# Barber surgeon > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Barber_surgeon > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Barber_surgeon.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barber_surgeon > Source revision: 1355655624 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Type of surgeon recruited as barbers}} {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = | name = Barber Surgeon | honorific_suffix = ''defunct profession'' | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = F A Maulbertsch Quacksalber.jpg | caption = [Franz Anton Maulbertsch's](/source/Franz_Anton_Maulbertsch) ''The Quack'' ({{circa|1785}}) shows barber surgeons at work. | pronunciation = | other_names = | siglum = | citizenship = | education = [apprenticeship](/source/apprenticeship) | alma_mater = | occupation = [battlefield medicine](/source/battlefield_medicine), [expedition medicine](/source/expedition_medicine) | years_active = | era = 11th through 19th century | employer = | organization = | agent = | known_for = Surgical procedures, basic medical care, and grooming services * [Bloodletting](/source/Bloodletting) * [Tooth extraction](/source/Tooth_extraction) * Minor surgery (lancing abscesses, wound treatment) * [Amputations](/source/Amputations) (major surgery, often for battlefield injuries) * Treating fractures and dislocations | notable_works = | style = | predecessor = | successor = [Modern Surgery](/source/surgery) and [Barbering trade](/source/barber) | movement = | opponents = | boards = | footnotes = }} [[File:1802 Barber Surgeons Bloodletting Set anagoria.JPG|thumb|[Bloodletting](/source/Bloodletting) set of a barber surgeon, beginning of 19th century, [Märkisches Museum](/source/M%C3%A4rkisches_Museum) [Berlin](/source/Berlin)]] The '''barber surgeon''' was one of the most common European [medical practitioners](/source/medicine) of the [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages), generally charged with caring for soldiers during and after battle. In this era, [surgery](/source/surgery) was seldom conducted by physicians. Instead, [barber](/source/barber)s, who possessed [razor](/source/razor)s and dexterity, were responsible for tasks ranging from cutting hair to pulling teeth to amputating limbs. In this period, surgical mortality was very high due to blood loss, shock and infection. Yet, since doctors thought that [bloodletting](/source/bloodletting) to balance "humours" would improve health, barbers also used bloodletting razors and applied [leech](/source/leech)es. Meanwhile, physicians considered themselves to be above surgery.{{cite book|last=McGrew|first=Roderick|title=Encyclopedia of Medical History|year=1985|publisher=McGraw Hill|location=New York|isbn=0070450870|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofme1985mcgr/page/30 30–31]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofme1985mcgr/page/30}} Physicians mostly observed during surgery and offered consulting, but otherwise often chose academia or working in universities. ==Middle Ages in Europe== Due to religious and sanitary monastic regulations, monks had to maintain their [tonsure](/source/tonsure) (the traditional baldness on the top of the head of Catholic monks). This created a market for barbers, because each monastery had to train or hire a barber. They would perform bloodletting and minor surgeries, pull teeth and prepare ointments. The first barber surgeons to be recognized as such worked in monasteries around AD 1000. Because physicians performed surgery so rarely, the Middle Ages saw a proliferation of barbers, among other medical "paraprofessionals", including [cataract couchers](/source/Couching_(ophthalmology)), [herniotomists](/source/Hernia_repair), [lithotomists](/source/Lithotomy), [midwive](/source/midwife)s, and pig [gelders](/source/Castration). In 1254, Bruno da Longobucco, an Italian physician who wrote about surgery, expressed concern about barbers performing [phlebotomies](/source/Phlebotomy) and [scarifications](/source/Scarification). ==Barbers in France and Italy == In 16th-century [Paris](/source/Paris), barber-surgery was divided into two categories: "Surgeons of the Short Robe" and "Surgeons of the Long Robe."{{Cite journal |last=Donaldson |first=IML |date=2012 |title=How blood was let in the sixteenth century: Jacques Guillemeau, La Chirurgie Françoise... 1594 |url=https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/sites/default/files/exlibris_1.pdf |journal=Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=375–377 |doi=10.4997/JRCPE.2012.418 |pmid=23240127 |archive-date=2024-02-25 |access-date=2024-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225031727/https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/sites/default/files/exlibris_1.pdf |url-status=dead }} "Surgeons of the Long Robe", a qualification offered in institutions such as the College of St. Cosme, required students to take a formal exam.{{Cite web |title=Peter Lowe in Europe · Maister Peter Lowe - Our Founder and his Legacy · Heritage |url=https://heritage.rcpsg.ac.uk/exhibits/show/maister-peter-lowe/peter-lowe-in-europe |access-date=2024-01-22 |website=heritage.rcpsg.ac.uk}} This was opposed to "Surgeons of the Short Robe", who did not need to take an exam to qualify and, alongside barbering, would perform minor surgical procedures. However, despite the different education requirements, both types of surgeons were called "barber-surgeons". This distinction between "short coat" and "long coat" continued in surgery until relatively recently.{{Cite journal |last=Bagwell |first=Charles E. |date=June 2005 |title='Respectful Image' |journal=Annals of Surgery |volume=241 |issue=6 |pages=872–878 |doi=10.1097/01.sla.0000165185.88634.d0 |issn=0003-4932 |pmc=1357167 |pmid=15912036}} Eventually, in 1660, the barber surgeons recognized the physicians' dominance. === France === From the 1540s in France, the translation into French of the works of ancient authors allowed progress in the transmission of knowledge: barber-surgeons could add to their manual skills, and ancient surgical knowledge could be conformed to actual practice.{{cite web|language=fr|title=La littérature médicale en français de 1500 à 1600|url=https://www.biusante.parisdescartes.fr/histoire/medica/presentations/litterature-medicale-16e.php |author=Evelyne Berriot-Salvadore |website=bium.univ-paris5.fr |year=2010 |access-date=11 March 2021 }} New problems arose in war surgery, without equivalents in the past: wounds caused by firearms and mutilations caused by [artillery](/source/artillery). The barber-surgeon was required to treat all the effects on the surface of the body, the doctor treating those on the inside.{{cite book |author=Mirko D. Grmek |title=La main, instrument de la connaissance et du traitement|publisher=Seuil|date=1997 |pages=225–227 |language=fr |isbn=978-2-02-022140-5}} There was already social mobility between surgeons and barber-surgeons. A surgeon's apprenticeship began with the practice of shaving. The young surgeon could thus have a source of income before mastering the surgery of his time. In the context of Renaissance humanism, this practical experience took place outside of academic scholasticism. The action is clearly sanctioned by the results, visible to all.{{clarify|date=March 2026}} For [Michel de Montaigne](/source/Michel_de_Montaigne), compared to medicine: {{blockquote|“Surgery seems to me much more certain, because it sees and handles what it does; there is less to conjecture and guess.”{{Cite web |author=Romain Debluë |date=2020-04-08 |title=La mort visible : des chiffres & des êtres |url=https://zone-critique.com/2020/04/08/mort-visible-chiffres-etres/ |access-date=2021-03-11 |website=ZONE CRITIQUE |language=fr}}}} === Italy === In Italy, barbers were not as common. The Salerno medical school trained physicians to be competent surgeons, as did the schools in Bologna and Padua. In Florence, physicians and surgeons were separate, but the Florentine Statute concerning the Art of Physicians and Pharmacists in 1349 gave barbers an inferior legal status compared to surgeons. == Barbers in Spain == Surgical practices in the Iberian Peninsula date back to the Megalithic era (2000 BC), with evidence of [trepanation](/source/trepanation). Until the Renaissance, Spanish surgery followed Greek, Arab, and medieval traditions, with significant progress in the 16th century through anatomical studies. Despite this, military, naval, and barber-surgeons performed operations, as physicians distanced themselves from surgery. A [royal decree](/source/Decree) regulated barber-surgeons in [Spain](/source/Spain). There were active barber surgeons operating in [Valencia](/source/Valencia) in the 15th century.''The barber surgeons of Valencia in the fifteenth century''. (January 2011) Anuario de Estudios Medievales. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51557192_The_barber_surgeons_of_the_city_of_Valencia_in_the_fifteenth_century_through_the_book_of_criminal_justice One notable practitioner was [Antonio Fernando de Medrano](/source/Antonio_Fernando_de_Medrano), a professional barber surgeon active in [Madrid](/source/Madrid) during the 17th century.{{Cite journal |last=Moya |first=José Luis Barrio |date=2006 |title=La biblioteca de Don Fernando de Medrano Langarica, un barberocirujano alavés en el Madrid de Felipe IV (1666) |url=https://www.rsbap.org/ojs/index.php/boletin/article/view/514/509 |journal=Boletín de la Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País |language=es |volume=62 |issue=1 |issn=0211-111X}} The establishment of surgical chairs in Spanish universities in the late 16th century gave surgery social and academic recognition, but a standardized system emerged only in the 18th century with the Reales Colegios de Cirugía (Royal Colleges of Surgeons), founded by military surgeons.{{Cite journal |last=Redruello-Guerrero |first=Pablo |title=Los Reales Colegios de Cirugía de Barcelona y Madrid en el siglo XVIII |url=https://actualidadmedica.es/articulo/811_rev01/ |journal=Actualidad Médica |language=es |issue=811 |doi=10.15568/am.2020.811.rev01 |issn=0365-7965|hdl=10481/68890 |hdl-access=free }} The first institutions in Cádiz (1748) and Barcelona (1764), led by Virgili, were followed by Madrid (1780), founded by [Antoni de Gimbernat](/source/Antoni_de_Gimbernat). These colleges formally integrated surgery into medical education, solidifying its scientific status.{{Cite journal |last=Trias |first=Manuel |last2=Targarona |first2=Eduardo M. |last3=Moral |first3=Antonio |last4=Pera |first4=Cristóbal |date=1998-02-01 |title=Surgery in Spain |url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/fullarticle/211514#google_vignette |journal=Archives of Surgery |volume=133 |issue=2 |pages=218–222 |doi=10.1001/archsurg.133.2.218 |issn=0004-0010|url-access=subscription }} == Barbers in the British Isles in the early modern period == [[File:Master John Banister delivering an anatomical lecture.jpg|thumb|Master [John Banister](/source/John_Banister_(anatomist))'s Anatomical Tables, with Figures. The paintings comprise a portrait of Banister delivering a visceral lecture at the [Barber-Surgeons' Hall](/source/Worshipful_Company_of_Barbers), Monkwell Street, London. c. 1580]] Formal recognition of surgeons' skills (in England at least) goes back to 1540,[Physicians Act 1540](/source/Physicians_Act_1540) ([32 Hen. 8](/source/32_Hen._8). c. 42) when the [Fellowship of Surgeons](/source/Fellowship_of_Surgeons) (who existed as a distinct profession but were not "Doctors/Physicians" for reasons including that, as a trade, they were trained by apprenticeship rather than academically) merged with the [Company of Barbers](/source/Company_of_Barbers), a London [livery company](/source/livery_company), to form the [Company of Barber-Surgeons](/source/Company_of_Barbers). However, the trade was gradually put under pressure by the medical profession and in 1745, the surgeons split from the [Barbers' Company](/source/Barbers'_Company) (which still exists) to form the [Company of Surgeons](/source/Company_of_Surgeons). In 1800 a [royal charter](/source/royal_charter) was granted to this company and the [Royal College of Surgeons](/source/Royal_College_of_Surgeons_of_England) in [London](/source/London) came into being. Later it was renamed to cover all of England—equivalent colleges exist for [Scotland](/source/Royal_College_of_Surgeons_of_Edinburgh) and [Ireland](/source/RCSI) as well as many of the old UK colonies (e.g., [Canada](/source/Royal_College_of_Surgeons_of_Canada)).{{cite journal |author=Sven Med Tidskr. |title=From barber to surgeon- the process of professionalization |year=2007 |pmid=18548946 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=69–87 |journal=Svensk Medicinhistorisk Tidskrift}} == Barbers in medieval Finland == There are few studies on barber surgeons in [Finland](/source/Finland). The first known account is that of Hinzikinus from 1324 to 1326, originating from [Turku](/source/Turku) (Åbo), a city in the southern region of the country, who provided medical preparation and wound care for Viceroy [Matts Kettilmundson](/source/Matts_Kettilmundson). The second barber surgeon documented was Henrik Bardskärare, who worked in the castle of [Viborg](/source/Vyborg) in Finland (Vyborg, now part of [Russia](/source/Russia)). Each company of 400–500 men in the Swedish Army was assigned a barber during the rule of King [Gustav I Vasa](/source/Gustav_I_Vasa) in the 16th century. A barber surgeon was available to tend to the injured in almost every division. In 1571, the barbers organized into a professional guild that governed their training, jobs, pay, and the number of barbers. Barbers from other countries could join the guild as well. The guild mandated that barber surgeons receive their training from established masters as apprentices, and in order to receive their degrees, the apprentices had to pass an exam. The guild provided guidelines for the barber surgeons' fees or pay, which varied and occasionally depended on how many patients were treated and surgeries were carried out.{{Cite journal |last1=Kuronen |first1=Jarmo |last2=Heikkinen |first2=Jarmo |date=2019-01-01 |title=Barber-Surgeons in Military Surgery and Occupational Health in Finland, 1324-1944 |journal=[Military Medicine](/source/Military_Medicine) |volume=184 |issue=1–2 |pages=14–21 |doi=10.1093/milmed/usy202 |issn=1930-613X |pmid=30137595|doi-access=free }} == Traditions in the 21st century == [[File:Carl Schulz's barber's pole.JPG|thumb|right|Barbers advertised their profession with a [pole](/source/barber's_pole), a tradition dating back to the [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages). This pole belonged to [Carl Schulz](/source/Charles_M._Schulz), father of the famous cartoonist.]] Few traces of barbers' links with the surgical side of the medical profession remain. One is the traditional red and white [barber's pole](/source/barber's_pole), or a modified instrument from a blacksmith, which is said to represent the blood and bandages associated with their historical role. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, another vestige is the use of the titles ''Mr'', ''Ms'', ''Mrs'', or ''Miss'' rather than ''Dr'' by physicians when they complete their surgery qualifications by, for example, the award of an MRCS or FRCS diploma.{{Cite journal|last=Loudon|first=Irvine|date=2000-12-23|title=Why are (male) surgeons still addressed as Mr?|journal=BMJ: British Medical Journal|volume=321|issue=7276|pages=1589–1591|doi=10.1136/bmj.321.7276.1589|issn=0959-8138|pmc=1119265|pmid=11124190}} This practice dates back to the days when surgeons were not required to obtain a university education in medicine, and is retained despite the fact that all surgeons in these countries must earn a medical degree and spend additional years in [surgical training](/source/Residency_(medicine)) and certification.{{Cite web|last=sitecore\lewis.ashman@rcseng.ac.uk|title=Qualifications of a Surgeon|url=https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/patient-care/surgical-staff-and-regulation/qualifications-of-a-surgeon/|access-date=2022-01-10|publisher=[Royal College of Surgeons](/source/Royal_College_of_Surgeons)|language=en}} ==Historic barber surgeons== {{Further|List of barbers}} *[Martín de Porres](/source/Mart%C3%ADn_de_Porres) — a 16- to 17th-century Peruvian [lay brother](/source/lay_brother) of the [Dominican Order](/source/Dominican_Order), barber surgeon, and [saint](/source/saint). He is the [patron saint](/source/patron_saint) of barbers. *[Ambroise Paré](/source/Ambroise_Par%C3%A9) — a pioneering surgeon of 16th-century [France](/source/France) when barbers also performed surgery.{{citation |page=21 |chapter=The History of Barbering | title=Milady's Standard Professional Barbering |author=Maura Scali-Sheahan |year=2010 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=9781435497153}} *[Johanna Hedén](/source/Johanna_Hed%C3%A9n) — a [midwife](/source/midwife) who, in the late 19th century, became the first female barber surgeon in [Sweden](/source/Sweden).{{citation |url=https://www.skbl.se/en/article/JohannaHeden |title=Johanna Mariana Hedén |year=2018 |author=Pia Höjeberg}} *[Magdalena Bendzisławska](/source/Magdalena_Bendzis%C5%82awska) — a 17th-century barber-surgeon in [Poland](/source/Poland) and the first woman surgeon there.{{Cite web |title=Uniwersytet Jagielloński - Collegium Medicum |url=https://cm-uj.krakow.pl/index.php/collegium/kiosk_wydarzenie/2284 |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=cm-uj.krakow.pl}} *[Peter Proby](/source/Peter_Probie) — the 16th-century barber of [Sir Francis Walsingham](/source/Sir_Francis_Walsingham) who became Master of the [Worshipful Company of Barbers](/source/Worshipful_Company_of_Barbers) and [Lord Mayor of London](/source/Lord_Mayor_of_London).{{citation |url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/proby-peter-1625 |title=PROBY, Peter (d.1625), of Brampton, Hunts. and Swithin's Lane, London |work=The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603 |editor=P.W. Hasler |year=1981 |publisher=Boydell and Brewer}} *[Hernando de Bustamante](/source/Hernando_de_Bustamante) — a 16th-century [Spanish](/source/Spain) sailor and barber surgeon who is best known as one of the few survivors of the first [circumnavigation](/source/circumnavigation) of the globe. He sailed on the [Magellan expedition](/source/Magellan_expedition) from 1519 to 1522. *[Antoni de Gimbernat](/source/Antoni_de_Gimbernat) — an 18th-century [Spanish](/source/Spain) surgeon and [anatomist](/source/Anatomy). He is known for laying the groundwork for modern techniques of [inguinal hernia repair](/source/Inguinal_hernia_surgery). *[Antonio Fernando de Medrano](/source/Antonio_Fernando_de_Medrano) — a 17th-century [Basque](/source/Basques) barber-surgeon and a pioneer of medical professionalism in [Spain](/source/Spain). *[Magdalena Bendzisławska](/source/Magdalena_Bendzis%C5%82awska) — a 17th-century [Polish](/source/Poland) barber surgeon for miners of the [Wieliczka Salt Mine](/source/Wieliczka_Salt_Mine) and their families. *[Elinor Sneshell](/source/Elinor_Sneshell) — a 16th-century [English](/source/England) barber-surgeon, active during the reign of [Elizabeth I of England](/source/Elizabeth_I). *The [Barber surgeon of Avebury](/source/Barber_surgeon_of_Avebury) — a skeleton discovered in 1938 at [Avebury](/source/Avebury) henge monument in [Wiltshire](/source/Wiltshire), England. *[Diego Álvarez Chanca](/source/Diego_%C3%81lvarez_Chanca) — a 15th-century [Spanish](/source/Spain) barber surgeon who accompanied [Christopher Columbus](/source/Christopher_Columbus) on his second voyage. *[David Samwell](/source/David_Samwell) — an 18th-century [Welsh](/source/Wales) barber surgeon and poet. He was an important supporter of Welsh cultural organisations and was known by the pseudonym Dafydd Ddu Feddyg. ==Organizations and fellowships== *[Worshipful Company of Barbers](/source/Worshipful_Company_of_Barbers) *[Royal College of Surgeons of England](/source/Royal_College_of_Surgeons_of_England), formally known as the Company of Barber-Surgeons *[Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh](/source/Royal_College_of_Surgeons_of_Edinburgh), originally the Edinburgh Guild of Barbers and Surgeons ==See also== * [List of barbers](/source/List_of_barbers) * [City physician](/source/City_physician) * [Feldsher](/source/Feldsher) ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{commons category-inline}} {{Authority control}} Category:Medieval occupations Category:History of surgery Category:Historical health care occupations --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Barber surgeon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barber_surgeon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barber_surgeon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.