Editing Sweating sickness (section)

===Fifteenth century===
[[File:Arthur Prince of Wales c 1500.jpg|thumb|[[Arthur, Prince of Wales]], who may have died of the sweating sickness in 1502, aged fifteen]]
Sweating sickness first came to the attention of physicians at the beginning of the reign of [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]], in 1485. It was frequently fatal; half the population perished in some areas. The Ricardian scholar [[John Ashdown-Hill]] conjectures that [[Richard III]] fell victim the night before the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]] and that this accounted for his sleepless night and excessive thirst in the early part of the battle.<ref>{{cite book | first=John | last=Ashdown-Hill | author-link=John Ashdown Hill | year=2015 | title=The Mythology of Richard III}}</ref> There is no definitive statement that the sickness was present in Henry Tudor's troops landing at [[Milford Haven]]. The battle's victor, Henry VII,  arrived in London on 28 August, and the disease broke out there on 19 September 1485;<ref name=Roberts>{{cite journal|pmc=2059547|year=1945|last1=Roberts|first1=L|title=Sweating Sickness and Picardy Sweat|journal=British Medical Journal|volume=2|issue=4414|pages=196|doi=10.1136/bmj.2.4414.196}}</ref> it had killed several thousand people by its conclusion in late October that year.<ref>{{cite book | first=John | last=Entick | author-link=John Entick | year=1766 | title=A new and accurate history and survey of London, Westminster, Southwark, and places adjacent | url=https://archive.org/details/anewandaccurate03entigoog | location=London | pages=[https://archive.org/details/anewandaccurate03entigoog/page/n438 434], vol. 1 }}</ref> Among those killed were two lord mayors, six aldermen, and three sheriffs.<ref>{{cite book | first=Walter | last=Harrison | year=1775 | title=A new and universal history, description and survey of the cities of London and Westminster, the borough of Southwark | location=London | page=127 }}</ref>

Mass superstition and paranoia followed the new plague. The Battle of Bosworth Field ended the Wars of the Roses, between the houses of Lancaster and York. Richard III, the final York king, was killed there and Henry VII was crowned. As chaos, grief, and anger spread, people searched for a culprit for the plague. English people started to believe it was sent by God to punish supporters of Henry VII.<ref name="Soukouya 2013">{{Cite journal|last1=Schölpfel|first1=Joachim|last2=Soukouya|first2=Maebena|date=November 2013|title=Providing Access to Electronic Theses and Dissertations: A Case Study from Togo|journal=D-Lib Magazine|volume=19|issue=11/12|doi=10.1045/november2013-schopfel|issn=1082-9873|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Because of its extremely rapid and fatal course, and the sweating which gave it its name, the sickness was regarded as being quite distinct from the [[Black Death]], the pestilential fever, or other epidemics previously known. It reached Ireland in 1492 when the ''[[Annals of Ulster]]'' record the death of [[James Fleming, 7th Baron Slane]] from the ''pláigh allais'' ["perspiring plague"], newly come to Ireland.<ref>''[[Annals of Ulster]]'' vol.iii, ed. B. MacCarthy, Dublin, 1895, pp. 358f.</ref> The ''[[Annals of Connacht]]'' also record this obituary,<ref>''Annals of Connacht'' ed. A. M. Freeman, Dublin, 1944, pp. 594f.</ref> and the ''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]'' record "an unusual plague in Meath" of 24 hours' duration;<ref>''Annals of the Four Masters'' vol.iii, ed. J. O'Donovan, Dublin, 1856, pp 1194f.</ref> people recovered if they survived it beyond that 24-hour period. The sickness didn't affect infants or young children. English chronicler [[Richard Grafton]] mentioned the sweating sickness of 1485 in his work ''Grafton's Chronicle: or History of England''. He noted the common treatment of the disease was to go immediately to bed at the first sign of symptoms; there, the affected person was to remain still for the entire 24-hour period of the illness, abstaining from any solid food and limiting water intake.<ref name="Grafton 1809">{{Cite journal|last=Grafton|first=Richard|date=1809|title=Grafton's chronicle: or, History of England from the Year 1189 to 1558|url=https://archive.org/details/graftonschronicl02grafuoft/page/154/|journal=The Library|volume=2|pages=161|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.library.a090806|issn=1744-8581}}</ref>