The gruesome legacy of barber surgeons - Stephanie Honchell Smith episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 11, 2026 · 7 MIN

The gruesome legacy of barber surgeons - Stephanie Honchell Smith

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Trace the history of barber-surgeons, and find out what led to barbers performing medical procedures in medieval Europe.--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.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-gory-history-of-barber-surgeons-stephanie-honchell-smithDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-gory-history-of-barber-surgeons-stephanie-honchell-smith/digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.totemcreative.inMusic: https://soundcloud.com/aim-music----------------------------------------------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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trace the history of barber-surgeons, and find out what led to barbers performing medical procedures in medieval Europe.--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.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-gory-history-of-barber-surgeons-stephanie-honchell-smithDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-gory-history-of-barber-surgeons-stephanie-honchell-smith/digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.totemcreative.inMusic: https://soundcloud.com/aim-music----------------------------------------------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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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This episode was published on June 11, 2026.

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Trace the history of barber-surgeons, and find out what led to barbers performing medical procedures in medieval Europe.--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...

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