We regret to inform you that today’s legal regime of protecting corpses from desecration is a modern development, and even worse, royals have a rich history of relying on them for all sorts of things. Today we get into the alleged curative powers of corpses, especially among Spain’s Hapsburg leaders a few centuries back.
Don Carlos himself, whom we covered last week, is said to have recovered from that serious head wound he received with the help of a local miracle-maker named Diego de Alcala – a Franciscan lay brother who had died some hundred years before.
Apparently the Spanish royals frequently slept beside the corpses of the venerated long dead. For instance, Isidore the Farmer was born around 1070 in Madrid who, over the course of his life, developed a bit of a legend for alleged miracles and feeding the poor. And in death, his legend continued to grow. resulting in him being declared a Saint in the Catholic Church in 1619, and having his teeth pulled out to be placed under Charles II of Spain’s pillows to aid his many ailments in 1696.
Speaking of Charles IIs, England had one, too, and he also had a penchant for human body parts. In his case though, the medicinal aspect was attained through consuming a tincture made from human skull fragments. And best of all, “The King’s Drops” became all the rage across Europe for a century or more, which was certainly one way to put the remains of your ancestors to work for you.
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Sources
The Royals Who Shared Their Beds With Mummies | The Order of the Good Death
The King’s Drops: Charles II, Powdered Skulls and a Deathbed Obsession | Ancient Origins
The Gruesome History of Eating Corpses as Medicine | Smithsonian
Charles II’s Autopsy Revealed his Head was Full of Water and His Body Had No Blood
Details Found In Charles II Of Spain’s Autopsy Report
Europeans Once Drank Distilled Human Skulls as Medicine – Gastro Obscura
