7/20/2023 0 Comments Did the plague doctor mask workMarion Maria Ruisinger: "The “Plague Doctor’s Mask” in the German Museum for the History of Medicine, Ingolstadt", NTM Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Wissenschaften, Technik und Medizin, volume 28, p235–252, 2020. We do not know, however, if they were produced as replicas for historic reasons or as fakes for the modern art market. And the specimens in Ingolstadt and Berlin? Both masks present details which suggest that they were not used as protective clothing at all. ![]() There is no proof at all of its use during plague outbreaks in Middle Europe. The conclusion: the beak mask is not mentioned before the mid-seventeenth century, and then only in Italy and Southern France. Its use for publications or exhibitions with a different temporal or regional reference must be rejected as historically unprovable. The figure of the plague doctor with the beak-like nose case has so far only been documented for the period after 1600 and even then only for the French and Italian regions. But its actual use was incredibly even more restricted in both time and space. This type of gear became iconic in representations all over Europe, later, not in the medieval times. However, the cause of the plague, which took almost three large-scale pandemics of the plague to discover, was not 'bad air,' but actually a kind of bacteria called Yersinia pestis, and can be caused by flea bites, which was commonly transmitted through rats as carriers.With "Italy and France" you already have your answer, with the needed addition "at a few times, and in a few regions". Plague doctors also carried a rod that allowed them to poke (or fend off) victims, much like a necessary means to ensure social distancing, today. Lorme described an outfit that included a coat covered in scented wax, breeches connected to boots, a tucked-in shirt, and a hat and gloves made of goat leather. The origin of the costume is largely credited to Charles de Lorme, a physician who catered to the medical needs of many European royals during the 17th century. ![]() ![]() This is the 17th-century equivalent to our modern-day 'filters' on masks. The beak shape of the mask was thought to give the air sufficient time to be purified by the protective herbs before it hit the doctors' nostrils or lungs. To prevent the poisoned air from entering, incense, smellers, and perfumes were common, and the beak served as a place to store mixture to filter the 'bad air.' The mixture usually was composed of viper flesh powder, cinnamon, myrrh, and honey as well as theriac, a compound of more than 55 herbs. The face-mask wasn't just a scary looking fashion statement, it was intended to protect the doctor from miasma, also commonly called 'bad air.' Physicians believed that the plague spread through 'poisoned air' and could create an imbalance once breathed in. Today, we have N95 masks, but back then, the beaked mask was as close as a physician could get to 'warding off the disease,' as it relied on the misconception that the bubonic plague spreads through air. The mask resembled a bird, complete with a beak on it. The garb compromises of long dark robes, covering the person from head-to-toe, as well as a round hat, and 'clawed' gloves. ![]() So how did doctors protect themselves from the Bubonic plague that happened in another century? Since PPEs are a modern concept, the most common image of the bubonic plague is the costume of the 'bubonic plague doctor,' which a basic Google search will tell you, looks scary, to say the least. The local health authority announced that the warning period will continue until the end of 2020. Bayannur, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, announced a level III warning of plague prevention and control, state-run People's Daily Online reported. The Bubonic plague is back in the news after a city in northern China on Sunday sounded an alert after a suspected case of the same was reported, according to official media.
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