3 options
The royal touch in early modern England : politics, medicine and sin / Stephen Brogan.
Kislak Center for Special Collections - Furness Shakespeare Library (Van Pelt 628) DA112 .B76 2015
Available
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Brogan, Stephen, author.
- Series:
- Royal Historical Society studies in history. New series 0269-2244
- Royal Historical Society Studies in History New Series, 0269-2244
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Kings and rulers--Rites and ceremonies.
- Kings and rulers.
- Queens--Rites and ceremonies.
- Queens.
- Healing--Religious aspects--16th century.
- Healing.
- Healing--Religious aspects--17th century.
- Scrofula--Treatment.
- Scrofula.
- Royal touch.
- Healing--Religious aspects.
- Rites and ceremonies.
- England.
- Physical Description:
- xi, 265 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour) ; 24 cm.
- Place of Publication:
- Woodbridge, Suffolk : The Boydell Press, an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd., 2015.
- Summary:
- The royal touch was the religious healing ceremony at which the monarch stroked the sores on the face and necks of people who had scrofula in order to heal them in imitation of Christ. The rite was practised by all the Tudor and Stuart sovereigns apart from William III, reaching its zenith during the Restoration when some 100,000 people were touched by Charles II and James II. This ground-breaking book, the first devoted to the royal touch for almost a century, integrates political, religious, medical and intellectual history. The custom is analysed from above and below: the royal touch projected monarchical authority, but at the same time the great demand for it created numerous problems for those organising the ceremony. The healing rite is situated in the context of a number of early modern debates, including the cessation of miracles and the nature of the body politic. The book also assesses contemporary attitudes towards the royal touch, from belief through ambivalence to scepticism.
- Contents:
- 1 The origins and medieval history of the royal touch, 1000-1485 23
- 2 The Tudors: revival and reform of royal therapeutics, 1485-1603 45
- 3 The royal touch and the Stuart monarchy, 1603-1688 67
- 4 The ritual process of the royal touch, 1660-1688 120
- 5 The Restoration debate: the rise of ambivalence and scepticism, 1660-1688 151
- 6 The royal touch and the early English Enlightenment, 1689-1750 183.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-257) and index.
- Local Notes:
- Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.
- ISBN:
- 9780861933372
- 0861933370
- OCLC:
- 917363639
The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.