Epilepsy in Miracle Accounts
Only a few accounts in the corpus name epilepsy, the "falling sickness," or convulsive seizures explicitly enough to form this page. In ancient sources, these manifestations can be described with a religious, medical, and popular vocabulary that is difficult to separate today. Some traditions also link them to possession, although these notions are not equivalent. The page therefore retains the text's terms, signals the hagiographic nature of the account, and avoids any retrospective diagnosis. The episodes retained attribute relief or healing to a prayer, a blessing, or intercession, sometimes within the framework of a canonization file. Their small number invites reading them individually rather than constructing a generality. This collection serves to understand the historical representation of illness and religious recourse; it provides no indication regarding the causes, prognosis, or treatment of epilepsy.
This motif is sparsely represented in the Sancteo corpus.
- Accounts
- 9
- Saints
- 9
- Period
- 5th century – 20th century
Definition
Understanding this type of miracle
Only a few accounts in the corpus name epilepsy, the "falling sickness," or convulsive seizures explicitly enough to form this page.
Forms included from the sources
- epilepsy, falling sickness, and named convulsions
Not to be confused with…
- possession without explicit medical symptoms
Documented examples
Major figures
- Saint Ignatius of Loyola 16th century · 1 account
« Healing of an epileptic »
-
Saint Boniface of Lausanne 13th century · 1 account « and of an epileptic »
- Saint Bernardino of Siena (Franciscan) 15th century · 1 account
« Deliverance of a child from the falling sickness »
- Blessed Catherine of Racconigi 15th century · 1 account
« Healing of Countess Françoise de Caconato and of an epileptic »
Classified sources
Accounts in the corpus
9 results
Editorial transparency
Method and sources
Sancteo presents these accounts as hagiographic and historical traditions, without ruling on their origin or making medical or spiritual promises.
Volumes are calculated from technically validated classifications in the canonical database. Each figure above has a quotation directly linked to this theme. Last recalculated: .
Editorial responsibility: Sancteo · Corpus source: Les Petits Bollandistes and documented enrichments. Version: miracle-topic-editorial-en-v1.