{{Short description|English barber surgeon}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}{{Use British English|date=October 2016}}
'''Elinor Sneshell''' (fl. 1593) was an English barber-surgeon, active during the reign of Elizabeth I of England.
In the 1593 Returns of Strangers in the Metropolis, she was listed as a widow originating from Valenciennes who had been resident in London for 26 years.<ref>Scouloudi, Irene. ''Returns of Strangers in the Metropolis 1593, 1627, 1635 and 1639.'' (1985), the Huguenot Society of London</ref> Alongside Elizabeth Moulthorne of Antwerp, Sneshell was one of only two known female barber-surgeons who practised during this period.<ref>Picard, Liza. (2003) ''[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vCqG8X7eDdsC&pg=PP105&dq=Elinor+Sneshell&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi21tHysc2MAxWaSEEAHbPZMIgQ6AF6BAgMEAM Elizabeth's London: Everyday Life in Elizabethan London].'' Weidenfeld & Nicolson. {{ISBN|9781780226507}}</ref>
As a barber-surgeon, Sneshell was charged with caring for wounded soldiers during war. In the Middle Ages, surgery was often not performed by surgeons, but rather by barbers who were charged with tasks such as surgical procedures, teeth pulling, bleeding or applying blood suckers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=International |first=Hektoen |date=2020-01-28 |title=The barber-surgeons: Their history over the centuries - Hektoen International |url=https://hekint.org/2020/01/28/the-barber-surgeons-their-history-over-the-centuries/ |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=hekint.org |language=en-US}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sneshell, Elinor}} Category:16th-century English women Category:16th-century women scientists Category:16th-century English medical doctors Category:People from Valenciennes Category:Immigrants to the Kingdom of England Category:French emigrants to England
{{England-med-bio-stub}} Category:16th-century women medical doctors