First Case of Lupus: Bishop Eraclius of Liège, Belgium
posted in History of Lupus on December 21, 2023 by
Updated March 13, 2024
This is my poster presentation entitled “The First Case of Lupus: Bishop Eraclius, Liège, Belgium” for the European Lupus Society Meeting (SLEuro), in March 2014 Bruges, Belgium
The First Case of Lupus: Bishop Eraclius of Liège, Belgium
By Donald Thomas1,2 R. Hal Scofield3,4
1Arthritis and Pain Associates of Prince George’s County, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA; 2Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
3Arthritis & Clinical Immunology Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Facility, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; 4Department of Pathology and Department of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Department of Veterans Affair Medical Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Objective
Provide an accurate account of the first case of “lupus” and the origins of the term “lupus.”
Methods
Reviewed historical texts, including a reproduction of Bishop Eraclius’ affidavit
Results
The Bishop of Liège’s Affidavit to the Church about being healed of Lupus
Eraclius (Éracle in French) was the Bishop of Liège, Belgium, from 959 – 971 AD. Eraclius wrote an affidavit (approximately 960-962 AD) to the Catholic Church about his dying from lupus and about his cure.1
He states in the letter (or affidavit), “I was … nearly taken to death by the disease called Lupus.”
Later, historical texts printed presumed copies of the Bishop’s affidavit. Church leaders presume that the affidavit burned in a 1310 fire in Liège’s “Church of St. Martin.”
The bishop states that he traveled to Saint Martin’s tomb (Tours, France) and prayed for seven days and seven nights in front of the shrine (tomb).
On the seventh night of praying, Saints Martin and Brice (St. Brice was buried close by) appeared, cured him (figure 1), the sores disappeared, and good health was restored.
When he awoke, all that remained was a tiny, thin red line at the site of one of the sores.
The Bishop Built a Church in Liège, Belgium: Dedicated to St. Martin for Healing him of Lupus
He was so thankful for being cured of lupus that he returned to Liège. He built and dedicated a church to St. Martin because he cured his lupus. The rebuilt Basilique de Saint Martin in Liège, Belgium (after the 1310 fire of the original church) contains a reproduction of Eraclius’ sarcophagus (a type of coffin), the first person recorded to suffer from a disease called lupus.
Mistakes about this History in Previous Lupus History Articles
Many errors exist in previous articles and books on lupus history (including by us), often due to referencing each other without deeper investigation.
The 12th Century Historical Text Incorrectly Ascribed to the 9th Century Hebernus, Bishop of Tours (The Pseudo-Hebernus Text)
A significant source of error is from a 12th-13th Century historical account falsely attributed to Hebernus (also written as Herbernus).2 Unlike today, Middle Ages authors rarely placed their names on written works. The author of this historical text may have copied earlier works of “The Miracles of St. Martin” and most likely incorrectly ascribed them to Herbernus (Hebernus Turonensis).
Herbernus of Tours was a 9th-century Bishop of Tours who supposedly wrote about the 10th-century Bishop of Liège’s story and described the origins of “lupus.” However, Hebernus died before Eraclius’ time.
Numerous Lupus History Articles Incorrectly Describe the First Case of Lupus
23 separate lupus historical research articles and texts (from 1988 to 2022) mistakenly recount this Pseudo-Hebernus’ account, and 19 of the sources incorrectly date this story before Eraclius was even alive. These articles repeatedly reference the mistakes from a 1988 lupus history article by Smith and Cyr.3 Thus, perpetuations of incorrect story versions continue into the 21st century.
The Four Meanings of the Term “Lupus” for the Bishop’s Disease
The term “lupus” had four related origins referring to “wolf.”
- Lupus was an ulcerating skin disease, appearing like a wolf bit the skin.
- The lesions would also devour surrounding flesh in a “wolfish” manner.
- The Pseudo-Hebernus account also states that the “lupus” also wolfishly consumed the Bishop’s internal organs.
- The Bishop’s doctors placed freshly killed, eviscerated chicken carcasses on the “lupus” lesions twice daily to distract the lupus into “wolfishly” devouring the chicken meat instead of the adjacent flesh. Pseudo-Hebernus’ story states that this treatment brought the bishop temporary relief. It helped him feel better. However, he was still dying. Therefore, he traveled to St. Martin’s shrine in Tours, France, hoping St. Martin would heal him of his lupus.
Conclusion
Historical records describe The Bishop of Liège, Belgium, Eraclius (Éracle in French), as the first person to have a potentially deadly disease “popularly called lupus.”
His lupus caused ulcers that looked like the bites of a wolf; it “wolfishly” devoured adjacent flesh and the bishop’s internal organs.
The Bishop’s doctors placed freshly killed, eviscerated chicken meat on the lupus lesions as treatment, luring the “lupus” lesions to eat the chicken instead of the Bishop’s flesh.
The Bishop of Liège returned to Liège, Belgium, and built a church dedicated to St. Martin, who cured him of lupus.
You can visit the Basilique de St. Martin in Liège, Belgium, and see a reproduction of the sarcophagus of St. Martin (pictured in the poster above).
Figure 1
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References:
(1) Aubert Le Mire, Diplomatic and historic works…: Code of pious donations… 2nd edition 1723, Register of Belgian Churches, p. 653.
(2) [Pseudo-Hebernus], Miraculi beati Martini. 12th C: Anastasius. Patrologiae … patrologiae tomus CXXIX. Paris: J.-P. Migne; 1853: col. 1036.
(3) Smith CD, Cyr M. The History of Lupus Erythematosus. From Hippocrates to Osler. Rheum Dis Clin N America. 1988 Apr;14(1):1-14.
(4) La vie et miracles de monseigneur saint Martin, translatee de latin (Pseudo-Hebernus’, Miracula B Martin) en francoys. 1496, Pg 156
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