Embodying the Soul is an exceptionally important book for scholars interested in first-millennium Europe, in Christianity as a cultural form, and in medical history. Meg Leja argues that the Carolingian leadership’s dedication to ideals of correctio aimed to foster a reformed Christian society led by a king whose mandate was “by the grace of God.” Under the king’s command were the churchmen and lay aristocrats who would execute his designs for uniformity and justice, and beneath them were the Christian subjects (to be a subject was to be a Christian, and vice versa) who were enjoined to internalize their responsibilities not only by swearing an oath to the sovereign but by committing their lives to novel pastoral disciplines. In politics and religion, the goal was salus—a word that means “salvation” or “well-being,” but also “health.” Leja’s originality lies in documenting how “health” was much more than just a metaphor...

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