6 of the craziest jobs in history

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

They are much more interesting than the ones you are used to. Although often fraught with difficulties.

1. Hunters for the dead

Naturally, these guys didn't track zombies, we don't live in a horror movie. They secretly dug up fresh (sometimes not very) corpses from the graves, removed everything that was more or less valuable from them, and then sold them to anatomical offices.

The fact is that in Great Britain since the time of Henry VIII, surgeons were allowed to open no more than six dead per year, and even those of the convicted criminals. Previously, by the way, the executed had to hang, chained in chains, on the gallows for the edification of the rest. Such is the gloomy symbolism. Therefore, the anatomists did not get the bodies in the best condition, and they, in their pursuit of science, tried in every possible way to bypass the restriction. In the end, it’s interesting that the man’s inside is stuffed.

Surgeons hired risky guys who supplied them with material for a modest fee. This profession was especially widespread in the 18th-19th centuries, when medicine began to develop faster than before.

The British ironically called the cemetery body snatchers resurrectionists.

From the point of view of the law, the resurrectors did not do anything outright criminal, since the corpses did not belong to anyone - in the worst case, one could run into a fine. But the relatives of the deceased were, as a rule, unhappy that someone was picking at the graves. Relatives used a variety of means to keep the dead from being kidnapped.

Some were on duty at the cemeteries and, finding the exhumators for unsightly activities, beat them. Some even organized dog patrols.

Others placed the bodies before burial in coffins reinforced with iron bars, which are difficult to open. Or they used gizmos called mortsafe. They were placed on the grave for six weeks, so that the corpse had time to decompose and become useless for diggers. Especially such cells have taken root W. Roughead, ed., Burke And Hare. Notable British Trials Series, William Hodge and Company in Scotland.

Mathematician and topologist William Hodge once compared Edinburgh cemeteries to zoos - it seems like it.

The era of the hunters of the dead has passed after the series of murders of Douglas, Hugh. Burke and Hare: the true story, organized by Burke and Hare, a couple of body snatchers, in Edinburgh in 1828. When there was a lack of the dead who died a natural death, the kidnappers decided to help suitable candidates to leave for another world as soon as possible. Thus Burke and Hare collected material for at least 16 "exhibits."

The murders were later solved. Burke, as the organizer, was hanged, and his skeleton was exhibited in the Anatomical Museum of Edinburgh Medical School, where he still remains. Karma, I guess. And surgeons in the UK are finally allowed to obtain bodies for autopsy in a more legal manner.

2. Chamberlain chair

Among the European high aristocracy, it was customary for noble gentlemen to serve them, too, and not some rabble. For example, to dress a king, you had to be at least a baron. Or, at worst, a fleet admiral. This position was called wardrobe master A. Mikhelson. Explanation of 25,000 foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language, with the meaning of their roots.

However, helping the majesty to button up his pants or climb on a horse is still all right. The courtiers had to carry out more unpleasant activities. For example, to wipe the royal ass after recovering from natural needs. The nobleman who received this honor was called Chamberlain Starkey, D. The Virtuous Prince; chair (English Groom of the King's Close Stool). This position has been mentioned in historical sources since the beginning of the Tudor period (1485).

The king could not afford to be touched by a commoner servant during the toilet. Otherwise, the monarch could accidentally bow before the smerd, and this would have dropped the honor of the crown. Here we need the help of a man of noble blood, no options.

The work was responsible. Among other things, the "master of the toilet" gave the majesty a bowl of water to wash his hands, and a towel and was responsible for the work of the royal intestines.

This was expressed in the fact that the chamberlain of the chair followed the king's diet. So that this very chair was all right.

The chamberlain of the chair also served as the king's personal secretary, because, as you know, very often reasonable thoughts that should be written down visit us at the most inopportune moment.

The post of the chamberlain of the chair existed until 1901. Then King Edward VII, rightly judging that he was already an adult and could use toilet paper without assistance, abolished the position.

3. Barber

Chances are, when you say barber surgeon, you're thinking of a tattooed hipster with a goatee juggling scissors and creams to rub his bald head. But the real medieval barbers were much tougher guys.

Medicine in those days was so-so, and a special piquancy of the situation was made by the fact that doctors, in fact, were not in the best position to deal with medicine. They were educated at universities on the writings of Hippocrates, Galen and Aristotle, and many of them, in addition, acquired the clergy. Therefore, a certified doctor was not supposed to cut people and in general in any way stain his hands with blood.

You cut your finger like this, but such a dottore won't be able to bandage you. But he will give a lecture on the connection between sin and illness and healing. Pray - and the finger will heal, the plague will pass, in general, you cough up your throat.

So the doctors were treating "internal" diseases. These included diseases of the stomach, heart, kidneys, liver, lungs and, of course, the soul. And the "external" ones, that is, fractures, wounds, burns and other troubles, were given to the barbers.

A typical medieval barber might have been Sherrow Victoria. Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History not only cut and shave you, but also massage, correct the dislocation, bandage the wound, align the edges of the bone in the event of a fracture and apply a splint, wash you in a bath, put an enema or cans, remove a bullet stuck in the body, or other foreign object and pull out a tooth. They could cut off a rotting limb, stick leeches, and burn something. Every whim for your money.

The barbers were especially responsible for the bloodletting. In medieval Europe, stagnation of blood in the body explained everything: from colds and love melancholy to hereditary diseases and fever. Therefore, bloodletting, or phlebotomy, was performed with or without reason, just for prophylaxis. It's like eating a vitamin now.

And yes, since then there was a very vague idea of hygiene, barbers washed their tools less often than they should.

The traditional “barber's post” symbolized the operation that the barber is currently performing. A pillar with red stripes meant that the hairdresser was bleeding the client, with white ones - tearing teeth or setting bones. And the blue stripes showed that urgent operations were completed and that you could shave calmly.

To this day, a white-blue-red whirling stick stands at the entrance to the barber shops as a tribute to tradition. Although modern barbers, alas, have lost their skills: they cannot pull out a tooth or a leg.

4. Funeral clown

A funeral is an extremely depressing event. Everyone is crying, walking around gloomy and upset - this is no good.

The ancient Romans believed that it was not good to grieve too much at a funeral, because it would not take long to offend a deceased. It’s unpleasant when at a meeting in your honor everyone is sitting in the water. And to anger the dead is quite fraught, you know, will rise up and bite at night and send bad luck in love affairs.

Therefore, until the IV century, a specially trained person was invited to the Roman funeral, who worked there as a clown. He put on a mask that mimics the features of the deceased, imitated his voice, grimaces and encouraged grieving relatives. Do not be sad, they say, everything is fine - here I am.

As you probably already guessed, the Romans had a very specific attitude towards death.

Often the clown was not alone: the whole troupe represented the merry dead. Some even received the honor of portraying deceased emperors, so that everything was of the highest order. It was not forbidden to dance and have fun on the graves.

Funeral clowns were highly respected people, and their work was considered correct and responsible. By the way, it still exists in the Czech Republic.

5. Forensic entomologist

While in medieval Europe the perpetrators of a crime were often determined by judicial fights or "tests of faith" (he managed to hold a red-hot horseshoe in his hands - was acquitted), in China they really tried to investigate crimes. One of the earliest known forensic scientists in history is a Chinese man named Sun Tzu.

In 1247, Song Tzu wrote a work on forensic medicine, Xi yuan zi lu, Judge Song's Collection of Reports on the Removal of Unjust Accusations, in which he described how crimes should be investigated.

For example, he explained how you can detect subtle stab wounds on the bones of the dead by covering them with a translucent yellow umbrella, understood why cadaveric spots form and how to distinguish between lifetime and post-mortem wounds, and made out the signs of poisoning with arsenic and other poisons. In general, I created a real handbook for the pathologist.

For comparison, in Europe they will begin to think about this only in 1602, when the Italian Fortunato Fedele publishes his first treatise on judicial inquiry.

But Song Tzu's real hobbyhorse was determining the time of death by the state of the larvae of cadaveric flies on the body. Historians consider this Chinese man to be the progenitor of forensic entomology. In his memoirs, Song Tzu described how flies once helped him investigate the death of a slaughtered peasant.

Interrogator Song understood from the shape of the wounds that the victim had been killed with a rice sickle and ordered all the villagers to spread their sickles on the ground. The traces of blood washed over the murder weapon, invisible to the naked eye, attracted the meat flies, and the owner had to confess to the deed.

This is the first documented use of forensic entomology in history. Finding criminals using flies, not everyone will guess.

Europeans lagged somewhat behind in the field of forensic entomology. They just didn't think flies were important. It was assumed that insects appear by themselves from feces, dirt, carrion and other unpleasant substances.

Only in 1668, an Italian named Francesco Redi figured it out by putting a piece of rotten meat into a jar and wrapping the neck with a rag. Flies in the bank did not form, and so Redi refuted the theory of spontaneous generation, which was dominant at that time.

And it was only by 1855 that the life cycle of flies and the state of the bodies of killed people in Europe could be linked. This is the merit of the French doctor Louis Francois Etienne Bergeret, who was born six centuries after Sun Tzu. Both in Europe and in Asia, forensic entomology still exists, and textbooks continue to be written on it.

6. Whipping Boy

In general, hitting a child for his misdeeds is not very good from the point of view of modern psychologists and pediatricians. But five centuries ago, no one asked the opinion of these clever people, and children were whipped for nothing. With a few exceptions: it was impossible to touch the offspring of monarchs.

The lord is almost the same as the king. The king is almost the same as the god.

Victor Hugo "The Man Who Laughs"

It was believed that monarchs were accountable only to divine authority. It was called divine right of kings, divine right. So, only the king or the Lord God himself could pull the young prince by the ears, if, say, he broke a vase or tugged at the lady's dress by the dress. And they probably had more important things to do than make suggestions to some petty bully.

Therefore, the courtiers who dealt with the royal children had to resort to more inventive methods of education.

From an early age, a special baby was assigned to the princes, most often of noble blood (but they could also use a homeless child for these purposes, so that it would not be a pity). He was promoted to whipping boy (Prügelknabe). If His Highness misbehaved, it was Prügelknabe who snatched him out.

The whipping boy and the prince grew up together, were companions in games and study activities. It often happened that the boy became the only friend of the king's heir. So, when his best friend was flogged for the prince's misdeeds, the former felt ashamed and repented (or not, if he was a selfish petty scoundrel).

The nobles really vied for the right to make their child a professional whipping boy, as this position could provide tremendous influence at court in the future. Often Prügelknabe, having matured, became a trusted advisor and, in general, an important boss under his prince. And there, what good, and the chamberlain of the chair could close up.

But in fairness it should be said that not all royal offspring were supplied with a specially authorized person who was ready to receive a thrashing for their pranks. The same Louis XIII was often beaten in childhood for speech defects. However, the monarch grew up and even received the nickname Just.