Historical cause of death 1500s-1800s
What did scrofula mean on a death certificate?
On a death record, scrofula meant chronic swellings and sores of the neck glands, the form of tuberculosis once called the king's evil. In modern terms it usually pointed to tuberculosis of the lymph nodes. English and French monarchs touched sufferers to cure it; touch-piece ceremonies ran into the 1710s and left their own records. Expect it on records mostly 1500s-1800s.
Also written on records as: king's evil, struma, scrofulous humour.
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Related terms
Browse the full genealogy records glossary for more occupations, causes of death, and legal terms.
FAQs
What is scrofula called today?+
Tuberculosis of the lymph nodes, 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 scrofula written on death records?+
Clerks and doctors also wrote king's evil, struma, and scrofulous humour. 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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