Barber-surgeons played an important role in parts of medieval and early modern Europe, working alongside medical doctors to perform a variety of surgeries and other medical treatments. You can see a range of images associated with barber-surgeons in this article published by the Wellcome Collection. They practiced across western and northern Europe and often accompanied military campaigns to provide medical treatment and barbering to soldiers. The most famous was Ambroise Paré, who made important contributions to the field of medicine in the 16th century. While the vast majority of barber-surgeons were men, there were also occasionally women who took up the profession, as explored in this article by Newcastle Castle. 

For more information on the evolution of barber-surgeons, see Philias Roy Garant’s The Long Climb: From Barber-Surgeons to Doctors of Dental Surgery. For more on their techniques, training, and use of astrology, see Richard Wragg’s The Guild Book of the Barber Surgeons of York. For a first-person account of the life of a barber-surgeon who served on slave ships during the early modern period, see Roberto Zaugg and Craig Koslofsky’s translation of Johann Peter Oettinger’s A German Barber-Surgeon in the Atlantic Slave Trade.

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