8 Facts about Barber Surgeons

Thursday, May 14th 2015. | History

If you are interested to know the common medical practitioner in the medieval Europe, check Facts about Barber Surgeons. The main job of a barber surgeon at that time was to look after the soldiers who were injured in the battlefield. They conducted surgery using the sharp bladed razor. Today, the physicians were in charge to do the surgery. Here are some interesting facts about barber surgeons for you:

Facts about Barber Surgeons 1: the various jobs of barber surgeon

This profession is very unique. The jobs that the barber surgeon did include amputating the leg, looking after the injure soldier, performing surgery or even cutting the hair. Find out facts about Anglo Saxon England here.

Facts about Barber Surgeons 2: the mortality of surgery

The risk of having infection of loss of blood was very high. Therefore, the mortality of people who had surgery conducted by barber surgeon was high too.

Facts about Barber Surgeons

Facts about Barber Surgeons 3: leeches

Applying leeches on the patients was often conducted by the barber surgeons. They believed that leeches will reduce the sickness of the patients by taking the blood. That’s why the doctors in the medieval era did it.

Facts about Barber Surgeons 4: the market of a barber

The barber surgeon became a popular job in the medieval Europe. It is due to the fact that the monks should maintain a bald head. Therefore, the hair should be removed regularly. Each monastery had to hire or even train a barber.

Barber Surgeons Facts

Facts about Barber Surgeons 5: other jobs

Besides shaving the hair from the head, the barbers also performed minor surgeries and bloodletting surgeries. They could make ointments or even pull the teeth. In 1000 AD, people recognized the first barber surgeons.

Facts about Barber Surgeons 6: other medical jobs

The importance of barber surgeon made it included as one of the medical professions in medieval Europe along with lithotomists, midwives, couchers, pig gelders, and herniotomists.

Barber Surgeon

Facts about Barber Surgeons 7: the barber surgeons in Paris

There was a dispute between the doctors and barber surgeons in Paris. It made the people supported the barber surgeon.

Facts about Barber Surgeons 8: the two kinds of doctors

In Paris, there were two kinds of doctors. The first one was the long robe doctor who had the right to do surgery. The short robe doctor should pass a special examination if they want to get the license. The short robe doctors had an agreement with Barber surgeon. If they lent the support to the short robe physician, they would get the secret lesson of human anatomy. The short physician did it because the long robed doctors always acted pretentiously.