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The Barber Surgeon Presents has been broken down into smaller modules, each of which covers a different aspect of medieval life and medicine. This way each lesson can be specifically tailored to suit the needs of your school and class.

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Meet the Barber

Age Group: Suitable for all ages

Display Time: Variable to suit event

Display Area: Any large indoor or covered area

 

Meet the Barber is designed to suit the need of open days or events where a single extended performance is unsuitable and the public can come and go at their leisure. During such events the Barber Surgeon sets up a display area with his tools of the trade and can perform to suit a passing trade throughout the day.

 

From amputations to the diagnosis and treatment of various maladies and ailments, the Barber Surgeon will enthral passersby with small demonstrations and even invite them to interact directly, taking part in the displays or just asking questions.

 

During a Meet the Barber performance, the Barber Surgeon can adopt a variety of roles to suit the theme of the event.

 

Such roles include but are not limited to;

  • The travelling Medieval Barber, teaching the tricks and techniques of the medical practitioners of the time.

  • The Battlefield surgeon, on hand during times of war to treat the many injuries suffered by knights and footmen alike.  

  • The Pirate Surgeon, treating the sick and injured and tending to the well being of their ship’s scurvy crew.

  • The Plague Doctor, mixing wild and fanciful cures and caring for the sick and dying during some of Europe's darkest times.

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Medieval Medicine

Age Group: KS2 & KS3 with an adapted option for KS1

Display Time: 1½ to 2 hours

Students per Display: 1 Class (typically up to 30)

Display Area: Any large indoor or covered area

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The Medieval Medicine performance is an excellent resource for any students wanting to learn more about medieval life or studying the Medicine Through Time topic.

 

Using a number of interactive activities, demonstrations and historically accurate props, the performance covers the core beliefs of medieval medicine, its practice and how it impacted on the lives of the people of the time.

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Of course Barber Surgeons were not only found practising their trade in towns and cities but could be encountered as battlefield surgeons or even on board naval and pirate ships.

Because of the variety within their craft, the Medieval Medicine presentation can be used as a foundation for understanding how medicine affected a wide range of people living in the medieval period. From common men and women to sailors, soldiers and even outlaws

 

The performance looks at;

  • The lives of the people under the Barber Surgeons care.

  • The common ailments and injuries that may occur.

  • The medical views of the time including the believed causes of illness and the methods of diagnosis.

  • The Barber Surgeons position and role within society.

  • The roles of other medical practitioners including physicians, apothecaries and wise women.

  • A brief look at both common and uncommon treatments that the Barber Surgeon and other medical practitioners would employ.

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This module can be adapted to fit with many themes and where required the specifics can be adjusted to suit.

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The Barber’s Craft

Age Group: KS2 & KS3 with an adapted option for KS1

Display Time: 1 to 1½ hours

Students per Display: 1 Class (typically up to 30)

Display Area: Any large indoor or covered area

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Like other Barber Surgeon performances, The Barber’s Craft can be adapted to suit traditional town barbers, military surgeons or even pirate surgeons.

Within this module the children will learn about the core trade of the Barber Surgeon as well as the ailments and conditions that would be most prevalent within his practice. They will then get to see the tools and methods that the Barber Surgeon would employ to tackle these regular customers.

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The Barber’s Craft is a perfect choice when a more indepth look at surgery and the actual trade of the Barber Surgeon is required.

In addition to this, The Barber’s Craft can be an excellent second follow on from Medieval Medicine, building on the principles and practices taught during that performance.

 

The performance looks at;

  • The Barber Surgeon and the many services they provided.

  • How the medical theories of the time where employed by a Barber Surgeon to diagnose and treat their patients.

  • The art of Bloodletting and other methods for balancing the body's humors.

  • Dentistry and the oral hygiene practices of the time.

  • Major and Minor surgeries including amputations and setting bones.

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The Plague

Age Group: KS2 & KS3 with an adapted option for KS1

Display Time: 1 to 1½ hours

Students per Display: 1 Class (typically up to 30)

Display Area: Any large indoor or covered area

 

There were two significant outbreaks of the Plague in England, the Black Death in the early medieval period and the Great Plague of London in 1665. This performance can be adapted to suit either.       

 

As with each of the other performances, The Plague is presented by the Barber Surgeon himself. But in this case he has taken the role of the often misunderstood Plague Doctor and he will lead the children through the terrifying times brought by the Plague.

 

Once again, a range of activities and interactive demonstrations will give the children a true glimpse into the lives of the people of the time as well as the role of medical practitioners and what attempts they made to stem the black tide of death which was sweeping through their lands.

 

The performance looks at;

  • The lives of the people living in England during a plague outbreak. (either during the Black Death or the Great Plague of London)

  • The conditions and sanitation that contributed to the spread.

  • The signs and symptoms of the plague as well as the believed cause.

  • The true cause of the plague and the facts that the people of the time did not know.

  • The reactions of the people and the precautions which they took.

  • The reactions of the medical practitioners of the time. Including the remedies and treatments that were attempted.

  • The life and role of the Plague Doctor.

  • The end of the plague (and how it affects us today).

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A Pirate’s Life

Age Group: KS1 and KS2

Display Time: 1½ to 2 hours

Students per Display: 1 Class (typically up to 30)

Display Area: Any large indoor or covered area

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A Pirate’s Life takes a light hearted and fun look at what it was really like to live the life of a pirate. It is a performance full of games and activities well suited for younger children but still retains a healthy dose of knowledge of what it was really like to be a pirate on the high seas.

 

During the performance the Barber Surgeon takes on the role of the Pirate Surgeon and recruits the children as his scurvy pirate crew. While playing a number of games, engaging in ship to ship battles and of course, searching for buried treasure, the children will also get to examine the common ailments and injuries of a working pirate ship as well as how they stayed clean and healthy.

 

The performance looks at;

  • The myths and facts behind the life of a pirate including their rules and tactics.

  • How pirates took care of themselves. Their wash habits, diet and the role of the Barber aboard the ship.

  • Some of the issues a Pirate Surgeon might have to deal with, including day to day ailments, battle injuries and grim punishments.  

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