Wikimedia Commons The two nostril holes in the plague doctor mask certainly did little in terms of protection.ĭe l’Orme described the plague doctor costume like so: Prior to this time, plague doctors wore a variety of protective suits but it wasn’t until 1619 that a “uniform” was invented by Charles de l’Orme, the chief physician to Louis XIII. It was not immediately obvious to doctors and victims alike how exactly the plague spread.īy the time of the 17th-century though, physicians had subscribed to miasma theory, which was the idea that contagion spread through foul-smelling air. Hired and paid by local municipalities, plague doctors saw to everybody regardless of their economic status, though they did occasionally invent their own cures and tinctures which they included with a fee to wealthier patients. More often than not though, these bookkeepers of the plague were revered and sometimes even held for ransom. Unsurprisingly, this meant that some plague doctors took advantage of their patient’s finances and ran off with their final will and testament. Their duties were more administrative and laborious as they kept track of casualties of the Black Death, assisted in the occasional autopsy, or witnessed wills for the dead and dying. The primary responsibilities of a plague doctor, or Medico della Peste, were not to cure or treat patients. Wellcome Collection The plague doctor’s uniform was designed to protect him from contamination… too bad it didn’t.
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