‘John Duncalf the Man that Did Rott Both Hands & Leggs’: Chronicle of a Staffordshire Death Retold in the Long Eighteenth Century

Abstract

ABSTRACT In 1677 John Duncalf, a Staffordshire labourer, fell ill after falsely swearing that he had not stolen a bible. He was visited by droves as he lay helpless, the flesh of his legs and arms mysteriously rotting away until they dropped off and he died. His suffering and death were publicized and debated, and his case was recirculated throughout the eighteenth century. This article analyses the different constructions placed upon his death, showing how there was an anti-atheist Duncalf; a Duncalf for church comprehension; a medicalized Duncalf; a Duncalf the curiosity; a Staffordshire Duncalf; an anti-papist Duncalf; and a Duncalf who was more palatable to Catholics; a Duncalf for the elites; and a Duncalf for the poor; and a Methodist Duncalf. The persistence across the long eighteenth century of a story often told as a Providential warning against swearing allows for some reconsideration of arguments about secularization and disenchantment.