 Lice have been intimately associated with human society throughout history . In the Middle Ages , they were essentially ubiquitous . At the death of Thomas Becket , Archbishop of Canterbury in 1270 , it was recorded that " The vermin boiled over like water in a simmering cauldron , and the onlookers burst into alternate weeping and laughing " . A mediaeval treatment for lice was an ointment made from pork grease , incense , lead , and aloe . 
