![]() ![]() In fact, plague is caused by Yersinia pestis, bacteria that can be transmitted from animals to humans and through flea bites, contact with contaminated fluid or tissue, and inhalation of infectious droplets from sneezing or coughing people with pneumonic plague. ![]() That is, it served to embody the evil (or rather, the memory of the evil) in order to overcome. As often happens, the costume took on what is called an apotropaic meaning. The plague doctor mask after centuries under a different meaning ended up becoming an iconic carnival costume. Although the well-known plague doctor’s costume wasn’t worn during the infamous Black Death, History Answers states that it was often used by plague doctors during the Plague of 1656, which killed 145,000 people in Rome and 300,000 in Naples. The plague doctor as a carnival costume, yesterday and today. De Lorme thought the beak shape of the mask would give the air sufficient time to be suffused by the protective herbs before it hit plague doctors’ nostrils and lungs. Using the Plague Doctor’s Mask and Garments. Plague doctors filled their masks with theriac, a compound of more than 55 herbs and other components like viper flesh powder, cinnamon, myrrh, and honey. This is quite sometime after the Middle Ages when the Black Death came and passed, but it does fit the timeline of another plague that swept through Naples and Rome. Sweet and pungent perfumes were thought to be able to fumigate plague-stricken areas and protect the smeller nosegays, incense, and other perfumes were common in the era. According to experts, the best guess regarding the origin of the plague doctors iconic outfit wasnt until 1656. ![]() The beak was often filled with things which smelled sweet or strong (often lavender). The costume was made up of a coat which went down to the ankles and a mask. In the times before the germ theory of disease, physicians believed that the plague spread through poisoned air that could create an imbalance in a person’s humors, or bodily fluids. The plague doctors costume was the clothes worn by a plague doctor to protect him from diseases spread through the air. Photograph by Giacomo Cosua, NurPhoto/Gettyīut the forbidding ensemble was not just a deathly fashion statement: It was intended to protect the doctor from miasma. Aside from the fact that they were made fun of by the Germans, not much is known about the plague doctors of the 17th century. ![]()
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