 The touch was originally meant to cure tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis (commonly referred to as scrofula or the King's Evil), rheumatism, convulsions, fevers, blindness, goitre and other ailments. Since the reign of Elizabeth I (r. 1558 – 1603), however, the touch was applied only to people suffering from scrofula. The Henrician practice was rarely modified, and the changes were minor; Elizabeth I made the sign of the cross above the infected person's head, while her squeamish successor, James I (r. 1603 – 1625), made stroking motions above the abscesses instead of actually touching them.
