Miracle cures : saints, pilgrimage, and the healing powers of belief
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Miracle cures : saints, pilgrimage, and the healing powers of belief
University of California Press, c2010
- : cloth
Available at 2 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-225) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Iconic images of medieval pilgrims, such as Chaucer's making their laborious way to Canterbury, conjure a distant time when faith was the only refuge of the ill and infirm, and thousands traveled great distances to pray for healing. Why, then, in an age of advanced biotechnology and medicine, do millions still go on pilgrimages? Why do journeys to important religious shrines--such as Lourdes, Compostela, Fatima, and Medjugorje--constitute a major industry? In Miracle Cures, Robert A. Scott explores these provocative questions and finds that pilgrimage continues to offer answers for many. Its benefits can range from a demonstrable improvement in health to complete recovery. Using research in biomedical and behavioral science, Scott examines accounts of miracle cures at medieval, early modern, and contemporary shrines. He inquires into the power of relics, apparitions, and the transformative nature of sacred journeying and shines new light on the roles belief, hope, and emotion can play in healing.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Prologue Part One / Appealing to Saints for Miracles 1. Life in the Middle Ages 2. Saints 3. Apparitions 4. Pilgrimage and Shrines Part Two / Saints and Healing 5. Disease 6. The Role of Stress in Illness 7. Belief, Hope, and Healing 8. Framing, Confessing, Self-Efficacy, and Healing Coda Appendix: Accounts of Miracles at Medieval Shrines Notes Bibliography Index
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