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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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King's evil
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A name for scrofula (tuberculosis of the lymphatic glands at the side of the neck, with ulceration of the skin), because it was believed that the touch of a king could cure the condition. Touching for the king's evil is thought to have been practised as early as the 11C, by *Edward the Confessor, and it continued until the reign of Queen *Anne. In 1712 she touched the 3-year-old Samuel *Johnson for the disease.
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