In May 1759, a great number of children disappeared from the streets of Paris. Rumors soread that those children were being sacrificed in order to heal with blood baths a leprous king, and violent street riots followed. Through a wide historical overlook, the author reconstructs the symbolic theme of the sick king's body which is widespread in the tradition of Christianity and in the French Monarchy during the Ancient Régime. The complex relationship between the traditional representation of the king's body and the Revolution is probed.