King Philip II of Spain, praying at the bedside of a dying son and only heir Don Carlos, promised a miracle for a miracle cure. When Don Carlos did indeed recover, Philip kept his bargain by having Gianello Torriano construct a miniature penitent automaton, a miraculous piece of craftsmanship, of the monk whose corpse had apparently effected the miraculous recovery.
You can hear the story of the creation of the Monk Automaton at Radiolab’s ‘A Clockwork Miracle‘
DCC from Indiana: The broadcast omits the last episode of the story. Spending the night with the corpse of the saint did not cure Don Carlo. A week later the anatomist Anders Vesalius directed an operation to drain pus from the wound, a month later bone fragments were removed from the wound, and the prince was finally restored to health. This successful treatment of osteomyelitis of the skull is one of the bright episodes in of history of medicine.
You can get more info on the craftsman who made the Clockwork Prayer here.
European History 