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The word "barber" comes from the
Latin word "barba," meaning beard. It may surprise
you to know that the earliest records of barbers show that they
were the foremost men of their tribe. They were the medicine
men and the priests. But primitive man was very superstitious
and the early tribes believed that both good and bad spirits,
which entered the body through the hairs on the head, inhabited
every individual. The bad spirits could only be driven out of
the individual by cutting the hair, so various fashions of hair
cutting were practiced by the different tribes and this made
the barber the most important man in the community. In fact,
the barbers in these tribal days arranged all marriages and baptized
all children. They were the chief figures in the religious ceremonies.
During these ceremonies, the hair was allowed to hang loosely
over the shoulders so that the evil spirits could come out. After
the dancing, the long hair was cut in the prevailing fashion
by the barbers and combed back tightly so that the evil spirits
could not get in or the good spirits get out.
This rule by barbers was a common thing in ancient
Asia. In fact, wherever there were legends and superstitions
about the hair, the barbers flourished. To this day in India,
the veneration of the hair continues and those who cut and dress
the hair are important characters.
SHAVED HEADS AND BEARDS
In Egypt, many centuries before Christ, barbers
were prosperous and highly respected. The ancient monuments and
papyrus show that the Egyptians shaved their beards and their
heads. The Egyptian priests even went so far as to shave the
entire body every third day. At this time the barbers carried
their tools in open-mouthed baskets and their razors were shaped
like small hatchets and had curved handles. The Bible tells us
that when Joseph was summoned to appear before Pharaoh, a barber
was sent for to shave Joseph, so that Pharaoh's sight would not
be offended by a dirty face.
In Greece, barbers came into prominence as early
as the fifth century, BC. These wise men of Athens rivaled each
other in the excellence of their beards. Beard trimming became
an art and barbers became leading citizens. Statesmen, poets
and philosophers, who came to have their hair cut or their beards
trimmed or curled and scented with costly essences, frequented
their shops. And, incidentally, they came to discuss the news
of the day, because the barber shops of ancient Greece were the
headquarters for social, political, and sporting news. The importance
of the tonsorial art in Greece may be gathered from the fact
that a certain prominent Greek was defeated for office because
his opponent had a more neatly trimmed beard.
In the third century, BC, the Macedonians under
Alexander the Great began their conquest of Asia and lost several
battles to the Persians who grabbed the Macedonians by their
beards, pulled them to the ground and speared them. This resulted
in a general order by Alexander that all soldiers be clean-shaven.
The civilians followed the example of the soldiers and beards
lost their vogue. Barbers were unknown in Rome until 296 BC,
when Ticinius Mena came to Rome from Sicily and introduced shaving.
Shaving soon became the fashion and the barber shop became the
gathering place for the Roman dandies. No people were better
patrons of the barbers than the Romans. They often devoted several
hours each day to tonsorial operations, which included shaving,
hair cutting, hairdressing, massaging, manicuring and the application
of rare ointments and cosmetics of unknown formulas. The great
ladies of Rome always had a hairdresser among their slaves and
the rich nobles had private tonsors, as they were then called.
Barbers were so highly prized that a statue was erected to the
memory of the first barber of Rome.
When Hadrian became emperor, beards became the
fashion again -- and for a very good reason. Hadrian had a face
covered with warts and scars. He allowed his beard to grow to
cover these blemishes. The people of Rome imitated the emperor
and grew beards whether they needed them or not.
The fashion changed again to clean-shaven faces.
We know that Caesar was clean-shaven. As we will see repeated
in history many times, the leaders of the state were the leaders
of fashion and the people were always ready to follow the prevailing
styles. There are many passages in the Bible referring to the
barber profession. Moses commanded that all who recovered from
leprosy should be shaved. This was done as a health precaution,
because throughout history the Jews have honored the beard as
a badge of manhood. To this day, the orthodox Jews have little
respect for clean-shaven men. During periods of mourning, the
ancient Jews allowed their beards to go untrimmed, but ordinarily
their beards were trimmed regularly. The prophet Ezekiel refers
to an ancient custom in these words: "Take thou a barber's
razor and cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard."
The razors of those days were made of flint and oyster shells.
ASSISTANTS TO CLERGY
During the first centuries of the Christian
era, the barbers of Europe practiced their profession wherever
it was the custom to shave the face and trim the beard. Charlemagne
made long, flowing hair the fashion, but each new conqueror changed
the fashion according to his whim and personal needs. During
the first ten centuries after Christ, the great majority of the
people and even the nobles were uneducated and could neither
read nor write. The most learned people of the times were the
monks and priests who became the physicians of the dark ages.
There were no professional surgeons at that time. Most of the
diseases, which are easily curable now, were fatal then. "Bloodletting"
was the popular method of curing all ills. The clergy who enlisted
barbers as their assistants first performed this. This was the
first step in the upward progress of the barber profession. Barbers
continued to act as assistants to the physician-clergy, until
the 12th century. At the council of Tours in 1163, the clergy
were forbidden to draw blood or to act as physicians and surgeons
on the grounds that it was sacrilegious for ministers of God
to draw blood from the human body. The barbers took up the duties
relinquished by the clergy and the era of barber-surgeons began.
The connection between barbery and surgery continued for more
than six centuries and the barber profession reached its pinnacle
during this time.
FIRST BARBER ORGANIZATION
The earliest known organization of barbers was
formed in 1096 in France when William, archbishop of Rouen, prohibited
the wearing of a beard. The barber-surgeon, or chirurgeons, began
to thrive all over Europe. They were the doctors of the times
and the royalty as well as the common people came to the barbers
to have their ills treated as well as for shaving and haircutting.
The physicians proper were in continual conflict with the barber-surgeons.
The barbers embraced dentistry as well as surgery and this brought
down on them the enmity of the dentists of the times. This caused
a long strife, whose settlement required the interference of
kings and councils. Followed between the barbers and the regular
surgeon-dentists. But the barbers retained the privilege of practicing
dentistry and surgery for several centuries.
FOUNDED SCHOOL OF SURGERY
In the middle of the 13th century, the barber
companies of Paris, known as the Brotherhoods of St. Cosmos and
St. Domain, founded the first school ever known for the systematic
instruction of barbers in the practice of surgery. This school
was later enlarged and became the model for schools of surgery
during the Middle Ages. Many of the foremost surgeons of the
times were students of the School of St. Cosmos and St. Domain.
The establishment of this school was one of the greatest contributions
ever made toward the progress of humanity. The oldest barber
organization in the world, still known in London as the "Worshipful
Company of Barbers," was established in 1308. Richard le
Barbour, as the Master of the Barbers, was given supervision
over the whole of his trade in London. Once a month he had to
go the rounds and rebuke any barbers whom he found acting disgracefully
or entering on other trades less reputable. The master of a city
company not only had this power, but he successfully prevented
unauthorized persons from practicing the barber profession. The
Barbers Guild of the 14th Century was undoubtedly more powerful
than any of the modern unions. The king and council sanctioned
the Guilds and so they could enforce their regulations. It was
not uncommon for violators of Guild regulations to suffer prison
terms for their misdemeanors.
BARBERS AS SURGEONS
Up to the year 1416, the barbers were not interfered
with in the practice of surgery and dentistry. But it was soon
evident that they were attempting too much. It was impossible
to expect ordinary human beings to competently practice surgery,
dentistry and the various tonsorial operations. People began
to complain that the barber-surgeons were making them sick instead
of well. Many barber-surgeons resorted to quackery in order to
cover up their ignorance of medicine and anatomy. These abuses
came to the attention of the mayor and council of London. In
1416 an ordinance was passed forbidding barbers from taking under
their care any sick person in danger of death or maiming, unless
within three days after being called in, they presented the patient
to one of the masters of the Barber-Surgeon's Guild. Until 1461
the barbers were the only persons practicing surgery. The practice
of surgery was still in its primitive stage, but new discoveries
were being made regularly and the barbers found it impossible
to keep up with the new discoveries and at the same time maintain
their skill in dentistry and barbering. The surgeons began to
forge to the front and became increasingly jealous of the privileges
accorded the barbers. But for a long time they could do nothing
to prevent the barbers from acting as surgeons. In 1450, the
Guild of Surgeons was incorporated with the Barbers Company by
act of parliament. Barbers were restricted to bloodletting, toothdrawing,
cauterization and the tonsorial operations. However the board
of governors, regulating the operations of the surgeons and barber-surgeons,
consisted of two surgeons and two barbers. Every time a surgeon
was given a diploma entitling him to practice his profession,
the diploma had to be signed by two barbers as well as two surgeons.
The surgeons resented this, but the barbers were very much favored
by the monarchs and preserved their privileges until the middle
of the 18th century. Henry VIII, Charles II and Queen Anne presented
the barber-surgeons with valuable gifts and raised many of them
to high offices. Under a clause in the Act of Henry VIII, the
Barber-Surgeons were entitled to receive every year the bodies
of four criminals who had been executed. The dissections were
performed four times a year in the Barber-Surgeons Hall which
still stands in London.
ORIGIN OF BARBER POLE
The modern barber pole originated in the days
when bloodletting was one of the principal duties of the barber.
The two spiral ribbons painted around the pole represent the
two long bandages, one twisted around the arm before bleeding
and the other used to bind is afterward. Originally, when not
in use, the pole with a bandage wound around it, so that both
might be together when needed, was hung at the door as a sign.
But later, for convenience, instead of hanging out the original
pole, another one was painted in imitation of it and given a
permanent place on the outside of the shop. This was the beginning
of the modern barber pole.
ALLIANCE DISSOLVED
As the science of medicine, surgery and dentistry
advanced, the barbers became less and less capable of performing
the triple functions of barber-surgeon-dentist. The surgeons
wished to be separated entirely from the barbers and they petitioned
parliament to sever the ancient relationship of the barbers and
surgeons and compel each profession to adhere strictly to its
own provinces. A committee was appointed by parliament to investigate
the matter and the petition was favorably reported to parliament.
By an act of parliament, which received the sanction of the king,
the alliance between the barbers and surgeons was dissolved in
June, 1745. Two separate companies were formed and the property,
formerly owned by the barbers and surgeons jointly, was divided
among the two companies.
PROFESSION DECLINES
This marked the decline of the barber profession.
Similar action was taken in France under the reign of Louis XIV.
Toward the end of the 18th century the barbers of Europe had
completely relinquished their right to perform any of the operations
of surgery and dentistry, except in the small towns and out-of-the-way
places where doctors and dentists were not obtainable. After
the barbers were prohibited from practicing medicine, surgery
and dentistry, they became mere mechanics and servants, subject
to the whims of fashion. When wigs became the fashion during
the 18th and part of the 19th century, barbers became wigmakers.
Their profession had lost its ancient dignity and barbers had
become laborers, instead of professional men. In England, America
and all over the civilized world, the decline of the barber was
a spectacle for all to see. Barber shops became hangouts, places
where low characters assembled. Smutty stories, malicious scandal
and gossip of all kinds characterized barber shops until a few
years ago. A barber shop was a place where men showed their lower
instincts and where women dared not enter.
AN UPWARD TREND
Late in the nineteenth century there were several
noteworthy events in the barber profession that gave it an upward
trend, and the effects are still carrying onward and upward.
How long it will be before the barber may be looked up to as
a professional man, taking his place by the side of the dentist,
chiropodist, chiropractor and other kindred professions, cannot
be foretold, but it would seem both the public and the profession
are ready for better things. In 1893, A. B. Moler of Chicago,
established a school for barbers. This was the first institution
of its kind in the world, and its success was apparent from its
very start. It stood for higher education in the ranks, and the
parent school was rapidly followed by branches in nearly every
principle city of the United States. In the beginning of schools,
simply the practical work of shaving, haircutting, facial treatments,
etc., was taught as neither the public nor the profession were
ready to accept scientific treatments of hair, skin and scalp.
Not until about 1920 was much effort made to professionalize
the work.
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