It is painted on vertical oak
boards, 5 ft. 11 in. high, and 10 ft. 2 in. long. It has been slightly
altered since it was delivered to the Barber-Surgeons. The figures
represent notable men belonging to the company and leaders of the
healing art of the period at which it was painted.
[Illustration: Henry VIII. receiving the Barber-Surgeons.]
In the reign of Henry VIII., not a few disputes occurred between the
barbers and the surgeons. The following enactment was in force: "No
person using any shaving or barbery in London shall occupy any surgery,
letting of blood, or other matter, except of drawing teeth." Laws were
made, but they could not, or at all events were not, enforced. The
barbers acted often as surgeons, and the surgeons increased their
income by the use of the razor and shears. At this period, however,
vigorous attempts were made to confine each to his legitimate work.
The Rev. J.L. Saywell has a note on bleeding in his "History and Annals
of Northallerton" (1885). "Towards the early part of the nineteenth
century," observes Mr Saywell, "a singular custom prevailed in the town
and neighbourhood of Northallerton (Yorkshire).
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