Sneezing Out the Soul
One of the most well-known superstitions that is believed to come out of the Middle Ages is the need to say “bless you” after someone sneezes. There are actually a few different reasons why sneezing was such a sire situation for those in the Middle Ages. The first and most common being that it was the time of illness and the plague, if a person sneezed it was a possible sign that they might be the next to die.
Additionally, there was the belief that sneezing gave the Devil the opportunity to enter the body and therefore the person who sneezed needed the help of God and the church to get him out. Saying “God bless you” was believed to be a way to keep the Devil from entering the body and therefore save the person who had sneezed. It was a way to explain the death that would sometimes occur after a person sneezed and give people the sense that they could do something to help since not everyone had access to a doctor.
There was also the prevailing belief that a person could sneeze out their soul. This was also counteracted by a person saying “God bless you” or covering the face in order to keep the soul in. This superstition was help with the spread of illness during a time where there was little way to help people overcome some of the more devastating illnesses. Since most people were unable to afford to contact a doctor, anything that could be done to help a person avoid becoming sick or losing their soul was quickly latched onto by the populace.
Another way that peasants were able to try and get help for their ills was the healing hand of the monarch. It was believed that the monarch was giving healing powers as proof their diving right to rule. As the need for the monarch’s healing touch grew, special coins were created and touched by the monarch. It was believed that these coins, called angels, had the same healing powers as the King.