FAQs
In 17th-century Europe, the physicians who tended to plague victims wore a costume that has since taken on sinister overtones: they covered themselves head to toe and wore a mask with a long bird-like beak. The reason behind the beaked plague masks was a misconception about the very nature of the dangerous disease.
What were the doctors called in the plague? ›
A plague doctor was a physician who treated victims of bubonic plague during epidemics mainly in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Were plague doctors evil? ›
Plague Doctors are often depicted in an iconic costume and seen as a symbol of death and disease… However, they were misunderstood; they were harbingers of new beginnings as they were the first line of defense against an unknown enemy (disease, bacteria, viruses).
Why did plague doctors not get sick? ›
To protect themselves when seeing patients, doctors wore protective coverings.
Did any plague doctor survive? ›
Some even believe that they didn't actually exist and are something that has been over exaggerated in popular media. To a certain extent, this might be true. But plague doctors did exist. They lived and died, put themselves at great personal risk to carry out their duties, much like any doctor would today.
Did plague doctors get paid? ›
A plague doctor's salary could range from a few florins a month to full room, board, and expenses – but it meant the doctor had to treat even the poorest patients, who wouldn't have been able to pay on their own, and couldn't refuse to go into a plague-stricken home or neighborhood.
Why did the plague doctor carry a stick? ›
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.
Were death masks real? ›
The Roman élites used during the funerals "death masks" which were in fact casts made during life. These masks were displayed, after one's death in his family's atrium as a sign of social and political prominence.
How was it made a plague doctor mask? ›
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.
What museum is the plague doctor mask in real life? ›
The figure of the plague doctor with the beak mask has become the symbol of the plague par excellence. It's little wonder that the plague mask in the collection of the German Museum of the History of Medicine in Ingolstadt (Bavaria) is one of the museum's most popular objects and motifs.
Plague nurses, also referred to as 'keepers', were hired either by the parish or directly by an infected household to care for the sick and dying within. They were required to fetch water, bring food, and summon any further assistance a sufferer may need.
