Disability : a new history. Miracle cures. 2/10.

Radio documentary presented by Peter White entitled 'Miracle cures'. The episode begins with the early years of the writer Samuel Johnson who, Professor Judith Hawley, of Royal Holloway, University of London, mentions was a very sickly child and was taken to London for the miracle cure of being touched by Queen Anne. The idea that the monarch could cure you of disease prevailed from medieval times until about 1714. Medical historian, Irina Metzler has collected thousands of miracle stories, particularly those relating to the healing qualities of the relics of saints and visits to a saint's shrine. Miracle stories also provide details of the daily lives of peoples with disabilities. There was often considered to be a correlation between sin and disability so once sins were forgiven, the body could be healed. The Middle Ages were a fairly tolerant time for understanding of disabilities. Child disabilities were often blamed on the parents, including their sexual activity. Judith Hawley continues that, by the 18th century, disability was seen more as a physical malformation, than the moral fault of the parents. Early doctors' advertisements often echo the biblical language of miracle cures.