The King’s Evil

First presented to the Bristol Medico-Historical Society

WEMJ Volume 112 No 2 Article 3 June 2013 Paul R Goddard given coins to the sick at a ceremony The kings and queens of England con- Visiting Professor known as the ‘touching.’ tinued to touch patients and give a coin University of the West of England After the Romans had left England sci- (called an ) to magically cure The Touch of the King ence went into abeyance. Anglo-Saxon scrofula up until the civil war when The King’s Evil is a strange title for a medicine consisted of herbal remedies, Cromwell stopped the practice. Charles talk to a medical-history society. It does leeches and . The latter some- II restarted the touching ceremony and not, however, refer to a mad and evil times included coins…. Not usually their in his reign touched nearly 100,000 monarch, such as Vlad the Impaler, but own coins which were very crude but patients, giving each a gold coin, now to a disease: scrofula. more interesting coins from the late Ro- called a touch piece rather than an Angel “Scrofula,” from Latin “scrofa” mean- man period….such as those showing a as the latter coin had gone out of us- ing “sow,” and the synonymous “struma” Soldier spearing a fallen horseman age. The image on it is of the Archangel and “escrouelles” derive from the com- (Figure 1, below.) killing a dragon, symbolic of the mon appearance of the patient’s enlarged neck. This is supposed to have caused the sufferers to have a pig-like appear- ance. “Morbus regius”, “mal de roi” and the “King’s Evil” are also synonyms for scrofula. Scrofula is an enlargement of the cervi- cal lymph nodes due to or due to non-tuberculous (atypical) myco- bacteria. The differential diagnosis for neck swell- Figue 1. Bronze coin of Constantius Gallus Figure 3, a James II gold touchpiece showing ing includes: showing a Soldier spearing a fallen horseman). Archangel Michael killing a dragon) * Cervical lymphadenopathy of any cause Legend has it that the healing power of devil, and this image is strikingly similar * Extension of Primary Neoplasm (eg the Kings of England and France dates to the Roman coin of the soldier spear- Pancoast) back to King Clovis of France who was ing the horseman. This similarity has not * Goitre given this gift by St Remy in 496 AD. previously been noted by numismatists * Branchial cyst, thyroglossal duct cyst The gift of healing through touch, ac- and the angel design presumably evolved Thus there are many possible causes of companied by the sign of the cross, is from the earlier talismanic coin. (See the appearances of Scorfula other than next mentioned in the reign of Robert the Figure 3, a James II gold touchpiece). Tuberculosis. Pious (970-1031), second Capetian king, Today the diagnosis can be made by and touching specifically for scrofula James II continued the practice even diagnostic imaging and fine needle aspi- is affirmed in the reign of his grandson after he was exiled. His son touched as ration cytology and culture. Treatment Philip I (1060-1108). James III, bonny Prince Charlie touched of tuberculosis of the cervical nodes is The gift of healing is said to have first as Charles III and his brother, Cardinal by triple chemotherapy, choosing from manifested itself in England in the hands Henry, touched as Henry IX. William Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Pyrazinamide and of (born 1003, and Mary stopped the ceremony but it Ethambutol died 1066) (Figure 2 below) was restarted by Queen Anne, who was the last reigning monarch do to so. The cause of scrofula was unknown until the late 19th century. Ancient Egyptians Scrofula and Touching by Royalty in treated scrofula with surgery and dress- the South West ings. Hippocrates advocated confinement to the temples of rest, praying, drinking Marie Trevelyan, in her book Glimpses milk, dieting and avoidance of extreme of Welsh Life and Character states : weather. Galen added gargles. The Chi- In 1666 we find a housewife noting… nese treatment was acupuncture. “Heard this day how a man in Bristol In addition for many centuries it was be- came home cured of the Evil, the King lieved that the condition could be cured having touched him” by the and the giving of Queen Anne had no desire to “Touch” a coin by the King to the sufferer from but was persuaded to do so by her min- scrofula. Figure 2 Edward the Confessor from the Litlyn- isters. She visited Bath on August 29th gton Missal 1383 AD With permission (Copy- Hence it was called the King’s Evil. 1702 and Bristol on September 3rd. right: Dean and Chapter of Westminster)). The Emperor Vespasian started the tradi- Playing cards relating to these events do tion of ‘touch-pieces’. He is said to have The King’s Evil (continued) First presented to the Bristol Medico-Historical Society WEMJ Volume 112 No 2 Article 3 June 2013 show her touching for the Evil and it is faith healers would try their and culosis and when John Wesley in 1754 possible that she touched in both places. various spas were promoted for their developed “Galloping Consumption” he Samuel Werenfels wrote in his Dis- healing waters, including the healing of tried the waters of both wells and pre- sertation Upon in Natural scrofula. ferred the new well.It now feeds a drink- Things in 1749 about a Bristol labourer ing fountain adjacent to the Portway. named Christopher Lovel.. “afflicted by Pigot’s Directory of Gloucestershire, (Figure 4) the King’s Evil set out from England in 1830 tells us.. Conclusion quest of relief. He applied to a certain, “The Hotwells are situated about one nameless, hereditary, unanointed Prince. mile and a half westward from Bristol in Touching for scrofula may have made He succeeded in his wishes, was miracu- the parish of Clifton. The salutary spring the patient acceptable in society but it lously cured returned home, relaps’d and rises near the bottom of the cliff, and so did not cure the disease. In fact, by mak- died of the Struma at last.” copious as to discharge 60 gallons in a ing a contagious patient sociable it al- minute. The water is warm as milk, and most undoubtedly spread what it set out Quackery like those of Bath, famous for the cure to cure. of stone and gravel, diarrhoea, diabetes, References When the touching ceremony was King’s evil, scrofula and cancers.” 1) Marie Trevelyan, Glimpses of Welsh stopped, as in the times of Oliver Crom- Life and Character (Publisher: Carpenter well, under William and Mary and after A second hot spring was discovered in Press Date Published: 2008) Queen Anne, other forms of ‘treatment’ Hotwells further down river. This was 2) Pigot’s Directory of Gloucestershire, would appear and become popular. Thus also promoted as a treatment for Tuber- 1830

Figure 4. Professor Paul Goddard standing by the fountain on the Portway, Bristol fed by one of the Hotwells Springs