Did you know that barbers were surgeons?
On a chilly morning in 15th-century France, you head to the barber for a shave and haircut. Inside, you hear singing and notice a bowl of blood on display. Both chairs are occupied, so you grab a cup of ale and observe teeth hanging on the walls. Suddenly, a scream breaks the silence. The barber’s apprentice tends to a boil he just treated, while the barber deals with a decayed tooth using pliers.
For many centuries in Western and Northern Europe, barbers didn’t just groom hair; they also carried out various medical procedures like tooth removal, stitching wounds, and even amputations. Two main reasons explain why barbers took on these roles.
Before this shift, monks primarily conducted surgical procedures. The Catholic Church mandated that monks wear a particular hairstyle called tonsures and remain clean-shaven, so monasteries typically had at least one barber. Due to their proximity and skill with sharp tools, these barbers often assisted in surgeries.
In 1215, the church issued a decree prohibiting monks from engaging in activities that intentionally caused bloodshed. Around the same time, universities with medical programs were emerging throughout Europe. However, these doctors considered themselves scholarly figures who wouldn’t engage in tasks involving blood or surgery. As a result, medicine and surgery became distinct yet interconnected fields, similar to how geometry and carpentry are separate but complementary disciplines. This left surgical procedures in the care of barber-surgeons, who were skilled in both barbering and surgery.
Instead of studying anatomy from books, barber-surgeons learned through long apprenticeships. They blended their knowledge of anatomy with astrology, considering both the patient’s symptoms and astrological events like lunar phases when planning treatment. Like many in their era, they believed the positions of the sun, moon, and stars were crucial. They also memorized poems to remember information, like where bloodletting should occur: temples for headaches, the little finger on the right hand for liver issues, and the back of the legs for hemorrhoids.
Barber-surgeons had their hands full during the period from around 1300 CE. Unpredictable weather in the North Atlantic, caused by what we now call the Little Ice Age, resulted in frequent famines. People faced the grim choice between starvation or consuming rye flour contaminated with the fungus ergot. This led to widespread illnesses, sometimes causing gangrene, the decay of body tissue, in severe cases. When gangrene occurred, the only chance of saving a patient was through amputation. Barbers would see off infected limbs, and then cover the stumps with cow or pig bladders during the healing process.
Barber-surgeons didn’t confine their work to shops and monasteries alone. Armies required both grooming services and medical care for wounds, prompting barber-surgeons to accompany them on campaigns, whether nearby or far away.
Over the centuries, barber-surgeons made significant contributions to the medical field. One notable figure, Ambroise Paré, challenged the distinction between doctor and barber-surgeon. He authored medical textbooks and taught at France’s inaugural surgical college. In the 16th century, Paré achieved acclaim as a military surgeon, notably for opposing the painful and ineffective practice of pouring boiling oil into gunshot wounds. Instead, he advocated for applying an antiseptic salve made from egg yolks, rosewater, and turpentine, which quickly became the standard treatment on battlefields throughout Europe.
By the 18th century, medical understanding had progressed swiftly, leading to the development of new surgical methods for wound closure, blood loss management, and intricate procedures such as tumor removal. Surgery became increasingly specialized, prompting a clear division between barbers and surgeons under the influence of the medical community. Surgeons and dentists transitioned into university-educated medical professionals, while barbers continued as skilled craftsmen who acquired their expertise through apprenticeships.
The legacy of the barber-surgeon persists to this day, notably embodied in the iconic red and white stripes on the barber pole. Legend has it that these stripes symbolize blood and the bandages utilized by their predecessors in the pre-modern era.