Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber was a

comedic Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ...

sketch on the

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television show ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'' which first aired on April 22, 1978. The title character was a

barber surgeon The barber surgeon, one of the most common European medical practitioners of the Middle Ages, was generally charged with caring for soldiers during and after battle. In this era, surgery was seldom conducted by physicians, but instead by barbe ...

played by

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audienc ...

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

, a frequent host of the show. The central gag revolved around Theodoric's belief in

bloodletting Bloodletting (or blood-letting) is the withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily f ...

as a solution to his patients' maladies. The character was brought back in a sequel, "Theodoric of York, Medieval Judge" on November 4 of the same year, in which Theodoric applied the same unenlightened methods to jurisprudence. As an example of his method of procedure, in the initial sketch, Theodoric explained to the mother of a sick girl: At the climax of both sketches, Theodoric would propose profound, innovative ideas that had the potential to change the course of

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, but would ultimately dismiss them, as in: The second of the sketches, "Theodoric of York, Medieval Judge," lampooned both the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and modern judicial systems. In this skit, Martin's character would summarily pass judgment based on the outcomes of trials by ordeal, such as throwing a woman accused of

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

weighted into a river to see if she would drown: if the accused floated, she was determined to be guilty (because only by using her occult powers could she have risen to the surface), and if she sank and drowned, she was innocent. Upon deciding the accused was guilty, Theodoric would refer to the ''Writ of Common Wisdom'' (a huge, dusty tome) to decide appropriate punishment. In the case of a man found guilty of

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

(having previously been tried of stealing and lying), Theodoric finds the punishment in the Writ so embarrassing, he can't read it publicly, and instead whispers it in the defendant's ear. As with "Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber," the "Medieval Judge" skit ended with Martin's proposing modern legal concepts such as trial by a jury of one's peers, provision of

defense counsel In a civil proceeding or criminal prosecution under the common law or under statute, a defendant may raise a defense (or defence) in an effort to avert civil liability or criminal conviction. A defense is put forward by a party to defeat ...

, innocence until proven guilty, prohibition of

cruel and unusual punishment Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase in common law describing punishment that is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the person subjected to the sanction. The precise definition varies by jurisd ...

s, etc., but end by saying... "Naaaaaaaahhh!" On October 14, 1978, '' SCTV'' aired a skit called "Master Ralph Roister Doister" (named after (but not in any way based on) the actual 16th century

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

Nicholas Udall Nicholas Udall (or Uvedale Udal, Woodall, or other variations) (1504 – 23 December 1556) was an English playwright, cleric, schoolmaster, the author of ''Ralph Roister Doister'', generally regarded as the first comedy written in the English ...

) similarly satirizing the supposed ignorance and uncleanliness of medieval times. This focused on a poverty-stricken medieval couple (played by Dave Thomas and

Catherine O'Hara Catherine Anne O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her comedy work on ''Second City Television'' (1976–84) and ''Schitt's Creek'' (2015–2020) and in films such as '' After Hours'' (1985), '' Beetlej ...

with burlesque English accents) attempting to survive

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, high taxes, and the harassment of the local

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

(

Joe Flaherty Joseph Flaherty (born June 21, 1941) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy '' SCTV'' from 1976 to 1984 (on which he also served as a writer), and as Harold Weir on '' Freaks and ...

See also