Sunday, November 14, 2010
Rat bastard
When American actor Kevin Spacey was asked on Inside the Actor's Studio what his favorite curse word is, he blurted out, "Rat bastard!" William Longespée (c. 1176-1226), the illegitimate son of England's King Henry II, was just that. King Henry acknowledged his son, and when he reached the age of 20, Longespée's marriage to the Countess of Salisbury was arranged. The union landed him the title of the 3rd Earl of Salisbury, and the couple had 8 children. After a wavering military career, Longespée returned to Salisbury Castle and soon died. It was speculated that he had been poisoned - and the rumor was bolstered when his tomb in Salisbury Cathedral (1st image) was opened in 1791. Traces of arsenic were discovered in the body of a well-preserved rat found curled up inside the nobleman's skull. Arsenic was a preferred method of murder in the Middle Ages and was called "the poison of kings," in addition to having preservative properties. I have determined that Longespée's exhumation occurred when architect James Wyatt renovated the cathedral, but none of the accounts explains the presence of the rat. I take great pride, however, in bringing you - compliments of the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum - a nice clear photograph of said creature (2nd image)!
Labels:
cause of death,
poison
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Labels
- "Silence of the Lambs" (1)
- Abraham Lincoln (10)
- accident (60)
- advertisements (1)
- Afghan girl (1)
- Agatha Christie (2)
- aging (20)
- Aimee Mullins (1)
- airplane graveyard (1)
- albino (9)
- Albrecht Dürer (1)
- Alfred Butts (2)
- Alfred Eisenstaedt (1)
- Alfred Hitchcock (1)
- Alfred Russel Wallace (3)
- amputation (36)
- Amy Wynn Pastor (1)
- anatomical waxes (3)
- anatomy (96)
- anatomy theatre (3)
- ancient Egypt (19)
- Andrée Expedition (1)
- Andrew Jackson (1)
- androgyny (1)
- Angkor Wat (1)
- animals (659)
- animals. weird news (2)
- Anne Frank (1)
- anthropodermic binding (3)
- Anthropodermic books (1)
- Antiques Roadshow (1)
- Archaeology (110)
- architecture (71)
- Arcosanti (1)
- Art (51)
- Art Aufderheide (1)
- Arthur Fiedler (1)
- assassination (6)
- Astronomy (5)
- atavism (1)
- Athanasius Kircher (1)
- Auctions (8)
- Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1)
- Aung San Suu Kyi (1)
- aurora (1)
- Auschwitz (1)
- automata (2)
- autopsy (8)
- avian abduction (1)
- balloon festival (2)
- beetle brooches (1)
- Ben Carson (1)
- Betty White (1)
- Bill Bass (2)
- bird mask (1)
- blizzard (1)
- blood donation (1)
- Bob Waldmire (2)
- body (2)
- Body Farm (2)
- body modification (1)
- bodysnatching (3)
- BodyWorlds (1)
- bog bodies (4)
- bookmobile (1)
- books (20)
- Brian Dettmer (1)
- burial customs (9)
- burqa (1)
- button collecting (1)
- cabinet of curiosities (5)
- cabinet of curiositiesth (1)
- cannibalism (15)
- capital punishment (1)
- casket (9)
- catacombs (4)
- cause of death (143)
- Causes of death (22)
- caves (13)
- cemeteries (36)
- census (1)
- Chang and Eng Bunker (1)
- Charles Altamont Doyle (1)
- Charles Darwin (4)
- Charles Dickens (2)
- Charles Jones (1)
- Charles Tripp (1)
- chastity belt (1)
- chimney sweeps (1)
- Christo (1)
- chunnel (1)
- circadian rhythm (1)
- Civil War (10)
- clocks (1)
- coffee (1)
- collections (1)
- conjoined twins (10)
- corpse (24)
- corpse flower (3)
- Corpses (2)
- corsets (1)
- Countess Elizabeth Báthory (1)
- cremation (11)
- Crittercam (2)
- crucifixion (1)
- crypt (1)
- custom of the sea (1)
- Damien Hirst (1)
- Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1)
- David Teniers the Younger (1)
- Dead Man Walking (1)
- death dates (1)
- death mask (4)
- Death of Innocents (1)
- death penalty (2)
- death row (1)
- death studies (1)
- deaths (8)
- decapitation (12)
- Decay (3)
- Declaration of Independence (1)
- dendrochronology (1)
- dermestid beetles (2)
- Día de los Muertos (1)
- dining (1)
- dioramas (1)
- Dirty Jobs (2)
- disaster (29)
- Disasters (1)
- disease (2)
- dissection (23)
- Donner Party (1)
- doppelgänger (1)
- double womb (1)
- dowsing (1)
- Dr. Seuss (3)
- Dracula (3)
- dreams (3)
- Duke of Hamilton (1)
- Dutch wooden shoes (1)
- Eartha Kitt (1)
- earthquake (2)
- Edgar Allan Poe (4)
- Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1)
- Edward Gorey (1)
- elevators (2)
- Eli Bowen (1)
- Elizabeth Heyert (1)
- Elizabeth I (1)
- Elizabeth Siddal (1)
- Elvis Presley (2)
- embalming (19)
- embryo (1)
- Emmett Kelly (1)
- Emmett Till (1)
- Emperor Nero (1)
- Engineering (14)
- Environment (25)
- Ernest Shackleton (3)
- Ernst Haeckel (1)
- eunuchs (1)
- Eva Perón (1)
- Evelyn Waugh (1)
- excavation (60)
- execution (13)
- exhibit (1)
- exhumation (11)
- expedition (15)
- Exploration (11)
- explosions (1)
- extinction (14)
- eyewitness (1)
- F. Gonzalez-Crussi (1)
- Fabergé eggs (1)
- facial reconstruction (3)
- Fashion (7)
- feral children (5)
- fiddlehead ferns (1)
- field trips (1)
- figurehead (1)
- fingerprints (1)
- fireworks (2)
- Flannery O'Connor (1)
- Florence Nightingale (1)
- folklore (49)
- Food (25)
- Fortean Times (1)
- fossil fuels (1)
- fossils (105)
- fractals (1)
- Frank Buckland (1)
- Franklin Expedition (1)
- Frederik Ruysch (2)
- funeral (11)
- funeral caissons (2)
- funeral food (1)
- funeral museums (5)
- funeral services (4)
- funicular (1)
- garden (23)
- Gardening (10)
- genealogy (4)
- genetics (1)
- geography (3)
- Geology (20)
- George Higham (2)
- Georgia O'Keeffe (1)
- ghosts (1)
- Giant's Causeway (1)
- gibbeting (1)
- Giovanni Belzoni (1)
- Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1)
- gladiator (1)
- golem (1)
- Govard Bidloo (1)
- graduate school (1)
- grave (9)
- gravesites (14)
- gravestone (9)
- Gretchen Worden (1)
- guest posts (2)
- Gunther von Hagens (3)
- hair (3)
- hair jewelry (1)
- Halloween (17)
- hanging (2)
- Hannah Kersey (1)
- harps (1)
- Harry Houdini (1)
- hearse (4)
- Hearst Castle (1)
- helicopters (1)
- helium (1)
- hermits (2)
- Hindenburg (1)
- Hippolyte Bayard (1)
- History (3)
- hoarding (10)
- Honoré Fragonard (1)
- horror stories (1)
- hot air balloons (2)
- Hottentot Venus (1)
- Howard Carter (1)
- human marvels (47)
- incorruptibles (1)
- Insects (28)
- institutionalization (1)
- intelligence (1)
- inventions (3)
- Iwo Jima Memorial (1)
- James Taylor (3)
- Jan Svankmeyer (2)
- Janet Mann (1)
- Jasmine Day (1)
- Jay Walker (1)
- Jayne Mansfield (1)
- Jeffrey Silverthorne (1)
- Jeremy Bentham (2)
- Jill Tracy (1)
- Jimi Hendrix (1)
- Jody Arlington (4)
- Joel-Peter Witkin (1)
- Johannes Vermeer (1)
- john butler trio (2)
- John F. Kennedy (1)
- John Horwood (1)
- John James Audubon (1)
- Jorge Lopez (1)
- Joseph Cornell (1)
- Julia Pastrana (1)
- Kathryn Myers (1)
- King Edward VII (1)
- kosher and halal (1)
- Kublai Khan (1)
- Kumbh mela (1)
- Lachrymatories (1)
- Lake Tahoe (1)
- Leonardo da Vinci (7)
- Lewis Hine (2)
- Lincoln (1)
- Linda Hunt (1)
- Literature (2)
- Lord's Prayer on the head of a pin (1)
- lying in state (1)
- M.C. Escher (2)
- Madeleine Albright (1)
- Maisenbacher House (1)
- Maj.-Gen. Daniel Sickles (1)
- Makpal Abdrazakova (1)
- Mammoths (4)
- Man on Wire (2)
- marginalia (1)
- marionettes (1)
- Mariska Hargitay (1)
- Mark Twain (1)
- Marlboro Man (1)
- martyrdom (1)
- Mary Fields (1)
- Mary Scott Huff (1)
- Maurice Sendak (3)
- Max Ehrmann (1)
- May Savidge (1)
- Medical (1)
- Medicine (20)
- memento mori (2)
- memorial (5)
- Meret Oppenheim (1)
- Millie-Christine (1)
- minerals (1)
- mirrors (1)
- mobility scooter (1)
- Möbius strip (1)
- Momento Mori (1)
- morgue (5)
- mourning (4)
- mourning jewelry (2)
- mummies (101)
- Munchkins (1)
- murder (34)
- museum (31)
- Museums (27)
- Music (10)
- musical instruments (9)
- Mütter Museum (6)
- Myrtle Corbin (1)
- Nadar (1)
- Napoleon Bonaparte (1)
- Nat Love (1)
- National Library of Medicine (1)
- National Museum of Health and Medicine (2)
- necrophilia (1)
- Neil deGrasse Tyson (1)
- Neil Gaiman (1)
- Noah's Ark (1)
- northern lights (1)
- Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death (1)
- obituaries (7)
- Occam's razor (1)
- oil spill (2)
- Onfim's drawings (1)
- optogram (1)
- organ donation (1)
- origami (1)
- ossuaries (3)
- P.T. Barnum (2)
- paintings (9)
- Paleontology (3)
- pathology (1)
- Patricia Lay-Dorsey (1)
- Pedro Ara (1)
- Pere Lachaise Cemetery (3)
- petrified wood (1)
- Philippe Petit (2)
- photography (138)
- phrenology (1)
- pica (2)
- pirates (3)
- plague (3)
- Plants (2)
- plastination (6)
- Plum Island (1)
- Poaching (1)
- poison (6)
- Polly Morgan (1)
- popemobile (1)
- population (1)
- Posthumous (2)
- potter's field (1)
- premature burial (1)
- preservation (2)
- presidents (1)
- prison (4)
- private islands (3)
- progeria (1)
- Progress report (1)
- promession (1)
- public dissection (7)
- Queen Victoria (1)
- R. Buckminster Fuller (1)
- Rainbow portrait (1)
- Rainn Wilson (1)
- relics (9)
- Religion (1)
- Remy Charlip (1)
- Rene Magritte (2)
- rescue (1)
- Richard Parker (1)
- Roald Dahl (2)
- Robert Capa (1)
- Robert Rauschenberg (1)
- Roger Williams (1)
- Rosamond Purcell (2)
- Rube Goldberg (1)
- Ruth Richardson (1)
- Saartjie Baartman (1)
- Sally Mann (1)
- Salvador Dali (2)
- samuel pickering (2)
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1)
- Santa Baby (1)
- Sarah Bernhardt (1)
- sarcophagus (1)
- scullery maids (1)
- Shakers (1)
- shanghaiing (1)
- Sharbat Gula (1)
- shipwreck (4)
- Shirley Jackson (1)
- shrunken heads (1)
- sideshow (4)
- Sigmund Freud (1)
- Sister Helen Prejean (1)
- Six Feet Under (2)
- skeletons (74)
- skulls (20)
- sleepwalking (1)
- Space (8)
- space chimp (3)
- spider (1)
- St. Louis MO (1)
- Stand by Me (1)
- Star Wars (1)
- Statue of Liberty (1)
- steampunk (1)
- Stephanie Millward (1)
- Stephen Hawking (1)
- submarine (1)
- suicide (16)
- suitcases (1)
- superstition (1)
- surgery (1)
- survival (6)
- sword swallowing (1)
- symbols (2)
- synchronicity (2)
- tarot (1)
- tattoo (10)
- taxidermy (30)
- Technology (16)
- Teddy Roosevelt (1)
- Temple Grandin (2)
- teratology (1)
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1)
- The Loved One (1)
- Theodore Roosevelt (1)
- Thomas Edison (1)
- Tim Hawkinson (1)
- Timbuktu (1)
- time capsule (7)
- Timothy Dexter (1)
- Titanic (4)
- Tocci Twins (1)
- torture (1)
- transplantation (4)
- transportation (1)
- tree ring dating (1)
- trees (11)
- trepanation (1)
- trephination (1)
- tsantsas (1)
- turkey pardon (1)
- Typhoid Mary (1)
- urban decay (1)
- vandalism (2)
- vanitas (1)
- vanity paintings (1)
- Victor Noir (1)
- Viking ship burial (1)
- Visible Human Project (1)
- vivisection (3)
- Walt Disney (1)
- Walter de Maria (1)
- war (44)
- Ware Hall House (1)
- weather (40)
- weird news (698)
- While They Slept (1)
- William Archibald Spooner (1)
- William Burke (1)
- William Cowper (1)
- William Kidd (1)
- William Wegman (1)
- wingspan (1)
- Winston Churchill (1)
- Woolly mammoth (6)
- Yellowstone (2)
- zeppelin (1)
- zombies (2)
- Zoos (15)
Ms. Quigley, you Rock Totally, Great post, and now I have another curse to use, with no deficiency of targets. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI just found out resently he was my ancestor....
ReplyDeleteThe perpetrator was rumored to be Hugh de Burgh, wasn't it over the Earldom of Salisbury? Read somewhere (but can't find now) that when Longspee went missing during a war, de Burgh tried to force marriage to Longspee's wife Ela (who held the title)trying to convince her that Longspee was dead. She held out and Longspee returned, but abruptly fell ill and died. Hence the poison rumor. But smart Ela became a nun, her son and heir died in war, so she retained the title until her death.
ReplyDelete