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Comment by pcthrowaway

3 months ago

I was under the impression living to 70 would have been very rare in, say, 1100 CE

Not deeply knowledgeable here but imagine this depended quite a bit on where you were living in 1100 CE.

I think it was fairly rare in Europe, but IDK how well those numbers capture what was common for the majority of the human population living elsewhere.

  • It was pretty rare even among medieval kings to live to be 70.

    The first English king to be definitely alive on their 70th birthday (though no longer "in office") was Philip of Spain (jure uxoris) in 1597, so not a medieval king. That is Early Modern Age.

    Elizabeth I. didn't make it, though barely, and so the next to reach 70 was George II. in November 1753! Only since the second half of the 18th century is it common for British monarchs to reach their seventies.

    Richard Cromwell lived to be 85, but he was never a king, only Lord Protector.

    Edgar Aetheling lived to be 73, but he was never king either, due to certain William arriving en force from Normandy.