Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Miracle cure
(1,550 words)

1. Concept

Miracles in all religions offer a way of explaining extraordinary events that run counter to everyday experience as the work of a deity, a holy person, a devil, demons, or spirits (GhostDevil, belief in; Demonology). The definition of the phenomenon blurs into that of magic, and boundaries are sometimes difficult to draw precisely. Miracles are performed either by the deity in person or through his or her “instruments,” meaning saints or people living saintly lives (e…

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Sieglerschmidt, Jörn, “Miracle cure”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 27 September 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_030618>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20200128



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