In France, his native country (born in 1300, Chauliac, Auvergne,
died July 25, 1368, Avignon ) he was a living legend already during his childhood.

He studied medicine at the centres of medicine of his epoch, for example the universities of Montpellier, Paris, and Bologna. In Montpellier even today they are proud of their famous teacher.

He practiced in Montpellier, Lyon and Avignon. Members of the French and German sovereign families searched his medical competence. John of Luxembourg (the Blind) came to Montpellier hoping for help for his eye-disease. Guy de Chauliac was the physician of three popes. The greater part of his life was spent at Avignon, where he was physician to Pope Clement VI and two of his successors.

He was the most eminent surgeon of the European Middle Ages, whose Chirurgia magna (1363) was a standard work on surgery until at least the 17th century. In this work he describes a narcotic inhalation used as a soporific for surgical patients, as well as numerous surgical procedures, including those for hernia and cataract, which had previously been treated mainly by charlatans.