Don't Let it Fester Henry. Don't Let it Fester...

Continuing on our theme of Tudor England, I feel it is appropriate to discuss good old Henry VIII.  Oh Henry, where can we possibly begin?  Perhaps we should start with your birth and how you were intended to enter the church.  The infamous Henry VIII was one of three surviving children of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.  Since Henry was the second son, he received an education fit for a bishop, learning Latin, French and Italian and other church related skills.  Arthur, Henry's older brother however, died of tuberculosis at age fifteen shortly after marring Catherine of Aragon.  This left Henry the heir to the English throne and he began ruling England at the tender age of eighteen.

Henry VIII is a wonderful example of how history is used as a morality play.  We all know that Henry had many wives, mistresses and plenty of sex.  As Henry aged, he began to suffer from open sores, ulcers on the skin and festering wounds.  He began to smell and one of his wives, Anne of Cleves, refused to sleep with him because of the pungent odor and oozing fluid that came out of his sores.  Luckily for Anne of Cleves, the feeling was mutual and Henry quickly had their union annulled.

Henry VIII's sores are often attributed to syphilis.  While historians debate how and when syphilis arrived in Europe, there is no doubt that it began to spread quickly throughout the 16th century.  Since syphilis is spread through sexual contact, it seemed fitting that Henry VIII should die from it.  After all, he was whoring around and for some reason we think that bad things should happen to bad people.  God was simply inflecting His judgment on Henry.

However, we now know that Henry didn't die from syphilis like his contemporary King Francis I of France.  Instead, his unhealed sores, possible impotence and lack of evidence for infections in his wives and mistresses, indicates type II diabetes not syphilis.  So much for Henry being the poster child for STD prevention.

Henry VIII, however, is just one of the many historical figures that are used to propagate good morals.  While STD prevention, sexual responsibility and instilling good morals in our children are important, Henry's death had nothing to do with his sex life.