The History of the Art of Barbering

The word "barber" comes from the Latin word "barba," meaning beard. It may surprise you to know that the earliest records of barbers show that they were the foremost men of their tribe (Damn, I was right all along!). They were the medicine men and the priests. Wherever there were legends and superstitions about the hair, the barbers flourished. To this day in India, the veneration of the hair continues and those who cut and dress the hair are important characters. In Egypt, many centuries before Christ, barbers were prosperous and highly respected.

In Greece, barbers came into prominence as early as the fifth century, BC. These wise men of Athens rivaled each other in the excellence of their beards. Beard trimming became an art and barbers became leading citizens. Statesmen, poets and philosophers, who came to have their hair cut or their beards trimmed or curled and scented with costly essences, frequented their shops. And, incidentally, they came to discuss the news of the day, because the barber shops of ancient Greece were the headquarters for social, political, and sporting news.

The earliest known organization of barbers was formed in 1096 in France when William, archbishop of Rouen, prohibited the wearing of a beard. The barber-surgeon, or chirurgeons, began to thrive all over Europe. They were the doctors of the times and the royalty as well as the common people came to the barbers to have their ills treated as well as for shaving and haircutting. The barbers embraced dentistry as well as surgery and this brought down on them the enmity of the dentists of the times.

Up to the year 1416, the barbers were not interfered with in the practice of surgery and dentistry. But it was soon evident that they were attempting too much. It was impossible to expect ordinary human beings to competently practice surgery, dentistry and the various tonsorial operations. People began to complain that the barber-surgeons were making them sick instead of well. Many barber-surgeons resorted to quackery in order to cover up their ignorance of medicine and anatomy. Some of the McHaircut places pretending to be Barbers, when they are actually beauticians trained in beauty collages still do to this day........."^)

ORIGIN OF BARBER POLE

The modern barber pole originated in the days when bloodletting was one of the principal duties of the barber. The two spiral ribbons painted around the pole represent the two long bandages, one twisted around the arm before bleeding and the other used to bind is afterward. Originally, when not in use, the pole with a bandage wound around it, so that both might be together when needed, was hung at the door as a sign. But later, for convenience, instead of hanging out the original pole, another one was painted in imitation of it and given a permanent place on the outside of the shop. This was the beginning of the modern barber pole. The blue stripe was added in recent times as a political gesture.

In these modern times the Barber Shop still is the place where men and some women come to relax, hang their worries on the hat rack for a bit, kick back and enjoy some humor and have some intelligent conversation with like minded souls. Also a place to get a great naturaly cut, long lasting haircut without a gallon of overpriced product capable of holding the hair in place in a full blown hurricane. I also think it's one of the last bastions of a completely free speech arena. A place where you can talk about anything and say anything you want without the bullshit of political correctness unfortunately so prevalent in these times.

So wherever you get your haircut, if it's at a regular Barber Shop by a real Barber trained at a Barber Collage, thank the guy or gal cutting your hair. They probably are a dying breed of professionals. They started out on the forefront of the art of cutting hair and are now slipping into the past with a lot of other wonderful things we all will come to miss. Like the rest of the world the McHaircut places located in McWallmart will probably eventually win the contest.

Until then frequent your local Barber Shop, keep them in business for as long as possible and give them a huge THANK YOU!, along with a giant tip........."^)





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