This medieval surgical device was invented to remove an arrow from King Henry V's face

Courtesy of The Chalke Valley History Festival.

#AbsoluteHistory

[jacekuntz]

Bradmore was also in prison at the time. It is cinematic in quality like they really went "there's only one man who can save him" then the camera cuts to a guy in prison.

[williamberry]

That is both amazing and terrirfying at the same time.

[orilio]

Imagine him having to wait with an arrow inside his skull while they take a guy out of prison, and have a blacksmith make tools on the spot for his surgery. Absolutely nuts

[SantaClaus-kkzr]

Shout out to the kings surgeons for realizing they needed help rather than trying to play up their own expertise

[yuuto]

Bro survived an arrow to the face, a 3rd degree torture and the doc's side quest. I want the will to survive that he had.

[Maverick]

Imagine being the hero who nailed the headshot of victory on enemy royalty and then some surgeon just MacGyvers some pliers and goes "no you didn't"

[Lyrick_Lee]

With having no anesthetics…. Living back then and getting injured must’ve been HELL.

[johncorrall]

Henry was 16 years old at the time. Brave lad.

[bobbic]

Can't believe they went through production design process while this guy had an arrow in his face.

[emberthewitcher]

“oh you have an arrow in your head? Lemme invent and make an arrow extractor real quick.” - John Bradmore probably

[chishionohana]

Answering some FAQs:
1. To prevent infection, they covered the wound in honey and gradually shrunk the prongs holding the wound open to help healing
2. The wound had been treated for days (at least-- we don't have a time frame so it could have even been weeks) so there was no more wood in the arrowshaft and Bradmore had plenty of time to make his device
3. There's no mention of anaesthetic or pain killers used, but they probably used something. There is a record of him being played music, though
4. Prince Hal lived until he was 35, dying as King of England, Wales, and heir apparent to France. His exact cause of death is unknown, but it's believed to have been heatstroke overwork and either the aftereffects or a reinfection of dysentry
5. The portraits only showing one side of his face to hide the scar is a myth. Those portraits were made several centuries after his death-- all paintings from when he was alive show his full face but don't show his scar (medieval paintings in general don't typically show scars)
6. he was back to work within months
EDIT: Bradmore wrote a detailed account of the entire procedure in the "Philomena". Modernised translations exist online. Anne Curry also covers it in her Henry V biography

[Lejo]

A local historical society did an event at my university, including a surgeon’s demonstration! I was the lucky person chosen to hold Henry V’s head (a mannequin full of fake blood with a bowl cut) while the “surgeon” used the arrow extractor to remove the point from his face. Neat stuff!

[andrewward]

You have to give praise to the blacksmith who hammered out the tool to remove the arrow.

[dekuvisuals]

The fact that Henry survived something like that is unreal in itself.

[starperfectdeer]

So this is how people survived headshots in skyrim

[daqt]

That must have been unbelievably painful. And everyone involved was undoubtedly very highly skilled.

[Brendito]

They just asked a guy to save the king and he said “aight, grabbing my tools”

[NigelThornbery]

Normal person: “sorry bud but your dead”

Royalty: “quick invent a medical device to save him!!!”

[Falconlibrary]

Sitting here with an arrow lodged in my eye, trying to DIY the removal. This channel is literally a lifesaver.

[eddyb]

The amazing thing is that this was invented and produced on the spot as the prince's life was on the line.