The mandible of Saint-Louis (1270 AD): Retrospective diagnosis and circumstances of death

Comment on Charlier et al., 2019: “The Mandible of Saint-Louis (1270 AD): Retrospective diagnosis and circumstances of death”

“…From the 12 th century, official authentication documents "authentique" accompanied the relics and allowed the traceability of their movements and modifications over time [4]. However, Charlier and colleagues [1] have not provided evidence of this original authentication with the mandible they examined. The authors state that "..a perfect traceability of the remains is given by historical sources" but provide no support for this assertion.…”

“…There are also issues with the osteological methods used by Charlier et al [1] to support their identification. The authors cite Parr et al [5] to justify the age and sex assigned to this individual.…”

“…In fact, there are currently no osteological methods for estimating age from an edentulous mouth, as is the case with the mandible described. Even if dental attrition could have been employed, such methods are incapable of yielding the precise age of 56 years reported by Charlier et al [1]. The authors employ a 3D methodology [6] to "face-match" the mandible against a statue of Saint Louis.…”

“…We read with interest the recent article by Charlier and colleagues entitled "The Mandible of Saint-Louis (1270 AD): Retrospective Diagnosis and Circumstances of Death" [1]. This work, which consisted of macroscopic examination of a mandible purported to belong to the Crusader King of France and a review of historical accounts pertaining to his death, generated a good deal of press coverage and stimulated public interest in the fascinating field of paleopathology.…”

Ce qu’il faut savoir sur les principales épidémies et pandémies

“…Pour d’autres auteurs, Alexandre le Grand serait mort des suites d’un syndrome de Guillain-Barré apparu après une infection par Campylobacter pylori [3] . La mort de Louis IX à Tunis, le 25 août 1270, au cours de la 8 e croisade, a été attribuée d’abord à la peste, puis au typhus et tout récemment des études ont montré que sa mort serait due au scorbut [4] , [5] . Il faudra attendre le début du Moyen-Âge pour avoir quelques informations mais essentiellement factuelles [6] , [7] .…”