Why surgery and barbering were one occupation in the Middle Ages
Beginning around the 12th century CE, the professions of barber and surgeon were combined into a single occupation throughout much of Europe. And, as this animation from TED-Ed explores, while being on the receiving end of a medical procedure performed by one of these ‘barber-surgeons’ was certainly an unideal place to find oneself, this class of generalists did make notable contributions to the medical field. This slice-of-history video tracks the profession’s rise within monasteries to its dissolution in the 18th century as surgery became more specialised, and how the red-and-white barber pole is a symbol of the barber-surgeon’s legacy.
Video by TED-Ed
Directors: Arvind Singh Jeena, Anantha Krishnan
Writer: Stephanie Honchell Smith
Website: Totem Creative

videoHistory
The dry-stacked stones of Zimbabwe are a medieval engineering wonder
7 minutes

videoHistory of science
Insect aesthetics – long viewed as pests, in the 16th century bugs became beautiful
8 minutes

videoMedicine
Drinking wine from toxic cups was the 17th century’s own dubious ‘detox’ treatment
11 minutes

videoEngineering
How water-based clocks revolutionised the way we measure time
10 minutes

videoHistory of science
How we came to know the size of the Universe – and what mysteries remain
26 minutes

videoArt
Defying classification, fantastical artworks reframe the racism of Carl Linnaeus
8 minutes

videoEnvironmental history
In Kazakhstan, ‘atomic lakes’ still scar the landscape decades after Soviet nuclear tests
13 minutes

videoHistory of science
Meet the Quaker pacifist who shattered British science’s highest glass ceilings
14 minutes

videoIllness and disease
Humanity eradicated smallpox 45 years ago. It’s a story worth remembering
25 minutes