PAPER Topics

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Many critics' familiarity with the medieval medical community comes from Chaucer's characterization of the Doctor of Physic: "In al this world ne was there noon hym lik, / To speke of phisik and of surgerye."1 But what few critics fail to real ....

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... their profession was seen as learned. The surgeon, on the other hand, was considered to be an artisan, thus his profession was seen as a craft.4 This craft ideology allowed access for untrained artisans to enter the field of surgery. In this paper, I will statistically demonstrate that the medieval English surgeon was threatened by the growing number of untrained practitioners between the years 1350 and 1450. In response to this threat, medieval surgeons attempted to institutionalize their profession. Ironically, the manner in which they defined their practice did not restrict untrained practitioners, but actually increased access for med ...