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Magic and the Material Culture of Healing in Early Modern England

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Magic and the Material Culture of Healing in Early Modern England Magic and the material culture of healing in early modern England Ann-Sophie Thwaite Pembroke College University of Cambridge February 2020 This thesis is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy DECLARATION This thesis is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any work that has already been submitted before for any degree or other qualification except as declared in the preface and specified in the text. It does not exceed the prescribed word limit for the History and Philosophy of Science Degree Committee, at 78,981 words (excluding Bibliography). 2 ABSTRACT This dissertation questions how people used objects to preserve health and cure illness in early modern England. Each chapter focuses on a different object or group of objects, to make interventions in the history of contemporary healing, and to demonstrate what we can learn about early modern healing from a study that places things at the centre. I bring together items that vary according to material, size, shape, function and application, to reveal the diverse range of things used for cure and protection in this period. Some were everyday, relatively worthless things, while others were expensive, coveted rarities, and I use both types of object to investigate the complex relationship between value and power. Throughout, this thesis explores how modern research, and trends of collecting and categorisation, have affected our interpretation of the physical evidence of early modern healing, and shows how objects can be resituated within medical contexts. It analyses how and why learned, elite men in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries criticised what they saw as erroneous medical belief and practice, and the crucial role played by objects in these condemnations. In comparison, it examines how, despite religious and societal changes, laypeople continued to use a variety of healing objects, even in the face of theological denunciation and diabolical threat. My research contributes to recent scholarship that advocates object-focused histories, and provides a model of how to examine objects on their own terms, regardless of whether or not textual evidence exists. As a study of magic and the material culture of healing, it contributes to histories of household medicine, recipes and secrets, magic, ritual, superstition, demonology and witchcraft, medical politics, curiosity and wonder, and collecting. 3 CONTENTS Acknowledgements 6 List of Figures 7 Abbreviations 12 INTRODUCTION 13 Material culture 20 Medicine 28 Magic 33 Sources 39 Structure 40 CHAPTER ONE: AMULETS Introduction: a hare’s foot 44 Gold angels 55 A unicorn horn pendant 60 Hag stones 62 A locket containing a caul 65 An astrological sigil 71 A wheel of fortune 74 A ring for falling-sickness 82 A breverl 86 Conclusion 90 CHAPTER TWO: POPULAR ERRORS Introduction 93 Who were the errors authors? 95 Which things were erroneous, and why? 102 Superstition and demonology 105 Medical competition 109 Errors and secrets 115 Conclusion 121 CHAPTER THREE: BENT PINS Introduction 124 Early modern pins 126 The study of bent pins 131 Material and textual records of bent pins 138 Example 1: Wells and ‘witch-bottles’ 143 Example 2: A crooked nail necklace 148 Example 3: Jane Wenham and witchcraft 151 Conclusion 153 4 CHAPTER FOUR: BEZOAR STONES Introduction 156 Literature review 159 What was the bezoar stone? 168 Medical virtuosity 173 Origins of power and debated decline 179 Antiquarian curiosity 184 A competitive market 189 Conclusion 197 CHAPTER FIVE: ‘WITCH-BOTTLES’ Introduction 200 Literature review 202 How did the urinary experiment work? 210 Who administered the urinary experiment? 221 Conclusion 235 CONCLUSION 239 Bibliography 243 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My first and greatest thanks go to my supervisor, Professor Lauren Kassell. By accepting me as a student, she saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself at that point in my life. She has led me with continual support, patience, guidance and wisdom ever since. I could not have had a better academic mentor; to Lauren I owe not only several years of hard work, but a lasting intellectual debt. Thank-you to Professor Alexandra Walsham for inspiring me when I was younger, and for kindly pointing me in Lauren’s direction during my first visit to Cambridge. That Lauren got a dog halfway through my PhD didn’t hurt, either. Thanks for the cuddles Rufus. Considerable thanks also go to my first-year advisor, Peter Jones, for directing and guiding me so brilliantly in my initial assessment, and for acting as my examiner for this thesis. His kindness and expertise have been invaluable. Many thanks also to Sasha Handley for agreeing to be my external examiner. This PhD would not have been possible without the Wellcome Trust, both for the studentship itself and for the fantastic opportunities it afforded thereafter. To be part of such an inspiring organisation was rewarding, and the Secondment Fellowship scheme allowed me to take my research to the Science Museum in London. My utmost thanks, too, to everyone there; in particular Oisín Wall, Sarah Wade, Tim Boon and Kate Steiner. To the History and Philosophy of Science Department, and all the people who made my research possible, I owe a great deal. I am hugely appreciative of the grant given to me by my Department to complete this thesis. Special thanks to all the staff, especially Tamara, Aga and Louisa, and to the Whipple librarians for not only help with work, but also warmth and kindness. To the residents of the offices in HPS where I spent my time, you helped fill my time with laughter, motivation and solidarity. And to the many people at work-in-progress groups, workshops and conferences, as well as the museums and libraries who helped me refine my work along the way, my greatest thanks. As an undergraduate, I knew of the Things seminar at CRASSH, and a few years later I was lucky enough to be leading it myself, and taking it in new directions alongside wonderful co-conveners. In my PhD I got to write about things, and leading this seminar series I got to listen and talk about things, with such an interesting and eclectic variety of speakers and attendees. Thanks to all those who assisted us for so many years, especially to the enduringly helpful admin team headed by Esther Lamb. And to Abby – at first a co-convener, and now a true and lifelong friend. Somebody warned me before I started that PhDs are lonely. Thankfully, fortune dealt in my favour the day I landed at Pembroke College. I’ve shared the best times and endured the hard times with the friends I made there, and I owe my entire experience at Cambridge to them. Huge gratitude also to my friends elsewhere, in particular O Block from Warwick, the Ren gals from the V&A, and my day one History pals: the Simps. I still don’t know how I got lucky enough to have these wonderful people as friends. Forging and fostering these relationships has been the greatest and most fortuitous achievement of my life, and I wouldn’t have managed these last few years without them. Special mention to my brother, who I’ve looked up to from the very beginning. He is the chalk to my cheese, and without a doubt the most special and intelligent person I know. And to Jack: for turning my life upside down, for keeping me grounded during work stress by making me laugh every day, for being both a constant annoyance and the brightest ray of sunshine in my life, and for navigating every new day by my side. Finally, this thesis is written in honour of two people. Both have taught me that life, much like a PhD, is a marathon not a sprint. Firstly, to my lovely Lily. Words cannot begin to do justice to the hole I have in my heart doing life without you. Everything I do, and every day I experience, is shaded with a colour of you. I live for me, but I live for you too. Sto lat, sto lat, Niech żyje, żyje nam, little one. Secondly, to my Mum. After having interrogated definitions for this thesis, I can confirm with absolute certainty that ‘mother’ does not nearly do her justice, particularly as she has managed to be both parents so brilliantly for almost all my life. She sadly now knows far more than any normal person should about ‘olden days’ medicine, and yet still hasn’t told me to shut up; testament to her kindness and patience. Her strength, love and support have been the biggest mould for who I am as a person today. 6 LIST OF FIGURES INTRODUCTION Figure 1 – Four eagle-stone geodes. Woodcut, 1599. Ferranta Imperato, Dell'historica naturale (Naples, 1599). Source: Wellcome Collection. Figure 2 – Antimony cup. Europe, 1501-1700. London: Science Museum, A641035. Source: Science Museum. Figure 3 – Unknown artist, Boy with Coral (c.1670). Oil on canvas. 108.5 cm x 84 cm. Norwich: Strangers Hall, NWHCM : 1949.138.1. Source: Norfolk Museums Collection. Figure 4 – Cornelius Johnson, The Capel Family (c.1640). Oil on canvas, 63 in. x 102 in. London: National Portrait Gallery, NPG 4759. Source: National Portrait Gallery. Figure 5 – Child’s rattle. London (possibly, made), 1775-1800. Silver gilt and coral. 13.1cm x 5cm x 5cm. London: V&A Museum, B.150-1997. Source: V&A Museum. CHAPTER ONE Figure 6 – Hare’s foot amulet. England, 1870-1920. London: Science Museum, A666124. Source: Science Museum. Figure 7 – Hare’s foot: charm.
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