The Barbers' company : A paper read before the British archaeological association / by George Lambert ... at Barber surgeons' hall ... on Saturday, October 5th, 1881, on the occasion of the visit to London of the so-called "Bristol contingent," the west of England members of the association, December 14th to 18th, 1881.

  • Lambert, George, 1823-4--1901.
Date:
[1882?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Barbers' company : A paper read before the British archaeological association / by George Lambert ... at Barber surgeons' hall ... on Saturday, October 5th, 1881, on the occasion of the visit to London of the so-called "Bristol contingent," the west of England members of the association, December 14th to 18th, 1881. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    the surgeons attached to the army is so ludicrous that it is worthy of a place here. I remember, says he, when I was in the wars at Muttrel (Montreuil,) in the time of that most famous prince, Henry VIII., there was a great rahblement, that look upon themselves to be surgeons, some were sow gelders, and some horse doctors, with tinkers and cobblers. This noble sect did such great cures that they got themselves the name of dog- leaches, for in two dressings, they did commonly make their cures whole and sound for ever, so that their patients, felt neither heat nor cold, nor any manner of pain after. But, when the Duke of Norfolk, who was then the General, understood, how the people did die, and that of small wounds, he sent for me and certain other surgeons, commanding us to make search how these men came to their deaths, whether it was by the grievousness of their wounds, or by the lack of knowledge of these so-called surgeons, and we, according to our command- ment, made search through all the camp, and found many of the same good fellows, who took upon them the name of surgeons, not only the names, but the wages also. We asking of them whether they were surgeons or not? they said they were. We demanded, with whom they were brought up ? and they.witb shameless faces, would answer either with, one cun- ning man or the other, who were dead. Then, we demanded of them, what ehirurgery stun' they had to cure men withal? and they would show us a pot or a box, which they had in a budget, wherein was such trumpery, as they did use to grease horses' heels withal, and laid upon scabbed horses' backs, with rewal and such like. And others that were cobblers and tinkers used shoemakers' wax, with the rust off old pans, and made therewithal a noble salve, as they did call it. But in the end tins noble rabblement were committed to the Marshalsea, and threatened, by the duke's grace, to Be hanged for their worthy deeds, except they would declare the truth, what they were, and of what occupations, and in the end they did confess themselves to be as I have declared to you before.* In the third year of Henry VIII. it was enacted that no person within the City of London or within seven miles of the * See Aiken's Memoirs of Medicine, p. 99.