Urinalysis, Part 3

William of Malmesbury tells us that William the Conqueror fell from his horse in summer of 1087 while fighting on the continent and suffered painful internal damage. Physicians examined his urine and predicted imminent death. William died in September of that year. The diagnosis prompted him to receive last rights and arrange for his demise.Abbot John of St. Albans was practiced at medical diagnosis through examination of urine. In 1214, John was ill and, suspecting the illness to be fatal, examined his urine and predicted he had three days to live. He was right.The Trotula suggested a urine test to determine fertility. A husband and wife seeking to have a child should each urinate into a pot of bran. If in ten days the bran was stinking and full of worms, the person who urinated into it was the infertile one.Raoul, the Count of Vermandois (reigned 1102 - 1152), fell ill, and his physician recommended he abstain from sexual relations with Ralph's just-married third wife. When the…