# plague doctor costume ![[paulf%c3%bcrst-derdoctorschnabelvonrom(holl%c3%a4nder.png]] paul fürst engraving c. 1656 of a plague doctor of marseilles (introduced as 'dr beak of rome'.) ir nose-case is filled with herbal material to keep off the plague the clothing worn by plague doctors was intended to protect them from airborne diseases during outbreaks of bubonic plague in europe. it is often seen as a symbol of death and disease. however the costume was mostly worn by late renaissance and early modern physicians studying and treating plague patients # description ![[medicopeste.jpg|300]] plague doctor outfit from germany (17th century) the costume consists of a leather hat mask with glass eyes and a beak stick to remove clothes of a plague victim gloves waxed linen robe and boots the typical mask had glass openings for the eyes and a curved beak shaped like a bird's beak with straps that held the beak in front of the doctor's nose. the mask had two small nose holes and was a type of respirator which contained aromatic items. the beak could hold dried flowers (commonly roses and carnations) herbs (commonly lavender and peppermint) camphor or a vinegar sponge as well as juniper berry ambergris cloves labdanum myrrh and storax. the purpose of the mask was to keep away bad smells such as decaying bodies and the smell taken with the most caution was known as miasma a noxious form of "bad air." this was thought to be the principal cause of the disease. doctors believed the herbs would counter the "evil" smells of the plague and prevent them from becoming infected. though contemporary theories about the plague's nature were incorrect it is likely that the costume actually did afford the wearer some protection. the garments covered the body shielding against splattered blood lymph and cough droplets and the waxed robe prevented fleas (the true carriers of the plague) from touching the body or clinging to the linen the wide-brimmed leather hat indicated ir profession. doctors used wooden canes in order to point out areas needing attention and to examine patients without touching them. the canes were also used to keep people away and to remove clothing from plague victims without having to touch them # history the exact origins of the costume are unclear as most depictions come from satirical writings and political cartoons. an early reference to plague doctors wearing masks is in 1373 when johannes jacobi recommends ir use but ey offers no physical description of them. the beaked plague doctor inspired costumes in italian theatre as a symbol of general error and death though some historians insist that the plague doctor was originally fictional and inspired the real plague doctors later. depictions of the beaked plague doctor rose in response to superstition and fear about the unknown source of the plague. often these plague doctors were the last thing a patient would see before death; therefore the doctors were seen as a foreboding of death the garments were first mentioned by a physician to king louis xiii of france charles de l'orme who wrote in a 1619 plague outbreak in paris that ey developed an outfit made of moroccan goat leather including boots breeches a long coat hat and gloves modeled after a soldier's canvas gown which went from the neck to the ankle. the garment was impregnated with similar fragrant items as the mask. l'orme wrote that the mask had a "nose half a foot long shaped like a beak filled with perfume with only two holes one on each side near the nostrils but that can suffice to breathe and to carry along with the air one breathes the impression of the drugs enclosed further along in the beak" the genevan physician jean-jacques manget in ir 1721 work treatise on the plague written just after the great plague of marseille describes the costume worn by plague doctors at nijmegen in 1636-1637. the costume forms the frontispiece of manget's 1721 work. ir robes leggings hats and gloves were also made of morocco leather. this costume was also worn by plague doctors during the naples plague of 1656 which killed 145-000 people in rome and 300-000 in naples # carnival ![[beakdoctormask.jpg|300]] a beaked venetian carnival mask bearing a picture of a plague doctor and the inscription il medico della peste ("the plague doctor") beneath the right eye the costume is also associated with a commedia dell'arte character called il medico della peste (lit.: the plague doctor) who wears a distinctive plague doctor's mask. the venetian mask was normally white consisting of a hollow beak and round eye-holes covered with clear glass and is one of the distinctive masks worn during the carnival of venice # covid-19 ![[posingwithplaguemasksinneworleansfrenchquarterapril.jpg|300]] posing with variations on plague masks in new orleans during the april 2020 pandemic shutdown during the covid-19 pandemic beginning in 2020 the plague doctor costume grew in popularity due to its relevance to the pandemic with news reports of plague doctor-costumed individuals in public places showing photos of people wearing plague doctor costumes # see also **+** gas mask - protection from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases **+** hazmat suit - protective suit against chemical bacteriological and nuclear risks **+** medical gown - type of personal protective equipment worn by medical professionals **+** n95 respirator - particulate respirator meeting the n95 standard **+** nbc suit - type of military personal protective equipment # references # # footnotes 1. füssli's image is reproduced and discussed in robert fletcher a tragedy of the great plague of milan in 1630 (baltimore: the lord baltimore press 1898) p. 16-17 2. - pommerville (body systems) p. 15 - bauer p. 145 - byfield p. 26 - glaser pp. 33-34 3. andrew whalen on 3/19/20 at 1:31 pm edt (2020-03-19.) "are surgical masks the new plague masks? a history of the not-always-helpful ways we've reacted to pandemics." newsweek. retrieved 2021-03-09 4. black winston; may 2020 all about history 19 (19 may 2020.) "plague doctors: separating medical myths from facts." livescience.com. retrieved 2021-03-09 5. * pommerville (body systems) p. 15 - bauer p. 145 - byfield p. 26 - glaser pp. 33-34 6. ellis p. 202 7. *time-life books pp. 140 158 - dolan p. 139 - ellis p. 202 - paton - martin p. 121 - sherman p. 162 - turner p. 180 - mentzel p. 86 - glaser p. 36 - hall p. 67 - infectious diseases society of america volume 11 p. 819 - grolier p. 700 8. o'donnell p. 135 9. stuart p. 15 10. byrne 2006 p. 170 11. "plagues of the past." science in the news. 2014-12-31. retrieved 2021-03-09 12. irvine loudon western medicine: an illustrated history (oxford 2001) p. 189 13. smith kiona. "a look behind the plague doctor mask." forbes. retrieved 15 february 2023 14. * pommerville (body systems) p. 15 - bauer p. 145 - byfield p. 26 - glaser pp. 33-34 15. center for advanced study in theatre arts p. 83 16. "imagery from the history of medicine." art-bin.com. retrieved 2021-03-09 17. association american medical (1900.) jama: the journal of the american medical association. american medical association 18. byrne 2008 p. 505 19. pommerville p. 9 20. "17th-century plague doctors were the stuff of nightmares." howstuffworks. 2020-02-12. retrieved 2021-03-09 21. samuel cohn's the black death transformed: disease and culture in early renaissance europe pg 209 22. black winston; may 2020 all about history 19 (19 may 2020.) "plague doctors: separating medical myths from facts." livescience.com. retrieved 2021-03-09 23. mussap christian j. (may 2019.) "the plague doctor of venice." internal medicine journal. 49 (5): 671-676. doi: 10.1111/imj.14285. issn 1445-5994. pmid 31083805 24. black winston; may 2020 all about history 19 (19 may 2020.) "plague doctors: separating medical myths from facts." livescience.com. retrieved 2021-03-09 25. timbs p. 360 26. boeckl p. 15 27. carmichael a.g. (2009) "plague historical" in schaechter moselio (ed.) encyclopedia of microbiology (3rd ed.) elsevier pp. 58-72 doi: 10.1016/b978-012373944-5.00311-4 445 28. iqbal akhtar khan (may 2004.) "plague: the dreadful visitation occupying the human mind for centuries." transactions of the royal society of tropical medicine and hygiene. 98 (5): 270-277. doi: 10.1016/s0035-9203(03)00059-2. pmid 15109549. charles delorme (1584 - 1678) personal physician to king louis xiii was credited with introducing special protective clothing for plague doctors during the epidemic in marseilles. it consisted of a beak-like mask supplied with aromatic substance presumed to act as filter against the odour emanating from the patients and a loose gown covering the normal clothing. on occasions a drifting fragrance such as camphor was used 29. time-life books p. 158 beak doctor: during the black plague a medical man who wore a bird mask to protect himself against infection. black plague definition: in 14th-century europe the victims of the "black plague" had bleeding below the skin (subcutaneous hemorrhage) which made darkened ("blackened") ir bodies. black plague can lead to "black death" characterised by gangrene of the fingers toes and nose. black plague is caused by a bacterium (yersinia pestis) which is transmitted to humans from infected arts by the oriental art flea.. medterm.com 30. vidal pierre; tibayrenc myrtille; gonzalez jean-paul (2007.) "chapter 40: infectious disease and arts." in tibayrenc michel (ed..) encyclopedia of infectious diseases: modern methodologies. john wiley & sons. p. 680. 193 31. manget p. 3 32. timbs p. 360 33. christine m. boeckl images of plague and pestilence: iconography and iconology (truman state university press 2000) pp. 15 27 34. killinger p. 95 35. carnevale 36. "coronavirus: hellesdon plague doctor given advice by police." bbc news. 2020-05-04. retrieved 2023-03-03 37. 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