Holy springs and Protestantism in early modern Denmark: a medical rationale for a religious practice.

We know of some 650 holy springs in Denmark. Their abundance seems to be the reason why a decade ago one of Denmark's leading authorities on late-medieval archaeology wrote that the popular worship of saints in that country appeared to be more closely connected to the cult of holy springs than anywhere else in Europe.' This statement was apparently based largely on post-Reformation sources. A very different picture emerges from the Danish archaeologist Susanne Andersen's close scrutiny of medieval sources and from her archaeological excavations. Nearly all the documentation for the existence of holy springs belongs to the era after the Reformation.2 As far as the attitude of the religious and political authorities is concerned, we can trace a development from a total rejection of holy springs during the late sixteenth century, to a reluctant tolerance, and finally to a complete acceptance during the late seventeenth century. In this paper the reasons for this development will be addressed.3