Plague Doctor Costume

The clothing worn by plague doctors was intended to protect them from airborne diseases during outbreaks of bubonic plague in Europe.
* Pommerville (Body Systems), p. 15
* Bauer, p. 145
* Byfield, p. 26
* Glaser, pp. 33-34 It is often seen as a symbol of death and disease. Contrary to popular belief, no evidence suggests that the beak mask costume was worn during the Black Death or the Middle Ages. The costume started to appear in the 17th century when physicians studied and treated plague patients.

Description

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.Ellis, p. 202 The mask had two small nose holes and was a type of respirator that 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 the smell of decaying bodies. 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. Irvine Loudon, ''Western Medicine: An Illustrated History'' (Oxford, 2001), p. 189. Though these particular 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 their 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.

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 their use but he offers no physical description of what these masks looked like. The beaked plague doctor inspired costumes in Italian theater as a symbol of general horror 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 Lorme, who wrote in a 1619 plague outbreak in Paris that he developed an outfit made of Moroccan goat leather, including boots, breeches, a long coat, hat, and gloves modeled after a soldier's canvas gown that went from the neck to the ankle. The garment was impregnated with similar fragrant items as the mask. De Lorme 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." Recent research has revealed that strong caveats must be applied with regard to De Lorme's assertions, however.

The Genevan physician, Jean-Jacques Manget, in his 1721 work ''Treatise on the Plague'' written just after the Great Plague of Marseille, describes the costume supposedly worn by plague doctors in Rome in 1656. The costume forms the frontispiece of Manget's 1721 work. Their 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. In his work , published at Toulouse in May 1629, Irish physician Niall Ó Glacáin references the protective clothing worn by plague doctors, which included leather coats, gauntlets and long beak-like masks filled with fumigants.

Carnival

The costume is also associated with a character called ('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.Carnevale
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COVID-19

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 and photos of people wearing plague doctor costumes appearing in social media.

See also

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References

Footnotes

Works cited

* Bauer, S. Wise, ''The Story of the World Activity Book Two: The Middle Ages : From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance'', Peace Hill Press, 2003,
*
* Byfield, Ted, ''Renaissance: God in Man, A.D. 1300 to 1500: But Amid Its Splendors, Night Falls on Medieval Christianity'', Christian History Project, 2010,
*
*
* Carmichael, Ann G., "SARS and Plagues Past", in ''SARS in Context: Memory, history, policy'', ed. by Jacalyn Duffin and Arthur Sweetman McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006,
* Center for Advanced Study in Theatre Arts, ''Western European stages'', Volume 14, CASTA, 2002,
* Dolan, Josephine, ''Goodnow's History of Nursing'', W. B. Saunders 1963 (Philadelphia and London), ,
* Ellis, Oliver Coligny de Champfleur
''A History of Fire and Flame''
London: Simkin, Marshall, 1932; repr. Kessinger, 2004,
* Goodnow, Minnie, ''Goodnow's history of nursing'', W.B. Saunders Co., 1968, OCLC Number: 7085173
* Glaser, Gabrielle, ''The Nose: A Profile of Sex, Beauty, and Survival'', Simon & Schuster, 2003,
* Grolier Incorporated, ''The Encyclopedia Americana'', Volume 8; Volume 24, Grolier Incorporated, 1998,
* Hall, Manly Palmer, ''Horizon'', Philosophical Research Society, Inc., 1949
* Hirst, Leonard Fabian, ''The conquest of plague: a study of the evolution of epidemiology'', Clarendon Press, 1953,
* Infectious Diseases Society of America, ''Reviews of Infectious Diseases'', Volume 11, University of Chicago Press, 1989
* Kenda, Barbara, ''Aeolian winds and the spirit in Renaissance architecture: Academia Eolia revisited'', Taylor & Francis, 2006,
* Killinger, Charles L., ''Culture and customs of Italy'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005,
* Nohl, Johannes, ''The Black Death: A Chronicle of the Plague'', J. & J. Harper Edition 1969, ,
* Manget, Jean-Jacques, ''Traité de la peste recueilli des meilleurs auteurs anciens et modernes'', Geneva, 1721
online as PDF, 28Mb download
* Martin, Sean, ''The Black Death'', Book Sales, 2009,
* Mentzel, Peter, ''A traveller's history of Venice'', Interlink Books, 2006,
* O'Donnell, Terence, ''History of life insurance in its formative years'', American Conservation Company, 1936
* Paton, Alex, "Cover image"
''QJM: An International Journal of Medicine''
100.4, 4 April 2007. (A commentary on the issue's cover photograph of The Posy Tree, Mapperton, Dorset.)
* Pommerville, Jeffrey, ''Alcamo's Fundamentals of Microbiology: Body Systems'', Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2009,
* Pommerville, Jeffrey, ''Alcamo's Fundamentals of Microbiology'', Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2010,
* Reynolds, Richard C., ''On doctor g: stories, poems, essays'', Simon & Schuster, 2001,
* Sandler, Merton, ''Wine: a scientific exploration'', CRC Press, 2003,
* Sherman, Irwin W., ''The power of plagues'', Wiley-Blackwell, 2006,
* Stuart, David C., ''Dangerous garden: the quest for plants to change our lives'', frances lincoln ltd, 2004,
* Timbs, John
''The Mirror of literature, amusement, and instruction''
Volume 37, J. Limbird, 1841
* Time-Life Books, ''What life was like in the age of chivalry: medieval Europe, AD 800-1500'', 1997
* Turner, Jack, ''Spice: The History of a Temptation'', Random House, 2005,
* Walker, Kenneth, ''The story of medicine'', Oxford University Press, 1955

External links

Debunking Popular Misconceptions about Plague Doctor Costumes and How They Were Used

Doctor Schnabel's Plague Museum

zh-yue:瘟疫醫生
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Medieval European costume
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Gas masks
1630s introductions
Safety clothing
Carnival costumes
Masks in Europe