Tracing the Boundaries of the Natural: Medicine and the Inquiry on Miracles in Early Modern Canonization Trials.

Giovanni Maria Lancisi; canonization; childbirth; medicine; miracles; testimony; Europe; History, 17th Century; History, 18th Century; Humans; Lawyers/history; Physicians/history; Saints/history; Expert Testimony; Religion and Medicine; Lawyers; Physicians; Saints; Medicine (all)

Abstract :

[en] Between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the inquiry on miracles in the canonization process reveals a fundamental cooperation between medicine and religion. During the last stage of the trials, theologians, lawyers, and physicians concurred with refined reports to accomplish full analysis of the alleged miracles. The promoter of the faith had the task of doubting the supposed miracle healing on juridical, medical and theological grounds; the lawyer supporting the cause responded to any inconsistency in witnesses' depositions; the physician had the task of finding any natural causes which could lead to a natural recovery of the subject. The interplay of these tripartite disciplines underlies early modern probation of supposed miracles. In this paper I will examine the institutional and cultural consequences of the demand for evidence in canonization trials: on the one hand, the increasing role of medical experts in the assessment of miracles and the friction between them and the other members of the committee; on the other hand, the rise of a new method of inquiry in the legal arena.

Disciplines :

History

Author, co-author :

Laverda, Alessandro ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences historiques > Histoire culturelle ; University of Leicester

Language :

English

Title :

Tracing the Boundaries of the Natural: Medicine and the Inquiry on Miracles in Early Modern Canonization Trials.

Publication date :

01 October 2019

Journal title :

Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences

ISSN :

0022-5045

eISSN :

1468-4373

Publisher :

Oxford University Press, England

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

369 - 390

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

http://academic.oup.com/jhmas/article-pdf/74/4/369/31498591/jrz053.pdf

Funders :

Wellcome Trust

Funding text :

This work was supported by The Wellcome Trust Medical Humanities Studentship.

Available on ORBi :

since 12 September 2024

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