Plague doctor costume

Paul Fürst, engraving, c. 1656, of a plague doctor of Marseilles (introduced as 'Dr Beak of Rome'). His nose-case is filled with herbal material to keep off the plague.[1]

The clothing worn by plague doctors was intended to protect them from airborne diseases during outbreaks of bubonic plague in Europe.[2] It is often seen as a symbol of death and disease.[3] 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.[4]

  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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)