„ ... erwachte und war geheilt“: Inkubations darstellungen in byzantinischen Heiligenviten

Abstract

The ancient rite of incubation in a temple and asking the pagan god or goddess for a cure of a disease or illness is continued in the Christian and Byzantine tradition with only a few modifications. The place of the incubation is now usually a church or another Christian holy place and the person who is asked for a cure is now a Christian holy man or woman, i.e. a Christian saint. In the abundant Byzantine literary genre of saint’s lives or hagiography we find many descriptions of such incubations and in most cases the requested healings. This literary tradition starts in the 4th and 5th century and goes on to at least the 11th century and likely even further. According to this tradition there was a wide range of diseases which could be cured by incubation in a church and invocation of a holy man or woman. In some cases, e.g. regarding psychological problems, this therapy might have even occasionally been successful. In other cases, the effect of the treatment could well be doubted from a scientific point of view. However, these spiritual healing methods had to compete with the medical doctors and worldly physicians who practised at the same time. Apart from religious belief, the quarrel between the two parties was also about money. One can, therefore, draw the conclusion that health care was a financial problem already in the Middle Ages.