TEXT:
Enter a Doctor
MALCOLM
Well; more anon. Comes the king forth, I pray you?
Doctor
Ay, sir; there are a crew of wretched souls
That stay his cure: their malady convinces
The great assay of art; but at his touch -
Such sanctity hath heaven given his hand -
They presently amend.
MALCOLM
I thank you, doctor.
Exit Doctor
MACDUFF
What's the disease he means?
MALCOLM
'Tis call'd the evil:
A most miraculous work in this good king;
Which often, since my here-remain in England,
I have seen him do. How he solicits heaven,
Himself best knows: but strangely-visited people,
All swollen and ulcerous, pitiful to the eye,
The mere despair of surgery, he cures,
Hanging a golden stamp about their necks,
Put on with holy prayers: and 'tis spoken,
To the succeeding royalty he leaves
The healing benediction. With this strange virtue,
He hath a heavenly gift of prophecy,
And sundry blessings hang about his throne,
That speak him full of grace.
NOTES:
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor (c. 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the most famous kings of England. He was the son of the gloriously named Æthelred the Unready, and was the last great king of England before the Norman conquest that happened soon after his death. Edward’s sobriquet “the Confessor” distinguishes him from his uncle, Edward the Martyr. Although he would eventually be a canonised saint, Edward was not martyred - indeed, he died after a series of strokes significantly weakened his strength and prevented him from attending the consecration of Westminster Abbey, whose construction he had supervised. Edward is mentioned in the play as the complete antithesis of the devilish Macbeth. He is a pious English king, the first to have been credited with the King’s Touch. In some ways perhaps Shakespeare includes him to give King James a little glimpse of the responsibility of kingship, reminding his royal patron of the great tradition of English kings that stretches back at least half a millennium.
The King’s Touch
The King’s Touch, also known as the Royal Touch, was a strange gift displayed by English monarchs starting with Edward the Confessor. Apparently the mere touch of the king was enough to cure diseases, most particularly scrofula - also known as The King’s Evil. There was a whole ceremony involved, including the bestowal of a golden medal to the patient hoping to be cured. When Henry VII took the throne, he went to significant pains to legitimise his kingship by displaying this gift - it was a feature of the subsequent Tudor reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, although her successor James was apparently rather squeamish and less fond of it. (If you want a fun read, look up how the French thought that this Royal Touch was the preserve of their monarchs, and that the English were only pretending!) Shakespeare weaves in a hint that the Royal Touch may have been passed down to Edward’s successors - including, of course, King James.
“'tis spoken,
To the succeeding royalty he leaves
The healing benediction.”
Scrofula
Scrofula is a kind of tuberculosis that affects the cervical lymph nodes - the usual symptoms were large lumps that would appear on the neck. Before the 18th century, many doctors believed that the only way to cure the disease was by the Royal Touch - and this is why it came to be known as the King’s Evil. (It’s called The Evil in Macbeth).