Illness And Healing Alternatives In Western Europe

This book is a compilation of essays on different aspects of illness and healing in Western Europe over the course of several centuries. The essays cover a variety of topics, from demonology and reports of asylum doctors to church archives and oral evidence. The book provides a valuable perspective on the nature of illness and healing outside of the medical world, and is useful for anyone interested in understanding the nature of our contemporary alternative healing.

Focusing closely on the relationship between belief, culture, and healing in the past, this volume collects essays on France, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and England, ranging from the 16th century to the late 1990s. The contributors draw on a broad range of material, from the studies of demonologists and reports of asylum doctors, to church archives and oral evidence. Review: Reveals a richer and more nuanced understanding of illness and healing that existed outside of the narrower medical world - a valuable perspective for all who would like to understand the nature of our contemporary alternative healing. -Bulletin of the History of Medicine