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Diary
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General SummaryThe Diary of John Evelyn (1620–1706) covers a period of more than sixty years. Its author, a gentleman of good family and of considerable means, lived under Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, Charles II, James II, and William III. He knew several of these monarchs and their ministers, besides having an extensive acquaintance among the eminent men of his time, both in England and on the Continent. He led a busy, useful, and happy life; held many minor posts in the government; interested himself in scientific pursuits; became a recognized authority on such subjects as numismatics, architecture, and landscape gardening; and wrote many valuable works in addition to the famous Diary. Less interesting than the similar journal kept by his contemporary and friend, Samuel Pepys, it has still greater historical value, for it embraces a much longer period and presents a far more extensive and varied view of English society. The work remained in manuscript until 1818.
Historical SummaryEuropean kings were once supposed to be able to heal scrofula by their mere touch. The disease was accordingly known as the King’s Evil. In England the first monarch to touch the sick seems to have been Edward the Confessor in the eleventh century; the last was Queen Anne. French rulers continued this practice until the nineteenth century.
20. Touching for the King’s Evil1
July 6, 1660. His Majesty began first to touch for the evil,
according to custom, thus: his Majesty sitting under his state
in the Banqueting-house, the surgeons cause the sick to be
brought, or led, up to the throne, where they kneeling, the king
strokes their faces or cheeks with both hands at once, at which
instant a chaplain in his formalities says, "He put his hands upon
them, and he healed them." This is said to every one in particular.
When they have been all touched, they come up again in
the same order, and other chaplain kneeling and having angel
gold2 strung on white ribbon on his arm, delivers them one
by one to his Majesty, who puts them about the necks of the
touched as they pass, whilst the first chaplain repeats, "That
is the true light who came into the world." Then follows, an
Epistle (as at first a Gospel) with the Liturgy, prayers for the
sick, with some alteration; lastly the blessing; and then the
lord chamberlain and the comptroller of the household brings a
basin, ewer, and towel, for his Majesty to wash.
1 Evelyn, , vol. ii, p. 115.
2 Gold pieces with the figure of an angel stamped on them.
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Chicago: "Touching for the King’s Evil," Diary in Readings in Modern European History, ed. Webster, Hutton (Boston: D.C. Heath, 1926), Original Sources, accessed July 26, 2024, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=94UXD3DWUWJ8EX2.
MLA: . "Touching for the King’s Evil." Diary, Vol. ii, in Readings in Modern European History, edited by Webster, Hutton, Boston, D.C. Heath, 1926, Original Sources. 26 Jul. 2024. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=94UXD3DWUWJ8EX2.
Harvard: , 'Touching for the King’s Evil' in Diary. cited in 1926, Readings in Modern European History, ed. , D.C. Heath, Boston. Original Sources, retrieved 26 July 2024, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=94UXD3DWUWJ8EX2.
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