The gory history of barber surgeons - Stephanie Honchell Smith

Trace the history of barber-surgeons, and find out what led to barbers performing medical procedures in medieval Europe.
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It’s a cold morning in 15th century France and you’re off to the barber for a shave and haircut. You hear the familiar sound of singing inside and eye a bowl of blood in the window. You grab a cup of ale and examine the array of teeth strung from the walls. Suddenly, a scream sounds from one of the chairs. What's going on? Stephanie Honchell Smith shares the surprising history of barber-surgeons.
Lesson by Stephanie Honchell Smith, directed by Arvind Singh Jeena, Anantha Krishnan, Totem Creative.
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Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Brad Sullivan, Karen Ho, Niklas Frimberger, Hunter Manhart, Nathan Nguyen, Igor Stavchanskiy, James R DeVries, Grace Huo, Diana Huang, Chau Hong Diem, Orlellys Torre, Corheu, Thomas Mee, Maryann H McCrory, Blas Borde, John Hellmann, Poompak Meephian, Chuck Wofford, Adam Pagan, Wes Winn, Conder Shou, ntiger, Noname, Hansan Hu, David D, Mac Hyney, Keith Ellison, robin valero walters, Lynne Truesdale, Gatsby Dkdc, Matthew Neal, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Gerardo Castro, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND and Samyogita Hardikar.

[@brendanrisney2449]

I love the barber's design. He's got a benevolent, yet unwittingly _mad_ feel about him.

[@yellowstarproductions6743]

Me too.

[@Random_UserXD]

Its really scary to think about the fact that at that time any pain reducing drugs were not a thing

[@Random_UserXD]

also dont mind my bad english as am not really an english speaker😅

[@RelatedSnow8420]

And that is why I'm glad that we live in a world where modern anesthetics is a thing.

[@Random_UserXD]

@@RelatedSnow8420 lol yeah but i would say theres still some treatments which r way too painful

[@cringeSpeedrunner]

At least there’s ice

[@frostincubus4045]

Well, in some cases/places, the patients are given alcohol to make them too drunk to feel pain or given some kind of herbal medicine to numb the mind

[@BasementBerean]

I actually saw a barber surgeon text book under plexiglass in the book section at the British Museum. And, one of the greatest SNL skits ever was "Theodoric of York medieval barber" which can be seen on KZbin.

[@MiIIiezz]

Thanks for recommending the skit! It made my day.

[@shiwanthagunathilake635]

Hats off for the animation team❤

[@Soloohara]

you say this everyvideo of them since ever. They are quiet good with animation, its their job, we got it.

[@RRed04]

​@@Soloohara It's something well-intentioned. Having your work recognized is comforting. So why bother because he repeats it...

[@Soloohara]

because the keep repeating it every single video since ever, so annoying@@RRed04

[@oldcowbb]

@@Soloohara the quality is more than "just a job", but yes, every one of their video has high quality animation

[@-----------------------86]

@@Soloohara Hats off for the animation team!

[@balpreetsingh6834]

People today : This is the worst time to be alive People any era before the current one : Hold my barber

[@threedragonstalk2123]

The more you read history the more you realize that everytime has been a bad time to be alive. You just have to keep living.

[@TheOneWhoKnocks969]

Old age be like : barbers cut hairs and surgeon cuts body. Why not make them one?

[@treflecrystal]

"hair is part of the body anyway" -some guy probably

[@AsliddinNormamatov-ir7ok]

5:35 there has been a different informations in diversed areas

[@sadhnajoshi1529]

Bro your dp is great The ones who know will know

[@vasanthpragash854]

😂

[@DarkZerol]

Thus why they were called "Barber-surgeons" and the incredibly iconic "barber's pole" came from.

[@florm9944]

Literally did a history exam on medicine earlier today and one of the questions was about barber surgeons lol.

[@ririlub]

Epic

[@dude6046]

my barber actually has a son who is a surgeon so this is pretty funny

[@luke14946]

Just curious, but do you happen to know what kind of surgeon your barber's son happens to be?

[@longnguyen4102]

😂

[@ButterflySeraph612]

I forgot how much I loved medical history

[@yellowstarproductions6743]

Good 👍 for you

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Thanks For all your hardwork and dedication 😊😊😊😊

[@theskyisindigo]

this is unrelated but you have exactly 143 likes on your comment, and 143 most generally means "I love you"

[@IDK-bd8he]

Oh wow!! This completely explains Doctor Barber from flapjack!

[@diamondclaw5313]

I was going to say the same thing!😅

[@IDK-bd8he]

@@diamondclaw5313 hhmmm yes.. hhmmm yes…

[@diamondclaw5313]

@@IDK-bd8he 😂

[@YoungGandalf2325]

"Just a little off the top, please. Heeey...what are you doing with that bone saw??" 😮

[@marceliraola1411]

Dear Ted-Ed Team, as a passionate hobby fencer, I would be very delighted to see a video about the history of fencing. I think this would not only be an interesting topic but also one that would educate others.

[@scourgedarkpaw9949]

Fencing? You mean like sword fighting. Or fencing goods or fence made of wood

[@Sunflowersarepretty]

I was actually wondering what those red and white on the barber's pole mean and woah I found my answer. I didn't even know that barber -surgeon was a thing. Crazy.

[@gordonlekfors2708]

I knew it already, but I would have liked them to answer wtf the blue stripes mean! many poles have them.

[@snegwatawski4196]

​@@gordonlekfors2708i was wondering the same thing

[@Lalitha-jt6ge]

🎉🙏🌺🔔🌺🇮🇳✍🏻in our Village..most seniors proverb # barber* the semi doctor*- அம்பட்டன்*- அரை வைத்தியன் ! வண்ணான்*- முக்கால்வைத்தியன்- washer man*- the good compounder*- Home function s கால்பங்கு.public activities Full nungu # 🎉yet we don't understand the meaning as such ji# தூய்மை*- நோயின்மை*- கவனமின்மை*- கடினமே ஆகிவிடும் வாழ்வதுமே!🐢ஆமாமில்லே'- அணிலே.🐿️🔯

[@smtoonentertainment]

Thanks For all your hardwork and dedication 😊😊

[@bluegaplanim]

the art style is simply incredible.

[@lorohasquarepants7386]

We really appreciate these videos of fun facts and stories you guys make. Thank you so much! I have received much of the knowledge you've shared 😊

[@yellowstarproductions6743]

I agree.❤

[@Davidc31]

As always, another important fact we didnt know we needed. Thanks!

[@markcrawford5810]

This makes Dr Barber from The Marvelous Misadventures historically accurate.

[@Brienanderson34]

I was looking for a comment like this

[@nickolas.h]

Ted-ed is the best informative channel ❤

[@popperweyu9607]

This will be great to watch before going to bed!

[@kaavya1085]

Wow Ted ed animation is amazing as usual Keep it up

[@AudioTruyenLangQue]

Thank you so much for your help and advice, I really appreciate your job. I wish you happiness and peace under the sky of prosperity. All the best. Take care and have a good time

[@onal12345]

Wow, I knew they were dentists but surgeons! This is really interesting.

[@sorakishimoto]

Finally! I forgot I still want to know the meaning of those symbols in every barber's shop. Glad I got recommended this video. ❤️

[@Sjalabais]

Perfectly illustrated.

[@laurenehynson6495]

I love these videos! So interesting!

[@ley6748]

I’ve been obsessed with these videos

[@Taylor-yt8vp]

The character "Dr.Barber" from the Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack makes sense now

[@zulmira53]

Excellent video!! Thanks!

[@richaranjan1983]

Thankful to be born in the modern age 😅 Great video, informative, interesting & fun.

[@srvpostsmusic]

I am a very old subscriber of Ted ed from my another acount that is old one. I rarely used to watch its videos. But from past one month I regularly watch about 5 videos from Ted ed. Very informative. Thanks a lot for making such a great quality educational and informative videos.

[@dani33300]

a day?

[@srvpostsmusic]

Yes@@dani33300

[@sapphirewingthefurrycritic985]

For anyone who has ever watched Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, this explains Dr. Barber's whole thing.

[@elscruffomcscruffy8371]

The history of Surgery is fascinating!

[@Happy-Vibes4eva]

I could binge watch these all day 😂

[@fajar2alfianto]

I know it's just an animation, but I was flinching hard when I saw the cutting body-part scene. Imagine doing it in real life without any kind of pain killer 😢

[@franko8572]

*Fun fact* You ever see one of these things outside a barbershop?💈 In the early day of modern barbering, the barber would leave out bloody rags used in surgery out on the railing to advertise their services. So you would see bloody and clean rags outside, and when sanitary standards changed, the 💈thing got created to symbolically represent the old clean red and white rags. The blue was later added as a patriotic thing. Edit: Damn, 5:05.. y’all really got me!! Edit: They changed the thumbnail to this 💈 pole, but it wasn’t like that before! 💈

[@sorakishimoto]

Thanks still. I just now learned meaning to this symbol with the blue one. 😅

[@franko8572]

@@sorakishimoto 😃 Eyyyy! Somebody learned something from me! 😊

[@esnm7799]

@@franko8572 yeah, thanks. I didnt undertand It with the video hehe

[@fridabinaev]

This is fascinating!

[@catwaygo9908]

Flapjack makes alot sense now that the doctor was also a barber

[@hvnterblack]

thanks for that

[@TheRandomPokemon4]

The animation is great!

[@phatato]

Fascinating!

[@quiltingmuggle2759]

So interesting...thank you.

[@weighttrainingguide]

Fascinating -- and surprisingly gory!

[@jrmetmoi]

Surprisingly? 🤔

[@deepakpatnaik8457]

What a beautiful video ❤

[@luv2bcth714]

I don’t know if I’m the only one. But the only time I heard of baber surgery was from the cartoon The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (the character Dr. Barber.) So I had no idea this was a real thing🤷🏾‍♀️🤯

[@MadelonWilson]

Great video! When I was in the ninth grade, I started reading medical history books. I was particularly drawn to those books that started with early trepanations and worked their way up to the barber surgeons. I found the very idea of performing multiple amputations, putting the patients in a circle, and applying hot pokers to cauterize the wounds. Generally speaking, these tomes of history became less interesting as medical education and practice included sanitary teachings that started with the simple washing of hands (which was laughable to the anatomists who went from dissecting table to patient. Once Lister came on the scene, the history seemed quite modern and there I would stop reading that book and move on to another.

[@neekibarman4125]

you have the best animators & narrators

[@BWS891]

I always wondered where the term barber surgeon came from, thanks for the lesson

[@minnie_notthemouse]

how do i always seem to be on KZbin just as this channel posts

[@canoa223]

Me: Hello, I would like a nice shaving, I have a wedding tonight. Barber: Say no more. Me: Also, one of my toes looks very blue, do you know someone who could look at it? Barber: You're not gonna believe this

[@mrinmoybanik5598]

I'm learning something new everyday it seems.

[@jkyoft78]

That was interesting. Good job.

[@msartorius]

This tradition has always fascinated me, and my interest in it has grown even stronger in recent years. Here in my country, barber poles are becoming increasingly common, though the video seemed to overlook the fact that many of them here also have a blue stripe.

[@azizaturdiqulova1492]

Wow. Now I found an answer to my question😁 thank you.

[@worLDinheritance962]

A wonderful work

[@rossplendent]

"You look like you could use some... surgery." - Dr. Barber

[@PramkLuna]

I like this animation style ❤

[@elianesantoscabral3271]

Excelente!

[@Bluwie._.piixxee]

4:54 help why is that so sweet. Props to the animators.

[@user-eq2dx2jp6v]

Hi dear guys and many thanks ❤❤❤❤❤ very good each day one new ted, thank you❤❤❤❤❤😂😂😂

[@alessandracastioni3423]

Uno dei vostri video più belli per me❤ ottimi per allenarsi con l'ingles3

[@syncout9586]

The more I learn about anything prior to modern medicine, the more thankful I am that I live in the 21st century

[@RootlessNZ]

My grandfather was a barber surgeon, a feldsher as they were called, in the Imperial Russian Army in the 19th C. He deserted in 1903 and made his way through Poland, Germany and France to London. He set up shop as a barber and also performed minor medical procedures for his family and customers. He would stitch wounds, remove stitches, dress wounds , lance boils, use antiseptics and prescribe appropriate analgesics.

[@Dr._Doppietta]

It makes my blood run cold thinking that, not too long ago, these very painful and very specific surgeries were left to basically butchers *without* any medical knowledge nor anesthetic. Man, I'm *GLAD* to be living in 2023.

[@user-ff7ux9zv3o]

you are the best channel in the world😍🥰

[@nabd_27]

Yes ❤❤

[@Abraxium]

Your varying animation styles are all very comfy

[@maxhill9254]

excellent

[@edwinjoy3932]

5:11 now whenever I see this, I start remembering this video (and people who 'treated' by barber surgeons).

[@blitz2524]

Omg I always wondered about this…

[@pippaliciousj]

Recently found out my grandad who passed when i was 7 (im nearly 54) wrote a book on Ambroise Paré the medieval barber surgeon.

[@mio7968]

so interesting 💈

[@brianthomas4276]

Havent watched a video in this channel in years

[@SlyXD-mb1so]

I love history

[@Redoestimate1988]

"For he's a scheming barber and to do so is his pleasure..." Getting Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack vibes

[@shajadaburgess3616]

Patient:"Help I need surgery" Doctor Barber: "Okay, but like are you a Gemini 🤨"

[@Electronious]

Barbers were cool, and they still are.

[@alparslankorkmaz2964]

nice video

[@medardbitangimana4580]

Ted ed you keep amazing me

[@seren7173]

the way barbers holding the shears is same as surgery doctors.I discover it after I learn in medical university.

[@shreyashvaidya2773]

Me: I just want a haircut The barber: no problem **Proceeds to cut my hair, sew my wounds and amputate my leg**

[@AelitaSwan21]

Really good video, as always, but also pretty gory! I hope it won't loose its monetization

[@lizardguyNA]

Well that explains that one character in Flapjack.

[@Bamdeidz]

Animation so cute ❤❤❤

[@AnthonyDinh]

Can we talk about the history of venting in barber shops? Those hit differently.

[@tylerdurdenthethird1796]

ok now i understand why the barber from the cartoon Flapjack was also a surgeon

[@MapleMafiareincarnated]

Cool

[@wilson5377]

😎👍 Glad to know that the barber pole's colors represents Blood&Bandages not Hacksaws&Razors!😂

[@deegee5333]

The way that surgeon took that man away from the barber to go save his life. 😂

[@tonynguyen4751]

Now I've finally realized that Barber is not a simple thing to consider because at the end of the video, the creator revealed the true meaning of that red and white color-swirling tube which I usually see at many Barber's

[@pisces2569]

Not exactly, he stated it was a legend. The barber pole most likely has a different origin

[@TheDraco175]

I still get my hair amputated to this day.

[@user-ym8dn6bv6k]

Wow... Never know.

[@benjamintan9996]

Fun fact: that’s why consultant Surgeons are called Mr, not Dr because of this past history.

[@thawfeeqjamaal1777]

I trust my barber.

[@majl7917]

Thanks for uploading this right at dinner time here in Holland. Yum.

[@manavbachwani4726]

Lord AK doing his magic ✨

[@siddhuansith]

4:56 aww now that's wholesome

[@user-bj5zn3ri3n]

nice

[@quadrantids8166]

TedEd your animation!!🤧🤍🤍✨✨

[@PatricKlein86]

Its amazing we survived as a species as long as we have