Health

Rabies in Miracle Accounts

Rabies appears in only two sets of the currently classified corpus. This page should therefore not suggest a uniform or abundant tradition. It presents two memories of recourse: that of Saint Hubert, enduringly invoked against bites from rabid animals, and that of Saint Phal, to whom a healing is attributed. Texts may employ the words "rabies" or "hydrophobia" and link them to ancient practices, objects of devotion, or pilgrimages. These uses belong to religious and sanitary history; they do not correspond to the modern management of rabies exposure. The category is distinguished from generic bites and poisons because the illness is explicitly named, and from animal mastery because the subject is human affliction. Its value lies in the precision of these two files and the history of their cult, not in their number.

This motif is sparsely represented in the Sancteo corpus.

Accounts
2
Saints
2
Period
6th century – 8th century
A hunter and his dog stand near an ancient shrine associated with rabies.
A hunter and his dog stand near an ancient shrine associated with rabies.

Definition

Understanding this type of miracle

Rabies appears in only two sets of the currently classified corpus.

Forms included from the sources

  • explicit rabies and hydrophobia

Not to be confused with…

  • bite without mention of rabies

Documented examples

Major figures

  1. Saint Hubert of Aquitaine 8th century · 1 account
    « Gift of healing rabies »
  2. Saint Phal (Fidolus) 6th century · 1 account
    « Healing of a man afflicted with rabies »

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.