The Hairdresser as Doctor? An Old Journeyman's Licence from Thusis

Lucas Culono was described as an honourable, modest young man. For three years, up until 1601, he was patiently introduced into the art of "barbering, body and wound care" by Lucius Papa. Couched in somewhat casual terms, this means: Lucas Culono completed a three-year apprenticeship to become not only a hairdresser but also a doctor – with Lucius Papa, who lived in Thusis.

And where did Lucas Culono come from? The journeyman’s papers dating from 1601 state that Lucas Culono hailed “from the Bridge in the Engadin”. This probably refers to La Punt (which means bridge in Romansh), a district of today's municipality of La Punt Chamues-ch.

We do not know where the young barber and doctor was headed. We can only hope that Lucius Papa’s recommendations helped him on his journey through life. In any case, the master praised his protégé in the highest tones. In the journeyman’s papers, now in the possession of the Kulturarchiv Thusis-Viamala, Lucas Culono's conduct during his apprenticeship is described as "honest, truthful, upright, good and irreproachable", so that nothing could be attributed to him but "all honour and good things".