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Saints, Cure-Seekers and Miraculous Healing in Twelfth-Century England
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2021
About this book
Traces the journey from ill health to miraculous cure through the lens of hagiographical texts from twelfth-century England.
The cults of the saints were central to the medieval Church. These holy men and women acted as patrons and protectors to the religious communities who housed their relics and to the devotees who requested their assistance in petitioning God for a miracle. Among the collections of posthumous miracle stories, miracula, accounts of holy healing feature prominently and depict cure-seekers successfully securing their desired remedy for a range of ailments and afflictions. What can these miracle accounts tell us of the cure-seekers' experiences of their journey from ill health to recovery, and how was healthcare presented in these sources?
This book aims to answer these questions via an in-depth study of the miraculous cure-seeking process, considering Latin miracle accounts produced in twelfth-century England, a time both when saints' cults flourished and there was an increasing transmission and dissemination of classical and Arabic medical works. Focused on seven shorter miracula (including Eadmer of Canterbury's Miracula S. Dunstani and Thomas of Monmouth's Vita et Passione S. Wilelmi Martyris Norwicensis) with a predominantly localised appeal, and thus on a select group of cure-seekers - including Abbot Osbert of Notley who suffered from an eye complaint, Leofmær the bedridden knight, and Gaufrid who experienced a bad tooth extraction - the volume brings together studies of healthcare and pilgrimage, looking at the alternative to secular medical intervention and the practicalities and processes of securing saintly assistance.
The cults of the saints were central to the medieval Church. These holy men and women acted as patrons and protectors to the religious communities who housed their relics and to the devotees who requested their assistance in petitioning God for a miracle. Among the collections of posthumous miracle stories, miracula, accounts of holy healing feature prominently and depict cure-seekers successfully securing their desired remedy for a range of ailments and afflictions. What can these miracle accounts tell us of the cure-seekers' experiences of their journey from ill health to recovery, and how was healthcare presented in these sources?
This book aims to answer these questions via an in-depth study of the miraculous cure-seeking process, considering Latin miracle accounts produced in twelfth-century England, a time both when saints' cults flourished and there was an increasing transmission and dissemination of classical and Arabic medical works. Focused on seven shorter miracula (including Eadmer of Canterbury's Miracula S. Dunstani and Thomas of Monmouth's Vita et Passione S. Wilelmi Martyris Norwicensis) with a predominantly localised appeal, and thus on a select group of cure-seekers - including Abbot Osbert of Notley who suffered from an eye complaint, Leofmær the bedridden knight, and Gaufrid who experienced a bad tooth extraction - the volume brings together studies of healthcare and pilgrimage, looking at the alternative to secular medical intervention and the practicalities and processes of securing saintly assistance.
Author / Editor information
Contributor: Ruth J. Salter
RUTH J. SALTER is a Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Reading.
Reviews
L'approche de ce livre est singulière. Ce livre est utile aussi bien aux chercheurs qu'aux étudiants de master et fera bonne figure dans une bibliothèque sur l'histoire des soins."
(The approach of this book is distinctive. This book is valuable both for researchers and master's students, and it will be a welcome addition to any library focused on the history of healthcare.) --- Her [Ruth Salter's] book does provide a thoughtful commentary on her chosen miracle collections, perhaps especially welcome for those-from Burton and Coldingham-edited and translated in the past twenty years. --- Salter's study is particularly commendable for offering thick description of the learned medical culture and spatial context in which the narratives were produced; indeed, chapters 2, 5, and 6 would make worthwhile introductions to their respective topics for use in undergraduate classrooms. --- Salter should be commended for doing so much with sources that are, by their very nature, formulaic and not particularly forthcoming with narrative detail. [...] her book is packed with demographic data that historians of medieval English medicine will find useful. Armed with this data and a handful of compelling miracle stories, she constructs a comprehensive picture of the journey from suffering to health for cure-seekers in twelfth-century England. --- [Accessible] and appealing to informed non-specialists and subject experts, as well as to students of this period [...]. Through this extraordinary lens of the miraculous, we catch a glimpse of mundane. --- [A] masterclass in unpacking all that the rich genre of miracula has to offer. --- Salter's book will be valuable to medievalists for thoughtful close reading of texts, well-situated in relevant historiography. [...] the careful analysis in Salter's work will make it useful to medievalists, and its engagement with broader questions should enable scholarly comparison with the experiences of cure-seekers in other historical periods and today.
(The approach of this book is distinctive. This book is valuable both for researchers and master's students, and it will be a welcome addition to any library focused on the history of healthcare.) --- Her [Ruth Salter's] book does provide a thoughtful commentary on her chosen miracle collections, perhaps especially welcome for those-from Burton and Coldingham-edited and translated in the past twenty years. --- Salter's study is particularly commendable for offering thick description of the learned medical culture and spatial context in which the narratives were produced; indeed, chapters 2, 5, and 6 would make worthwhile introductions to their respective topics for use in undergraduate classrooms. --- Salter should be commended for doing so much with sources that are, by their very nature, formulaic and not particularly forthcoming with narrative detail. [...] her book is packed with demographic data that historians of medieval English medicine will find useful. Armed with this data and a handful of compelling miracle stories, she constructs a comprehensive picture of the journey from suffering to health for cure-seekers in twelfth-century England. --- [Accessible] and appealing to informed non-specialists and subject experts, as well as to students of this period [...]. Through this extraordinary lens of the miraculous, we catch a glimpse of mundane. --- [A] masterclass in unpacking all that the rich genre of miracula has to offer. --- Salter's book will be valuable to medievalists for thoughtful close reading of texts, well-situated in relevant historiography. [...] the careful analysis in Salter's work will make it useful to medievalists, and its engagement with broader questions should enable scholarly comparison with the experiences of cure-seekers in other historical periods and today.
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
vii -
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Illustrations
ix -
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Acknowledgements
xi -
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Abbreviations
xii -
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Introduction
1 -
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1 Miraculous Cures in Context: Twelfth-Century Medicine and the Saints
27 -
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2 Holy Healing: An Analysis of the Ailments
62 -
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3 The Great and the Good: Identifying the Cure-Seekers within the Miracles
91 -
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4 From Near and Far: The Geography of the Cults and the Distance Travelled
120 -
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5 The Road to Recovery: The Experience of Seeking Cure
146 -
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6 Upon Arrival at the Shrine: Cure-Seekers and the Place of Their Cure
176 -
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Conclusion
205 -
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Appendix 1: A List of the Named Cure-Seekers Within the Seven Miracula
215 -
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Appendix 2: A List of the Occupations Recorded for Laypersons Within the Seven Miracula
217 -
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Appendix 3: A List of the Place Names Recorded Within Thomas of Monmouth’s M. Willelmi
219 -
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Bibliography
223 -
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Index
239
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
February 5, 2024
eBook ISBN:
9781800101692
Original publisher:
York Medieval Press
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9781800101692
Keywords for this book
hagiography; posthumous miracles; medicine; pilgrim; Burton Abbey; Canterbury Cathedral Priory; Coldingham Priory; Ely Cathedral Priory; Norwich Cathedral Priory; Reading Abbey; Winchester Cathedral Priory
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
