Teoretyczny rozdział kompetencji pomiędzy dawnymi medykami i chirurgami a codzienna praktyka lecznicza opisana w egodokumentach staropolskich

It is predominantly accepted in the historiography of European medicine that, apart from the differences in education, there was a division of competences between physicians educated at universities and barber-surgeons trained in the guild system in terms of their theoretical background. Regardless of the former stereotypes – dating back to the 19th century – relating to the Church-imposed restrictions in teaching surgery at universities, it is believed that the actual differences in terms of competences must have influenced the scope of the undertaken therapeutic activities. A different education model and the predominance of either theoretical or practical knowledge among representatives of these groups resulted in different treatment methods and a different perception of the causes of the disease. Physicians with mainly theoretical knowledge are often put in opposition to practising barber-surgeons. While it seems that the reluctance to bloody operations (sometimes articulated by the surgeons themselves) was a reason for the limited involvement of physicians in the barber-surgeon practice, it is difficult to clearly indicate the factors that would prevent surgeons from dealing with “non-operational” treatment. The article attempts to answer the question to what extent the then-existing differences in education and legal restrictions influenced the actual division of therapeutic tasks and the functioning of various medical professions as viewed from the patient’s perspective.