Holy Medicine and Diseases of the Soul: Henry of Lancaster and Le Livre de Seyntz Medicines

Henry of Grosmont (c.1310–61) was one of the most outstanding English aristocrats of the mid-fourteenth century. A second cousin of Edward III, and duke of Lancaster from 1351, he served the king as military commander, diplomat, and political adviser. As a member of the social elite, Henry would have enjoyed a high standard of education. In fact, during his lifetime he composed two treatises: the first, a work on the laws of war; the second, a devotional book entitled Le livre de seyntz medicines (The book of holy medicines). Le livre de seyntz medicines (hereafter Livre) is essentially an allegorical and autobiographical account of Henry’s sins and penance. Henry, in his forties, was probably reflecting on his own actions as a youth and turning his mind to more religious matters. The impetus for the work came from his friends, possibly including his confessor, who urged him to compose a devotional book. Henry set to work on the Livre during the Lenten weeks of 1354 leading up to Good Friday and Easter, a liturgical period that arouses penitential feelings and hope of salvation. He then seems to have continued to write daily during the following months. As a result, the book consists of a series of moral self-analyses in a confessional style, meditations on the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary, and prayers, all of which reveal his insightful sensibility and devotional