September | 2021 | Lions and Lilies

Medicine, as we know it today, was once separated into two very different categories, or trades – Apothecaries and Barbers.

Medieval apothecaries, forefathers of the modern day ‘doctor’, can be dated as far back as 2600 BC in ancient Babylon, where clay tablets were located with medical texts recording symptoms, the prescriptions, and directions for producing potions and lotions for the sick. Barbers, on the other hand, were the surgeons of their day, performing intricate and often ghastly operations on their victims (and I do mean victims!)

Apothecaries and barbers happily co-existed, side-by-side, both occupying central village locations across Europe. But how were they identified from each other and does their iconology still exist today?

Next time you visit your local pharmacy (or chemist as they are often call in Australia) take a close look at the logo or sign above the door. You might be surprised to see a snake wrapped around a staff. Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, carried a rod with a single snake which became the symbol for ‘medicine; from the fifth century BC.

The messengers of the gods, Hermes (the Roman God, Mercury), acquired an extra snake on his staff, known as caduceus. Its no coincidence that the element mercury was a major chemical agent in the history of medicine and alchemy. Evaporated mercury, combined with snake venom was injected through the scalp as an antidote to snake bite and as a cure for epilepsy!

Another animal symbol commonly seen in pharmaceutical branding is the unicorn. It was first mentioned by the ancient Greeks as a symbol of purity and grace, whose spiraling horn had the power to heal, especially as an antidote to poisons. Along with the lion, the unicorn is the symbol of the British monarchy, and it was King James I who granted the Society of Apothecaries their charter in 1617, with the coat of arms that includes two unicorns.

The mortar and pestle were common medieval symbols used to identify the local apothecary, that have, over time morphed into what is known as the Bowl of Hygieia. Hygieia was the Greek goddess of health, hygiene, and the associate, wife, or daughter of Asclepius. Hygieia’s symbol is a cup or chalice with a snake entwined around its stem.

The medieval mortar and pestle, with the letters Rx is widely used in the UK. Rx is an abbreviation of the word prescription, from the Latin ‘recipe’. It means ‘recipe take thou’ or ‘take it in the name of God’. It also symbolizes the prayer to the God of medicine, Jupiter.

But what of the barber and his striped pole?

The barber surgeon, one of the most common European medical practitioners of the Middle Ages, was generally charged with caring for soldiers during and after battle. Possessing razors and numerous sharp tools, barbers were called upon for numerous tasks ranging from cutting hair to amputating limbs. When situated within a village setting, barbers were expected to be able to remove teeth, lance boils, pierce swellings, induce bloodletting and remove ingrown toenails (this often meant cutting off the offending toe!)

The trade sign of the barber is, by tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, a staff or pole with a helix of coloured stripes (often red and white in many countries, but usually red, white and blue in the United States).

The original pole had a brass wash basin at the top (representing the vessel in which leeches were kept) and bottom (representing the basin that received the blood). The pole itself represents the staff that the patient gripped during a procedure to encourage blood flow.

Interestingly, at the Papal Council of Tours in 1163, the clergy was banned from the practice of surgery as contact with blood was felt to be contaminating to men of the church. It is from this date that surgeons and barbers were clearly separated from physicians.

In Renaissance-er Amsterdam, the surgeons used the coloured stripes to indicate that they were prepared to bleed their patients (red), set bones or pull teeth (white), or give a shave if nothing more urgent was needed (blue).

After the formation of the United Barber Surgeon’s Company in England, a statute required the barber to use a red and white pole and the surgeon to use a singular red pole. In France, surgeons used a red pole with a basin attached to identify their offices. Blue often appears on poles in the United States, possibly as a homage to its national colours. Another, more fanciful interpretation of these barber pole colours is that red represents arterial blood, blue is symbolic of venous blood, and white depicts the bandage.

Barbers’ poles are slowly disappearing from the city and village landscape and are rarely seen outside what we understand a barbering shop to be today. So, next time you do see one, take note of its colourful appearance and meaning for they will soon be relegated to the great vaults of the past.

Catherine A Wilson co-writes with Catherine T Wilson (no relation). Their first book, The Lily and the Lion, was based upon their true-life accidental meeting and resulting friendship. All four books in their ‘Lions and Lilies’ series have won first place prizes in the Chatelaine/Chaucer Awards in the US and in 2019, The Traitor’s Noose won the Grand Prize Chaucer Award.