No fears, this isn’t a ‘Diagnose me, please!’ thread. If there was anything wrong with my hands, I would go see a doctor. No, instead the patient described herein has been dead for, oh, about 800 years now, so any medical advice comes far far too late. I refer to King Richard I of England, popularly remembered as Richard the Lion-Hearted, the famous Crusader.
The chronicler Gerald of Wales describes how Richard’s hands were always trembling. Contrary to the way we remember him now, Richard actually suffered from bad health his entire life and was constantly ill (though he did not let that prevent him from leading a very active life). When I read this, I wondered if Richard perhaps had some sort of nerve damage, or Carpal Tunnel or something from handling weapons. The mans of elderly men often shake, but Richard died aged forty-one in 1199.
But I’m no medical professional. Any ideas?
Well, there are three major categories of causes of tremor (based on the nature of the tremor):
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Tremor at rest - the classic example of this is Parkinson’s Disease where, for example, an unoccupied hand or limb shakes continuously, but immediately stops shaking the instant it starts to participate in a motor activity.
Although it can afflict younger people, Parkinson’s most often is a disease of those over 50 years old. This, when coupled with the fact that people afflicted with Parkinson’s tend to move slowly and deliberately (something which does NOT seem to apply to Richard I), would seem to eliminate Parkinson’s as the culprit disorder here.
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Tremor during intentional action - this phenomenon indicates disease of the cerebellum or its connections to the rest of the brain. It is difficult to imagine that Richard, a man of considerable activity and energy, suffered from this problem. Often, it can be disabling. Moreover, other signs of illness would have certainly been present as well. Such signs are not subtle and would have captured the attention of obeservers just as much as his tremor.
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Tremor during a sustained posture - this is the tremor that Katherine Hepburn had (I think). Typically, this tremor occurs when one holds up his outstretched arms and hands, or when holding his head still on his shoulders (something most of us don’t even know to think about).
This type of tremor is often familial, starts at a relatively young age and, most importantly for a man of Richard’s involvements and responsibilities, (usually) does NOT interfere with other aspects of movement, coordination, and overall mobility.
People with the familial form of this disorder soon learn that alcohol, even in very modest amounts, eliminates or greatly reduces the tremor. Was Richard unduly fond of ale?
In addition to a familial cause, this same type of tremor can be seen in people taking certain drugs (ventolin, lithium, speed and its relatives), withdrawing from alcohol, who have hyperthyroidism, or in people who are just excessively nervous.
Thanks, KarlGauss, that’s really fascinating. I checked my copy of John Gillingham’s biography of Richard, aptly titled Richard I, but I couldn’t find any mention of Richard being overly fond of the bottle (or tankard, rather). However, like most people of his day, he probably consumed vast quantities of wine.
In the interest of completeness, I copied down the relevent passage from Gerald of Wales’ chronicles. First he says that Richard suffered from a “quartan ague” (archaic term for a malarial fever that lasts up to three days. Then Gerald writes:
Neat. I think I’m going to campaign for a quartan ague clinic at my hospital. 
Quartan ague also finished off Richard’s sometime ally, sometime enemy, King Philippe II of France. While on Crusade, Richard also came down with possibly the most disgustingly-named disease imaginable: Trench Mouth. Ick!
Do you think the malarial fever caused the tremors?
Have you read any descriptions of Trench Mouth? They’re even worse than the name! It’s included in the list/summaries of diseases in Where’s Mom Now That I Need Her?, which my mom gave to me and my friends as we were heading off to college. Scary stuff, man – that’ll teach them college kids to maintain decent hygiene! :o
yup, ever since i was little i had it, my grandfather went a couple of years ago shaking like crazy. my brother, my mother we all do it. its genetic in our family and when i did precision pencil and watercolor in junior high it helped me learn that mistakes and an eraser can lead to the best things. i work with precision but ironically am flawed permanently. yet my art is precision and my piano playing is mozart, maybe you must be flawed to be perfect…