Talk:Roger Wilbraham

Latest comment: 14 years ago by Espresso Addict in topic Ague

Ague

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Ague is a disambiguation link on Wikipedia. Could you clarify whether he died of fever or malaria? Thank you, Yoninah (talk) 22:39, 12 August 2010 (UTC)Reply

My source just says "Died of an Ague 31 July 1616", which is presumbly what the parish records state. I'm no expert on English of that date, but the OED gives:

An acute or violent fever. Obs. esp. A malarial fever, marked by successive fits or paroxysms, consisting of a cold, hot, and sweating stage. [...] loosely or fig. Any fit of shaking or shivering, like the cold stage of ague; quaking.

All of which were current in 1616, though the general use was dying out. Presumably there was no means to diagnose the cause at that date, but it looks like a malarial-type fever is most likely to be meant. I'll try to clarify without straying too far into guesswork. Espresso Addict (talk) 00:00, 13 August 2010 (UTC)Reply