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Section V. 

 Medieval Guilds and Chartered Bodies. 



The first medieval corporation of which we have any record 

 was the Guild of the Art of Barbers or Guild of St. Mary 

 Magdalene of the City of Dublin. 



This guild was established by a qharter of Henry VI. in 

 1446 for the promotion and exercise of the art of Chirurgery. 

 Men and women were members until the union of the Barbers 

 with the Chirurgeons — who had sprung up in the meantime — 

 in 1576 by charter of Elizabeth. In 1687 the guild was further 

 enlarged by the entry of the Apothecaries and Periwig makers. 



This latter guild was constituted the Corporation of the 

 Apothecaries Hall by Act pf Parliament in 1792, and still 

 exists as sueh. 



The members of the guilds appear to have kept strictly to 

 their own particular branch from the beginning of the 18th 

 century. The operation of bleeding and the extraction of the 

 teeth were practised by the barbers. Dentistry as a profession 

 had not yet arrived. All other surgical operations were per- 

 formed by the Chirurgeons, 



The origin of the barber craft was seen when treating of the 

 clerical or monastic physicians. These latter, owing to various 

 decrees forbidding the priests to practice, were compelled to 

 hand over this part of their work to their barbers, who were 

 their servants. These barbers performed, previous to the 

 papal decrees, all indelicate operations, especially for women 

 folk, and applied remedies for external diseases as well as their 

 tonsorial work. 



The collection of natural discharges for examination by 

 their masters within the cloister was also part of the work 

 performed by the barber. 



When the College of Physicians was founded in 1692, the 

 members of the College came into conflict with Barbers, 

 Chirurgeons and Apothecaries. An attempt was made by 

 the college to prevent them from administering internal 

 medicine, but without avail. 



