Historical cause of death 1500s-1700s
What did falling sickness mean on a death certificate?
On a death record, the falling sickness meant epilepsy, named for the sudden falls its seizures caused. In modern terms it usually pointed to epilepsy. Deaths were usually from accidents or status seizures. Later records switch to epilepsy or simply fits. Expect it on records mostly 1500s-1700s.
Also written on records as: falling fits, the falling evil, epilepsie.
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Related terms
Browse the full genealogy records glossary for more occupations, causes of death, and legal terms.
FAQs
What is falling sickness called today?+
Epilepsy, broadly speaking. Doctors of the period diagnosed without laboratory tests, so one label often covered several conditions we would now separate. This page explains historical record language and is not medical advice.
How was falling sickness written on death records?+
Clerks and doctors also wrote falling fits, the falling evil, and epilepsie. Spelling wandered from register to register, so check every variant before you decide a record is missing or wrong.
Where do these definitions come from?+
They are drawn from period dictionaries, government archive glossaries, and standard genealogy references, cross-checked against each other; provenance is documented with the dataset. Inside AncestorIQ, Deep Research reads the record itself and explains terms like this in context, against your ancestor's own document.
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