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The King's Evil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scrofula (scrophula or struma) is any of a variety of skin diseases; in particular, a form of tuberculosis, affecting the lymph nodes of the neck. It is often informally or historically known as the King's Evil, referring to the belief that sufferers would be cured by the touch of the Monarch, a practice which continued in England until the early 18th century. In adults it is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and in children by nontuberculous mycobacteria. The word comes from the Latin scrofula, meaning brood sow.
In the Middle Ages it was believed that "royal touch", the touch of the sovereign of England or France, could cure diseases due to the divine right of sovereigns. Scrofula was therefore also known as the King's Evil. The kings were thought to have received this power due to their descent from Edward the Confessor, who, according to some legends, received it from Saint Remigius. From 1633, the Book of Common Prayer of the Anglican Church contained a ceremony for this, and it was traditional for the monarch (king or queen) to present to the touched person a coin — usually an Angel, a gold coin the value of which varied from about 6 shillings to about 10 shillings. King Henry IV of France is reported as often touching and healing as many as 1,500 individuals at a time.
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