Touching for the King’s Evil

Andre Du Laurens (1558-1609). Des mirabili strumas sanandi vi solis Galliae regibus christianissimis divinitus concessa liber unus. Paris: Apud Marcum Orry, 1609. [xv] 307 (misnumbered 293), [18] pp., fold. Plate. 17.5 Limp vellum.
During the Middle Ages, tuberculosis of the lymph glands of the neck was very common and was known variously as scrofula, struma, and the “King’s Evil.” For centuries it was believed that the “royal touch” could cure this disease and many English and French monarchs were in the habit of touching their afflicted subjects during major religious holidays. Andre Du Laurens, an anatomist and Paris court physician, was a firm believer in the effectiveness of the “royal touch” and in this work, reports that King Henry IV often touched and healed as many as 1,500 individuals at a time. The work contains a magnificent folding copperplate engraving (displayed here) showing the King touching a number of sufferers who are gathered about him in a circle. The University of Iowa copy has an interesting provenance and can be traced back to Jean Auguste de Thou, its original owner, who died in 1617. [description from Heirs of Hippocrates].

For more information about the John Martin Rare Book Room please visit the Web site at http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/rbr/ or contact Ed Holtum, Assistant Director for Administrative Services and Special Collections, at 335-9154 or edwin-holtum@uiowa.edu.