[katana]

You are correct. The image of people dropping dead from "old age" and common diseases (not the plague) in their forties is a misconception based on historical life expectancy figures, which are skewed by the high rates of infant and childhood mortality of older times.

Death from falls from horse back were common but at least the victims weren't turned into the pink pulp which an auto or motorcycle accident can cause and probably didn't number in the tens of thousands (I read once that one in four Frenchmen die in auto accidents - if you've ever driven in France you'll believe it).

On the other hand, ailments which we can now survive with anti-biotics such as infections and pneumonia, or which are rare because of much improved public hygiene such as typhoid and cholera did make survival much past "three score and ten" the exception. Now it's practically the rule.

[Billthedrill]

Yep. And using human feces - "nightsoil" - as a fertilizer contributed to the problem, both in terms of direct food contamination and contamination of the water supply. I'm hoping our re-enactors passed on that little habit.

One real misery I would also not try to experience is an intractable dental problem. A feller with a toothache isn't altogether pleasant to be around. "What cannot be cured must be endured" has a whole new meaning when there isn't any aspirin.