The royal touch was a form of laying on of hands, whereby French and English monarchs touched their subjects, regardless of social classes, with the intent to cure them of various diseases and conditions. The thaumaturgic touch was most commonly applied to people suffering from tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis, and exclusively to them from the 16th century onwards. The disease rarely resulted in death and often went into remission on its own, giving the impression that the monarch's touch cured it. The claimed power was most notably exercised by monarchs who sought to demonstrate the legitimacy of their reign and of their newly founded dynasties.
Mary I of England touching for scrofula, 16th-century illustration by Levina Teerlinc
A 15th-century manuscript depicting the tradition that Clovis I healed the scrofulous following his coronation.
Touch piece of Henry VI (r. 1422–1461)
Charles II performing the royal touch; engraving by Robert White (1684)
The laying on of hands is a religious practice. In Judaism semikhah accompanies the conferring of a blessing or authority.
Catholic ordination ceremony with laying on of hands
Laying on of hands during a Finnish Lutheran ordination in Oulu, Finland
Laying on of hands during a Catholic priestly ordination in Germany
Laying on of hands for healing in Living Streams International Church, Accra, Ghana, 2018