The Plague Doctor is perhaps one of the most mysterious figures that arose in the Middle Ages. These were European doctors who specialized in treating plague victims. Plague doctors were government employees hired by villages, towns or cities when the plague struck.
In theory, the main duties of the plague doctor were to treat victims of the plague, as well as to bury the dead. Plague doctors were also responsible for counting casualties in public registers and documenting their patients' last wishes. In addition, plague doctors were often summoned to testify and testify the will of the dead and dying. It seems that most of the plague doctors were preoccupied with this aspect of their work. Sometimes plague doctors were even asked to perform autopsies to better understand how the plague could be treated.
A physician in a suit for the prevention of plague of the seventeenth century.
Since plague doctors came into contact with victims of such a deadly disease, they themselves risked getting sick, and therefore they had to take precautions that would minimize this risk. Until the 17th century, plague doctors wore a variety of protective suits. Only in 1619 was the "uniform" invented, which became popular among doctors who treated the plague. The man credited with the invention of this "plague costume" is Charles de l'Orme, chief physician of three French kings (Henry IV, Louis XIII and Louis XIV), and he was also in the service of an Italian family Medici.
Special clothes for a doctor for the prevention of plague (Germany, XVII century).
The famous Plague Doctor mask had a bird-like shape and a long beak. According to one source, humans once believed that the plague was spread by birds. Thus, the use of such a mask may have stemmed from the belief that disease could be removed from a patient by transferring it to clothing. The mask also had a utilitarian function, as the beak was filled with strong, pleasant-smelling substances such as amber, mint, or rose petals. Today we know more about infections and obviously these efforts could not be effective.
The suit minimized the impact on the skin of the long coat. The neckline of this coat was tucked into the Plague Doctor's mask and extended to his toes. The entire garment was covered in fat, which, according to one hypothesis, was based on the belief that it either repels the plague from the doctor or draws it away from the victim. An alternative hypothesis is that fat served to keep bodily fluids from sticking.
The Plague Doctor wore a wooden cane. This tool performed a variety of functions. For example, a plague doctor might use a cane to examine his patient without touching him. This tool can also be used to instruct your assistants or victim's family members how and where to move the patient or deceased person. In addition, the cane could be used to defend against the attacks of desperate patients.
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Jan van Grevenbroeck (1731-1807), Venetian physician during the plague. Museo Correr, Venice.
The costume was often used by plague doctors during the plague of 1656, which killed 145,000 people in Rome and 300,000 in Naples. It is unclear how effective the "plague suit" actually was. Many plague doctors themselves became victims and it is likely that the invention of the suit did little to protect its wearers from the terrible infection.