Butcher

The word "butcher" comes from the Old French bouchier, meaning "slaughterer of goats," which in turn derives from bouc, meaning "he-goat." The trade is one of the oldest known professions, with archaeological evidence of specialized butchery tools dating back over 2.5 million years. Early humans likely used stone tools to separate flesh from bone long before the invention of agriculture.

A butcher at work in Aleppo, Syria by Vikiçizer 

Ancient Egyptian butchers were one of the first to wear high heels to avoid stepping directly in the unusable scraps that would be tossed to the floor.

Roman butchers were responsible for buying the beasts required to feed both their own troops and the occupied countries. They accompanied the Roman soldiers and sometimes the troops ate their meat in pies. The pastry made from flour, oil and water was wrapped round the meat keeping it warm on long marches.

The patron saint of butchers is Saint Adrian of Nicomedia, a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity and was martyred in 306 AD. His association with the trade is somewhat unclear—though his death involved an anvil, not a cleaver.

The Roman emperor Constantine passed laws making the occupations of butcher and baker hereditary.

In Medieval Europe, butchers were often members of powerful guilds that regulated meat quality, prices, and ethical slaughter practices. They also had a somewhat fearsome reputation—because of their proximity to blood and death, they were sometimes accused of witchcraft during superstitious times.

One of the more peculiar laws in 13th-century London required butchers to sell meat only from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. in summer and from sunrise to noon in winter. This was to reduce the risk of spoiled meat being sold to unsuspecting customers—no refrigeration, after all.

Fourteenth century butchers found guilty of selling bad meat were put in the pillory and had the meat burned beneath them.

The 30 year old Margaret Clitherow (1556-86), the wife of a York butcher was imprisoned and then crushed to death with a weighted board for hiding Catholic priests and attempting to smuggle them out of the city.

The first known boxing match in Britain was in 1681, when the Duke of Albemarle organised a match between his butler and his butcher at his home in New Hall, Essex.

Highwayman Dick Turpin trained as a butcher before turning to armed robbery.

The Bramley apple is a cooking apple believed to be named after Matthew Bramley, a butcher in Southwell, who first grew it in his garden in the mid-19C.

In the United States, Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel The Jungle, which exposed the gruesome practices of Chicago's meatpacking industry, led directly to the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act. President Theodore Roosevelt was so appalled he ordered investigators to confirm Sinclair’s claims—most were found to be true.

When in 2017 a 70-year-old butcher in the south of England, Chris McCabe, became locked in his walk-in freezer, he used a 1.5kg roll of black pudding to escape from the -20 degree celsius temperatures by using it as a battering ram. 

The phrase "cold-blooded butcher" is often used to describe a remorseless killer, but ironically, many butchers are known for their skill, cleanliness, and respect for the animal—a well-trained butcher can break down a carcass with almost surgical precision, wasting nothing.

Today, artisan butchery is enjoying a revival in trendy neighborhoods, with “nose-to-tail” eating and charcuterie boards bringing a touch of Instagrammable glamour to what was once a decidedly unglamorous job.