197:, the famous Astronomer, (then aged 19) went over to Ireland, in August 1665, to be touched by Greatrakes for a natural weakness of constitution, but received no benefit. Crowds flocked to him from all parts, and he was reported to have performed such extraordinary cures, that he was summoned into the Bishop's court at Lismore, and, not having a licence for practising, was forbidden to lay hands on anyone else in Ireland.
33:
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651:"I am grateful that MacKay recognized that Greatraks deceived both his patients and himself. As with fortune-tellers, healers often begin to believe in their own powers because their subjects tend to give them only positive feedback. Thus they can excuse and forget their many failures, and their legends grow."
251:
Greatrakes returned to
Ireland in 1667, and resumed farming in 1668 on £1,000 a year. Although he lived for many years, he no longer kept up the reputation of performing those strange cures which made him a name. However, his case is very singular, that on the strictest enquiry no sort of blemish
177:
Three years after that, an epidemical fever was raging in the country, he was again persuaded that he could also cure that. He made the experiment, and he affirmed to his satisfaction that he cured all who came to him. At length, in April 1665, another kind of inspiration suggested to him, that he
219:
Greatrakes went every day to a place in London where many sick persons, of all ranks in society, assembled. Pains, gout, rheumatism, convulsions and so forth were allegedly driven by his touch from one body part to another. Upon reaching the extremities, reportedly, all symptoms of these ailments
224:. Greatrakes ascribed certain disorders to the work of evil spirits. When persons possessed by such spirits saw Greatrakes or heard his voice, the afflicted fell to the ground or into violent agitation. He then proceeded to cure them by the same method of stroking.
243:, M.D., a pamphlet printed at Oxford in 1666, wherein the author gives a succinct history of Greatrakes' life. Appended to the pamphlet were a number of certificates, signed by persons of known probity, attesting to the reality of Greatrakes' cures.
148:
regiment in the
English Parliamentary army in Ireland, then campaigning in Munster against the Irish Royalists. In 1656, a great part of the army was disbanded, so Greatrakes retired to Affane, his native place, and was made clerk of the peace for
392:, in which he finely plays on the credulity of the people, and the spirit of superstition. He also shows that there is no kind of conjugation which is able to lay this kind of Dæmon, which sometimes surfaces in society.
621:
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He seemed to have been very religious; his outlook was grave but simple. He said himself, that ever since that year 1662 he had felt a strange impulse or persuasion that he had the gift of curing the King's evil
124:
broke out he and his mother fled to
England, where he was received by his great uncle, Edmund Harris. After Harris died his mother placed him with John Daniel Getsius, a German minister, of
268:
178:
had the gift of healing wounds and ulcers; and experience, he also said, proved that he was not deceived. He even found that he cured convulsions, the dropsy, and many other distempers.
120:. Both his parents were English Protestant settlers. He went to the free school at Lismore until he was 13 years of age and was designed for the college of Dublin. However, when the
255:
Greatrakes died on 28 November 1682 at Affane, County
Waterford. He may be buried in Lismore Church or under the aisle of the old Affane Church near to his father (sources vary).
140:
After five or six years in
England Greatrakes returned to his native country, which he found in a distracted state, and therefore spent a year in contemplation at the Castle of
227:
While many were sceptical, Greatrakes did find zealous advocates for the efficacy of his healing powers. He himself published, in 1666, a letter addressed to the celebrated
216:, being informed of it, summoned Greatrakes to Whitehall. While unpersuaded that Greatrakes had miraculous power, the king did not forbid him to continue his ministrations.
209:
of an inveterate headache. He arrived in
England in early 1666 but failed to cure the Viscountess. Undaunted, he travelled through the country, treating the sick.
276:"Mr Valentine Greatraks, who, without mentioning magnetism, or laying claim to any theory, practised upon himself and others a deception much more akin to the
348:
193:, in that county, when he was visited by Greatrakes (who had served in his regiment in 1649). Greatrakes cured Phayre in a few minutes of an acute ague.
807:
A Brief
Account of Mr. Valentine Greatrakes and Divers of the Strange Cures by him lately performed (Addressed to the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq.)
252:
was ever thrown upon his character, nor did any of those curious and learned persons, who espoused his cause, draw any imputation upon themselves.
309:(1605–1663), and his first wife Ruth, daughter of Sir John Lambe. He married secondly Alice Tilson (died 1678 or 1684). He had three children:
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The
Miraculous Conformist: Valentine Greatrakes, the Body Politic, and the Politics of Healing in Restoration Britain
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The public commotion which
Greatrakes caused gave rise to a novel (in French) by M. St. Evremond, entitled,
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In 1665 Greatrakes was invited to
England by his old commander, Lord Broghill (now Earl of Orrery), to cure
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A brief Account of Mr. Valentine Greatrakes and divers of the strange Cures by him performed &c.
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A small moment of great illumination : searching for Valentine Greatrakes, the master healer
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174:); and this suggestion became so strong, that he stroked several persons, and cured them.
78:(14 February 1628 – 28 November 1682), also known as "Greatorex" or "The Stroker", was an
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of the present day than the mineral magnetism it was then so much the fashion to study."
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ceased. As the treatment consisted entirely of stroking, Greatrakes was called
703:
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Greatrakes (using the alternate spelling "Greatorex") features prominently in
818:. Birkbeck, University of London. British Library, Add MS 4293, fols. 50-53.
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Edmund (died during 1691–1692), who married Anne, daughter of Thomas Wilcox.
141:
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In the early 1660s Greatrakes married Ruth (died 1678), daughter of Sir
816:"Work-diary XXVI: Accounts of cures performed by Valentine Greatrakes"
427:
622:
Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
313:
Williman (died 1686), who married Mary, daughter of Johah Wheeler.
129:
779:
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
712:. Vol. 45. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 142–143.
327:
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who toured England in 1666, claiming to cure people by the
749:(illustrated ed.). Oxford University Press. p.
269:
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
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Greatrakes is one of the main characters in the novel
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452:", in which his psychic powers are shown to be real.
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has been edited by Alan Marshall of Bath University.
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787:The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle
395:A volume of correspondence between Greatrakes and
560:, p. 22 notes see a humorous account of his
101:, Ireland. He was the son of William Greatrakes (
37:Greatrakes exercising his power of faith healing
721:. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. p. 457.
8:
625:. London: Robson, Levey and Franklyn. p. 268
157:. However he lost these positions after the
97:Greatrakes was born on 14 February 1628, at
31:
20:
840:. Emeryville, CA: Shoemaker & Hoard.
433:Greatrakes is an important character in
480:
738:"Valentine Greatrakes - 'The Stroker'"
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462:Greatrakes is mentioned in passing in
153:, Register for transplantation, and a
136:War, the Commonwealth and Protectorate
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185:, a former Commonwealth Governor of
826:The Evil Eye; Or, The Black Spector
402:Greatrakes is mentioned briefly in
293:also considered Greatrakes to be a
789:, vol. 49, E. Cave, pp.
439:The Evil Eye or, The Black Spectre
358:by removing the content or adding
319:Mary, who married Edmund Browning.
14:
409:Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
237:The Miraculous Conformist &c.
144:. In 1649 he was a lieutenant in
774:
709:Dictionary of National Biography
332:
354:Please help Knowledge (XXG) to
805:Greatrakes, Valentine (1666).
736:Frahe, Willie (26 July 2001).
16:Irish faith healer (1628–1682)
1:
450:An Instance of the Fingerpost
418:, a play about Greatrakes by
247:Return to Ireland and farming
108:–1643) and Mary Harris (died
102:
875:People from County Waterford
719:The Encyclopaedia of Ireland
470:', in the 'Cyclops' episode.
297:, who had deceived himself.
287:, citing Mackay in his book
643:. Prometheus Books. p. 17.
896:
823:Carleton, William (1881).
740:. Waterford County Museum.
717:Lalor, Brian, ed. (2003).
696:Gordon, Alexander (1896).
30:
397:Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey
207:Anne, Viscountess Conway
118:Chief Justice of Munster
99:Affane, County Waterford
422:, was performed at the
122:Irish Rebellion of 1641
834:Pitt, Leonard (2006).
814:Boyle, Robert (1666).
699:"Phayre, Robert"
745:Elmer, Peter (2013).
829:. Project Gutenberg.
356:improve this article
272:(1841), wrote that:
155:Justice of the Peace
76:Valentine Greatrakes
25:Valentine Greatrakes
785:Urban, ed. (1779),
490:, pp. 17, 181.
459:by Michelle Lovric.
368:independent sources
259:Skeptical reception
112:1656), daughter of
619:. (1852 edition).
424:Finborough Theatre
201:Journey to England
87:laying on of hands
640:The Faith Healers
580:, pp. 22–23.
390:The Irish Prophet
385:
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307:William Godolphin
290:The Faith Healers
165:Healer in Ireland
114:Sir Edward Harris
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416:Blackwater Angel
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181:On 6 April 1665
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404:Susannah Clarke
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69:(aged 54)
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229:Robert Boyle
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83:faith healer
75:
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18:
870:1683 deaths
865:1628 births
769:Attribution
704:Lee, Sidney
531:Gordon 1896
464:James Joyce
285:James Randi
222:The Stroker
187:County Cork
159:Restoration
151:County Cork
106: 1600
859:Categories
847:1593761260
690:References
680:Elmer 2013
661:Elmer 2013
637:. (1987).
605:Frahe 2001
593:Urban 1779
578:Urban 1779
564:in King's
558:Urban 1779
546:Lalor 2003
519:Urban 1779
488:Elmer 2013
475:References
457:The Remedy
446:Iain Pears
345:irrelevant
324:Literature
214:Charles II
130:Devonshire
93:Early life
65:1682-11-29
50:1628-02-14
420:Jim Nolan
406:'s novel
360:citations
266:, in his
235:See also
231:entitled
191:Cahermore
142:Cappoquin
562:stroking
376:May 2019
364:reliable
172:scrofula
706:(ed.).
468:Ulysses
63: (
48: (
844:
783::
757:
725:
647:
566:Works,
428:London
301:Family
702:. In
295:quack
212:King
128:, in
80:Irish
842:ISBN
755:ISBN
723:ISBN
645:ISBN
466:'s '
448:'s "
366:and
58:Died
43:Born
793:–23
437:'s
362:to
239:by
861::
791:22
753:.
751:63
668:^
585:^
538:^
495:^
426:,
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