I just read the Elizabeth Southwell writing. It is funny that the writing is called "A True Relation of What Succeeded at the Sickness and Death of Queen Elizabeth". This is funny because the whole thing is based on superstition.
According to Southwell's writing, Elizabeth died of one of two reasons. Elizabeth was completely healthy until she received the necklace that was said to kept another woman alive for 120 years. I am pretty doubtful that a woman in the early 1600's lived to 120 years, but I guess they believed it. So this health charm, made Elizabeth sick, according to this essay.
This essay also mentions a voodoo doll type item. Elizabeth's ladies found a queen of hearts card under Elizabeth's chair with a nail going through the forehead of it. Southwell probably believed that this was a cause of Elizabeth's illness, as well as I am sure a lot of other people did too at the time.
I looked briefly online at the sources of her death, and I guess we do not really know exactly. It was probably just simply old age, since she was 70 years old. But people will believe what they want to believe, as well as what others believe in their time. And since I cannot prove otherwise, I guess I should not rule these theories out.
This will stand in time as possible reasons: unlucky charm necklaces and voodoo dolls.
Aleks,
ReplyDeleteIt is rather interesting thought, isn't it? So many things cannot be proved in the world, and yet it those things that some hang on to.
I find it funny too that Elizabeth's death is said to be because of voodoo dolls and a charm necklace. Kind of makes me never want to wear a necklace... Anyways. It is funny that this is coming from someone who had inside access to the queen's life. You would think that she would actually have evidence of what lead up to Elizabeth's death. Unless, Elizabeth really was fine until this necklace and voodoo stuff came around.
In any case, can it really be blamed on these items? Maybe it wasn't the actual necklace but some bacteria on the necklace. Maybe the lady who gave these to the queen had some weird disease which she passed on. Like you said, we will never know what really happened though. People are left to believe what they want...
~Sarah