The surgeon Lanfranc of Milan (c.1250-1306), variously called Guido Lanfranchi, Lanfranco, or Alanfrancus was a student of Guglielmo da Saliceto. Involved in the struggles of Guelphs and Ghibellines

Guelphs and Ghibellines

The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in central and northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the split between these two parties was a particularly important aspect of the internal policy of the Italian city-states...

, he was exiled from Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 by Matteo I Visconti in 1290. He moved first to Lyon

Lyon

Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

s, then on to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. There he became a popular professor of surgery at the Collège de St. Côme.

He has been credited with transferring the lead in surgical technique from Italy to France.

His Chirurgia Magna, completed 1296, has since been published in over seventy editions in multiple languages.