Duarte Ignacio
Rev Chilena Infectol. 2014 Aug;31(4):459-67. doi: 10.4067/S0716-10182014000400013.
From the 11th century up to the beginning of the 19th century a healing rite was performed by the kings of France and England. They were considered to have a hereditary divine power to cure with their hand the scrofula, a tuberculous lymphadenitis that affects mainly cervical lymph nodes. The rite took place regularly over groups of scrofulous patients and a wide audience. The belief in that miraculous power was based on the fact that kings had been annointed and crowned in a religious ceremony, thus acquiring a priestly nature together with their temporal power. The monarchs of France and England would have stimulated their subjects' credulity to strengthen their power over the feudal lords, specially when a change of dynasty took place. Scrofula may have been chosen due to a high incidence, with an evolution that may mimick healing, and also because the concept of scrofula may have included other lesions with episodes of spontaneous remission. The available historical data and the current knowledge of tuberculous lymphadenitis do not support the belief of massive miraculous healings by the king's touch.
从11世纪到19世纪初，法国和英国的国王都会举行一种治疗仪式。人们认为他们拥有世袭的神力，能用手治愈“瘰疬”，这是一种主要影响颈部淋巴结的结核性淋巴结炎。仪式定期在一群患有瘰疬的患者和广大观众面前举行。对这种神奇力量的信仰基于这样一个事实，即国王在宗教仪式中接受涂油礼和加冕，从而在获得世俗权力的同时也具备了神职人员的特质。法国和英国的君主可能是为了激发臣民的轻信，以加强他们对封建领主的权力，特别是在朝代更替的时候。选择瘰疬可能是因为其发病率高，病情发展可能看似自愈，还因为瘰疬的概念可能包括其他有自发缓解情况的病变。现有的历史资料和目前对结核性淋巴结炎的认识并不支持国王触摸能带来大量神奇治愈的观点。
