"A History of Wales", John Davies, The Penguin Press, First Edition 1993 p. 269 All Classes of society faced disease and sickness; ill-health was probably the cause of the choler which was so much a part of the personalities of men such as John Perrot and John Wynn. But it was the members of the lower classes - who were often deficient in vitamins A, C & D - who suffered most. Among them there was deep faith in herbal remedies and magic potions, for they could not afford the services of a doctor. In deed, only a small proportion of the population was within reach of such services. In 1620, the family at Lleweni had to send to Chester for a doctor, although as medical methods were so crude the scarcity of doctor's was probably advantageous to the sick. Every one believed that they were at the mercy of mysterious powers. Those powers could be placated by spells and magic, or aggravated by associating with the devil, as witches were believed to do. The fate of the condemned witch, the ferocity of many of the amusements of the age, the barbarity of the frequent executions [about two thousand a year in the kingdom as a whole] and the pleasure people obtained from watching savagery prove that there was very little sensitivity towards suffering - something to be expected, perhaps, in a society where pain and cruel afflictions were part of the common experience. CHOLER, n. 1. The bile. By the superabundance of this fluid, anger was formerly supposed to be produced; or perhaps the opinion was that the bile caused the inflamed appearance of the face in anger. Hence, 2. Anger; wrath; irritation of the passions. Cholera Morbus, a sudden evacuation of bile, both upwards and downwards. Main Entry: cho·ler Pronunciation: 'kä-l&r, 'kO- Function: noun Etymology: Middle English coler, from Middle French colere, from Latin cholera cholera, from Greek Date: 14th century 1 a archaic : YELLOW BILE b obsolete : BILE 1a 2 obsolete : the quality or state of being bilious 3 : ready disposition to irritation : IRASCIBILITY; also : ANGER chol·er noun 1. bad temper: anger or bad temper ( archaic or literary ) 2. bodily fluid causing bad temper: one of the four basic fluids (humors) of the body according to medieval medicine, thought to make somebody whose body contained too much of it prone to anger and irritability ( archaic ) Also called yellow bile [14th century. Via French colère from Latin cholera "bile" (see cholera), believed to cause bad temper.] Cuz Becky ttg-inc@comcast.net http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ttg13/