King Henry I died of eating a surfeit of lampreys … but was it poison instead? King Henry I died in Normandy in 1135 of food poisoning “according to legend from eating a ‘surfeit of Lampreys’ (an eel type fish).”  http://www.britroyals.com/kings.asp?id=henry1 In the new mini-series on Starz “Pillars of the Earth” based on the book by Ken Follett, he was deliberately poisoned by King Stephen (who succeeded him) or someone working for him.  For those watching the show, in point of fact, King Henry did not die within moments of the birth of Maud’s son, Henry (born 5 March 1133), who ultimately succeeded Stephen as King of England, but two years later. King Henry died of food poisoning despite the high likelihood of having some kind of ‘food taster’.  Admittedly, such a person could be circumvented by a slow-acting poison.  … Continue reading Medieval Poisons