What was medieval amputation like?

Courtesy of The Chalke Valley History Festival.

#AbsoluteHistory

[christophercarpkey]

A simpler time when you could see your barber, dentist, and doctor in one person.

[jessicalittle]

Some surgeons/barbers perfected their amputations down to 30 seconds between starting the incision to starting the suture, to minimize air exposure as well as blood loss.

[sbrosier]

*gets a papercut in the medieval era*
"Well, time to lose the hand"

[dylanrussell]

"Yeah, a little of the sides homie"
Barber: "I got u"
*saws ribs in half*

[princevesperal]

"Sir, I just came here to get my beard shaved!"

[clayfoster]

The best you could hope for is a skilled surgeon who could do this in under a minute

[__seeker__]

“Oh he’s dying? Quick let’s kill him faster.”
— medieval bros

[creamage.]

why does he look exactly the part…i’m not talking about his costume, i’m talking about his face. he looks exactly what i’d picture a medieval barber to look like😭

[pringleman]

Ugh, that feels awful. The worst part is that you need to bite the bullet. I bet there's nothing to dull the pain.

[bored]

Shit like this really makes you question why we didn’t stop fighting a long time ago

[Profile__]

"Look at the design. It's very human."

[insanerambling]

Imagine your barber just saying "man I fucked up" and he wasn't talking about your hair

[MrLoobu]

And every man in history was like, "Yes, let's try to kill each other"

[WaiferThyme]

About 12 years ago, we had a pirates festival here in Halifax. Reinactors in costumes, pirate ships, the works. Even a midievil town square with actors displaying their work. One was a ships surgeon . He had a bare table crusted with dirt and dried blood. On it was a hook, a bone saw, a bottle of rum, and a 2ft long jagged chunk of wood. When i walked up to him, he went into full character 😂. Asked me if i ever got a splinter. When i said yes, he slammed the chunk of wood on the table and said that there is a splinter! If ye be on me ship an yon foes be blastin their cannonades an a chunk like this ere be flyin into yer leg well then ye be meetin me below ships. (Evil grin). If ye survives the cannons then ye be meetin me friend here. (Slaps down the bottle of rum). This be for, gettin ye roarin drunk an for cleanin out yer wound. (Waved the hook and saw around) then ye be makin aquaintence with me friends an i be removin as much of yer leg as i thinks best. If ye survives that, then the infection, maggots, an the course of leaches, then you be rewarded with a nice peg to be callin yer own! It was horrifying, hilarious, and awesome all at the same time 😂😂

[Canis_Pugnax]

Back when 99% of the times the injury was far better than the surgery 😂

[Doodle]

I miss John, he was my favourite barber, did my leg too.

[wheatyeeter]

Keep in mind not all cauterizatiom iron were the same. Some were rods. Some were plates. And the plates were used for amputation situations wher they could seal the entire wound with one press

[turnipbeybladespinner]

barber in 2000s: 😊
barber in 1100s: 💀

[shockwave]

You guys should read up on how Henry the 5th's physician removed the arrow from his face. That was a work of genius for their time. He had a blacksmith forge a tool specifically designed to go into the socket of an arrow head, grab it tightly with a screw mechanism and pull it out. There's a video of Kevin Hicks (History Squad channel) explaining in depth how it was done

[SirAuronthehonorable]

it amazes me humanity survived this era