Plagues, priests, and demons: sacred narratives and the rise of Christianity in the Old World and the New

Abstract

Disease and the Rise of Christianity in Europe, 150-800 C.E. Through him [Saint Antony], the Lord healed many of those present who were suffering in body and freed others from evil spirits. (Anthanasius's Life of St. Antony, c. 360 c.e.) 1A letter from Martin happened to be brought to him and he placed it in her bosom at the very moment when her temperature was rising and at once the fever left her.(Sulpicius Severus's Life of Saint Martin, c. 396 c.e.) 2The glorious tomb of the blessed martyr Baudilius is in Nimes . . . The inhabitants of the region realized that this tomb often possessed a heavenly remedy for many illnesses.(Gregory of Tours's Glory of the Martyrs, c. 590 c.e.) 3Early Christian literature abounds in references to sickness and the miraculous cure. Indeed, the miraculous cure is perhaps the most common type scene in sacred biography and history. 4 Why are stories of sick 1