that he arranged the marriage of Edward’s third son, Lionel, to the daughter of the Duke of Milan. He himself married the duke’s 17‑year‑old daughter when he was 57. Florence offered the richest rewards, and he ended his days as a general of the Florentines, instrumental in creating their republic. When he died in 1394, he was remembered as “the ablest military commander of the Middle Ages.”

Sometimes, we forget that diseases have always been here. They don’t simply pop into existence when a set of symptoms are given a name and declared a disease. Royal families are no more exempt from serious conditions or genetic weaknesses than anyone else. Because of their important status, however, their recorded histories hold some of the oldest case records of medical problems. The blue bloods on this list date back from a few hundred to a few thousand years. Based on their symptoms and the diseases we know today, previously unknown health failures can now be tentatively given a modern name. Other conditions, while known at the time, were not understood very well. The focus of this article is the 10 terrible diseases that ravaged historical royalty.

10 Terrible Diseases That Ravaged Historical Royalty

10. Queen Victoria

While her status as the first known carrier of hemophilia is well documented, few realize just how devastating the spread of Queen Victoria’s genes were on the next three generations that followed her. Two of her daughters and four of her granddaughters were carriers of the disease. A son, three grandsons, and four great‑grandsons were all sufferers, most of whom bled to death. Since her children eventually married into other politically important wealthy bloodlines, Queen Victoria’s genes weakened the royal houses of England, Russia, Spain, and Prussia.

While she was the first documented carrier in the British royal family, her son, Prince Leopold, was the first sufferer. Hemophilia doesn’t appear to have turned up before Victoria, and the theory is that the trouble started with a mutated gene in her father, Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent. The “royal disease,” as it is sometimes known, is attached to the X chromosome as a recessive gene. Since women have two X chromosomes, they’re very unlikely to suffer from hemophilia, only carry it. The X chromosome with the recessive hemophilia gene will be dominated by the other X. It’s possible for both of a woman’s X chromosomes to carry the hemophilia gene, which would cause them to suffer symptoms, but it’s statistically unlikely. Should males, with only one X chromosome, inherit the gene, they will be full‑blown bleeders. Due to missing proteins, their blood can’t clot, and they can bleed to death from even a minor cut. Perhaps the most famous of Queen Victoria’s hemophiliac descendants was her murdered great‑grandson Alexis Romanov, the future tsar of Russia.

9. Prince Albert

Prince Albert Saxe‑Coburg‑Gotha was the husband and first cousin to Queen Victoria. He died young and unexpectedly at the age of 42 in December 1861. The distraught queen forbade an autopsy, which could have determined the cause of the royal consort’s death with more certainty. Something needed to take the blame, and for the last 150 years, typhoid got the stick.

More recently, Oxford historian Helen Rappaport’s research suggested that the prince had actually died from Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s is an inflammatory bowel disease that affects one out of every 500 people. Although it’s treatable today, sufferers in the 1800s had no cure or even knowledge of the disease’s existence. It wasn’t described until 1932 and was often fatal. Symptoms include painful abdominal troubles, which Prince Albert battled for months before his death. Doctors at the John Radcliffe Hospital also re‑examined the medical evidence and agreed that the prince was more likely a Crohn’s sufferer than a typhoid victim.

8. King James I

In 1566, James was barely one year old when he was crowned King James VI of Scotland. When the childless Queen Elizabeth died, he also took the English crown and became King James I of England. Until he was five, James struggled to walk unassisted. It’s possible that he had a hereditary neuromuscular disease, since he shared his frail and thin legs with both his father and one of his sons.

The hereditary disease porphyria manifested in some of his descendants, and James certainly had the symptoms. Fever, stomach upset, and pain, during which his urine was wine‑dark, were all in line with porphyria, a disease that occurred in episodes, two of which his personal physician recorded in 1613 and then again in 1615. Insanity is also a symptom, which he arguably displayed plenty of. When hunting, James would tear open a deer’s belly and put his hands and feet inside the animal before disturbingly slathering its blood all over the rest of the hunting party.

During his golden years, James was crippled by severe arthritis, became skeletal, and had sores on his mouth. His mental problems were now permanent, an early onset of dementia that may have been caused by several small strokes. He was like a child, couldn’t recognize people, and was in no state to make royal decisions. He died in 1625, amid symptoms of porphyria and an inability to talk or swallow.

7. King George III

King George’s madness is well known and, given his family’s medical history, possibly caused by variegate porphyria, a type of porphyria that was symptomatically displayed in his ancestors, James VI of Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots. But, whereas James was a milder case and given kingly consideration during his bouts with this distressing disease, an acute form struck George III, who was tied to a chair for hours and eventually kept in inhumane conditions at Windsor Castle.

The disorder occurs when a specific enzyme is missing during the production of hemoglobin in red blood cells. As a result, porphyrins are overproduced. This buildup causes a wide range of symptoms, including abdominal trouble, nervous system issues, madness, skin sensitivity, and dark urine. George III became violent and rambled for hours during his bouts but also had remission periods when he could rule normally for years.

In 1810, he suffered a devastating episode. He didn’t recognize his wife, Queen Charlotte, and the king was hidden away from society. For the last 10 years of his life, he was held at Windsor Castle, disheveled and uncared for, while his son acted as regent. To add to his suffering, he went blind and deaf. In 1819, perhaps mercifully, the king died after a particularly bad porphyria attack.

6. King George V

King George V isn’t particularly notable for suffering from misunderstood symptoms, but new knowledge about his death is certainly intriguing. George V had reigned for 25 years and was also the royal responsible for changing the ruling house’s name from Saxe‑Coburg‑Gotha to Windsor. The reason for his passing in 1936 was officially listed as pleurisy. It was certainly true that he had the condition, but that’s not what killed him. The king was euthanized.

Lord Dawson, the royal physician who administered the fatal cocktail of drugs, kept notes of the events that lead up to that moment. According to the Dawson notes, still kept in the archives of Windsor Castle today, the doctor was told by the 71‑year‑old monarch’s wife (Queen Mary) and his son (the future abdicator Edward VIII) that they did not want the king to suffer if his condition was fatal. Since Dawson recorded no mention that the king was included in this decision, the line between murder and a mercy death turns rather blurry. The doctor also timed George’s death so that it would get the maximum exposure in the morning newspapers and not the evening edition. Around 11:00 PM on January 20, the comatose king was injected with a fatal amount of morphine and cocaine, but the end wasn’t instant. It took him nearly one hour to die.

5. Tsar Ivan IV

Ivan The Terrible remains one of the most brutal leaders in the memory of mankind. He might have been plainly sociopathic, but one disease probably caused or worsened the tsar’s murderous nature. When his remains were re‑examined in the 1960s, they were found to be laced with mercury. He suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, and the bones showed signs of syphilic ostratis. A tsar always stood the chance of being poisoned, so the possibility that somebody finally got tired of Ivan and served him the deadly mercury cannot be dismissed. However, back then, mercury was also a treatment for the final stages of syphilis, a disease that often brings on the kind of arthritis that Ivan had.

It’s not hard to imagine how he contracted the venereal disease. If there was an Oscar statue for promiscuity, he would’ve won many. He took both sexes to bed, mostly against their will. His personality change is also reminiscent of syphilis. When he became ruler, he was intelligent and peaceful. But as the years progressed, paranoia and rage turned him into a sadistic torturer and serial killer of note, his victims including several close friends and even his son. Ivan sacked his own cities, massacred the inhabitants, and insanely gave speeches on Christian values at parties where he and his ilk tortured people to death.

Mercury poisoning and tertiary syphilis both cause episodes of violence. Some say his behavior stemmed from severe childhood abuse and the loss of his coveted wife, but considering that abuse survivors and bereaved spouses don’t generally sack their own suburbs, that theory doesn’t hold up. Ivan died in 1584.

4. King Richard III

The long‑missing remains of Richard III have been found in a Leicester parking lot in recent years, and the skeleton matched many historical references. The horrendous wounds that marred the bones supported the fact that he was the last English king to die in battle, and spinal anomalies confirmed the stories that he was handicapped. After looking at the king’s vertebrae and spine, markedly deformed with a deep curvature, it was found that Richard had a condition known as idiopathic adolescent‑onset scoliosis. It was most likely progressive, beginning in his teens and worsening as he aged. In life, his left shoulder would’ve been much lower than the right and from the pressure scoliosis exerts on the lungs, he would’ve suffered from breathing problems as well. The deformity also made him much shorter than the 172‑centimeter (5′8″) stature he would’ve had in perfect health.

There were no signs of the other deformities that some stories attribute to Richard. Born in 1452 and very unlikely to reach the throne (being the 12th child), Richard was crowned after the suspicious disappearance of his 12‑year‑old nephew, King Edward V, and his brother. He ruled for two years, dying in 1485 during the Wars of the Roses, fighting against the men of Henry Tudor (the father of Henry VIII).

He was apparently buried with little respect. The grave was too small and badly dug. There was no sign of a coffin, and by the looks of it, his hands might have been tied. Buried at the church at Greyfriars, his grave disappeared when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. The University of Leicester matched the DNA from the remains to living descendants, and King Richard III was reburied in Leicester Cathedral.

3. King Henry VIII

This Tudor king, famous for killing some of his wives, desperately wanted a male heir. It is believed that he caused up to 13 pregnancies with six wives and untold mistresses, of which only four resulted in live births. Research shows that it’s possible that the king’s blood was to blame. He might have had the rare Kell antigen, a protein that weakens the immune system, causing stillbirths, miscarriages, or death soon after birth.

If that was the case, then McLeod syndrome fits with his bad health and even worse behavior. McLeod syndrome is a genetic disorder that affects only Kell‑positive individuals. Mentally, it brings on dementia, which might explain why Henry VIII went from being a relatively benevolent guy to a chopper of wives’ heads and executioner of anyone whom he suspected was against him. The disease also degenerates muscle tissue, and by the time the king hit middle age, he could barely walk. Some suggested that he was instead a syphilis sufferer, but his track record with sickly pregnancies partners better with McLeod syndrome.

2. Queen Mary I

Queen Mary I was a daughter that would’ve done her bloodthirsty father, King Henry VIII, proud. Her tendency to burn people at the stake earned her the name “Bloody Mary.” Born in 1516, she was crowned queen after her half‑brother, King Edward, died at the age of 15. To ensure the succession of her own line, Mary had to produce an heir, so she married her love, Prince Philip I of Spain.

In September 1554, doctors declared the queen pregnant, she was treated for morning sickness, and her belly grew. But 11 months later, she still hadn’t given birth, and when she left her confinement room and appeared at court again, her body was nearly emaciated. When she was 42, Mary was certain that she was pregnant again, but the same thing happened. After the second “pregnancy” symptoms disappeared, her health went into a decline from which she would never recover, dying from the flu about a year later.

Several conditions could’ve caused this heartbreaking condition for the queen, who only wanted to be a mother. One is pseudocyesis, better known as a “phantom pregnancy.” What causes it is still not fully understood by medical science, but it’s possible that her intense longing for a baby might’ve contributed. A much more serious diagnosis would be that she was a cancer sufferer, possibly ovarian cancer. She may also have had a reproductive cyst, which manifested the pregnancy‑like symptoms.

1. King Herod

King Herod appears in the New Testament as the cruel, insecure ruler of Judea, who ordered the deaths of every baby boy in Bethlehem in an attempt to kill the infant Jesus. Curious about what had caused the death of this biblical King, Dr. Jan Hirschman from the University of Washington decided to perform an autopsy. Since Herod died over 2,000 years ago and nothing remains of the royal, the autopsy was more of a marriage between modern medical knowledge and the studying of ancient records.

Hirschman considered the writings of Flavius Josephus, born about a century after Herod, who had scoured the notes written by the king’s court historian, Nicholas of Damascus. The symptoms Herod displayed during his final illness included a fever, all‑over itching of the skin, abdominal discomfort, genital gangrene, asthma, convulsions, and bad breath. Going on the trail of diseases that can cause severe itching, Hirschman checked to see which one of those also matched the king’s other symptoms.

The most likely winner was chronic kidney disease, although Hirschman couldn’t say for how long it afflicted the king. A condition known as Fournier’s gangrene, a genital disease, was likely induced by Herod himself. As he tried to ease the nonstop itching with nonstop scratching, it lead to a possibly untreated infection, and the dreaded rot began. It’s been suggested that the gangrene was from gonorrhea, but without a body, the origins of the gangrene cannot be ascertained. Once Fournier’s set in, the king would’ve died within days or weeks.