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The barber surgeon was one of the most common medical practitioners of medieval Europe
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 - generally charged with looking after soldiers during or after a battle
Battle

Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, wherein each group will seek to defeat the others within the scope of a military campaign, and are well defined in duration, area and force commitment....
. In this era, surgery
Surgery

Surgery is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, to help improve bodily function or appearance, or sometimes for some other reason....
 was not generally conducted by physicians, but by barber
Barber

A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, give shaving, and trim beards. In previous times, barbers also performed surgery and dentistry....
s.

They often took up residence in castle
Castle

A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress in that it describes a residence of a monarch or noble and commands a specific defensive territor...
s where they also provided medical assistance
Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
 to the rich and wealthy.

Barber surgeons in the United Kingdom
Formal recognition of their skills (in England at least) goes back to 1540, when the Fellowship of Surgeons (who existed as a distinct profession, but still not "Doctors/Physicians" as we think of them today) merged with the Company of Barbers to form the Company of Barber-Surgeons.






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The barber surgeon was one of the most common medical practitioners of medieval Europe
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 - generally charged with looking after soldiers during or after a battle
Battle

Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, wherein each group will seek to defeat the others within the scope of a military campaign, and are well defined in duration, area and force commitment....
. In this era, surgery
Surgery

Surgery is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, to help improve bodily function or appearance, or sometimes for some other reason....
 was not generally conducted by physicians, but by barber
Barber

A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, give shaving, and trim beards. In previous times, barbers also performed surgery and dentistry....
s.

They often took up residence in castle
Castle

A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress in that it describes a residence of a monarch or noble and commands a specific defensive territor...
s where they also provided medical assistance
Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
 to the rich and wealthy.

Barber surgeons in the United Kingdom


Formal recognition of their skills (in England at least) goes back to 1540, when the Fellowship of Surgeons (who existed as a distinct profession, but still not "Doctors/Physicians" as we think of them today) merged with the Company of Barbers to form the Company of Barber-Surgeons. However, the trade was gradually put under pressure by the medical profession and in 1745, the surgeons split from the barbers to form the Company of Surgeons. In 1800 a Royal Charter
Royal Charter

A royal charter is a charter granted by a Monarch to create institutions or other forms of incorporated bodies . In the United Kingdom legal tradition a royal charter is in the form of letters patent....
 was granted and the Royal College of Surgeons
Royal College of Surgeons of England

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body and registered charity committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgery care for patients, regulating surgery, including dentistry, in England and Wales....
 in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 came into being (later it was renamed to cover all of England - equivalent Colleges exist for Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 and Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
 as well as many of the old UK colonies).

The last vestige of barber surgeons' links with the medical side of their profession is probably the traditional red and white barber's pole
Barber's pole

A barber's pole is a type of sign used by barbers, most traditionally a pole with a helix of red, white and blue stripes. They have been known to be of different colors, however: most barber poles in the United States have red, white and blue stripes....
, which is said to represent the blood and bandages associated with their older role. Another link is the UK's use of the title Mr. rather than Dr. for consultants and registrars in surgery (when awarded an MRCS or FRCS diploma). This dates back to the days when surgeons gained an RCS diploma rather than a University Doctoral Degree. Even though all surgeons now have to gain a basic medical degree and doctorate (as well as undergoing several more years training in surgery), they still retain their link with the past, except for haircuts, which task the barbers have retained. The surgeons cut the parts of the body which aren't hair, whereas the barbers now cut only the hair.