Plague doctor

[4] Some plague doctors were said to charge patients and their families additional fees for special treatments or false cures.

[6] Plague doctors rarely cured patients, instead serving to record death tolls and the number of infected people for demographic purposes.

[10] According to Michel Tibayrenc's Encyclopedia of Infectious Diseases,[11] the first mention of the iconic plague doctor is found during the 1619 plague outbreak in Paris, in a biography of royal physician Charles de Lorme, serving King Louis XIII of France at the time.

In this satirical work, Fürst describes how the doctor does nothing but terrify people and take money from the dead and dying.

[14] Plague doctors practiced bloodletting and other remedies such as putting frogs or leeches on the buboes to "rebalance the humors.

[19][20] Some plague doctors wore a special costume consisting of an ankle-length overcoat and a bird-like beak mask.

As an attempt to purify the air they breathed (it was believed that good smells would 'cancel out' the diseases, and people would often walk around with a flower under their nose), the wearer would fill the mask with herbs and spices (commonly lavender).

The plague doctors would also wear gloves, boots, a wide-brimmed hat, a linen hood, and an outer over-clothing garment.

[27][29] The beak could hold dried flowers (like roses and carnations), herbs (like lavender and peppermint), camphor, or a vinegar sponge,[30][31] as well as juniper berry, ambergris, cloves, labdanum, myrrh, and storax.

[4] The herbs right up against the nose inside the beak allowed for the doctor to have both of their hands free in order to examine the patient or corpse.

[34] The wide-brimmed leather hat indicated their profession,[22][23][24][25][35] they used wooden canes in order to point out areas needing attention and to examine patients without touching them.

[27] The robe was also sometimes made from goat skin, which was said to be stronger against the plague than linen because of its small pores and polished texture.

It was not unheard of for the robe to be sealed with oil or wax for an extra layer of protection so the "bad air" could not seep through the holes of the linen material.

They were told to get the best possible deal for their city, but to be careful not to lose the opportunity of hiring this plague doctor, as it would be difficult to find someone else to perform these dangerous duties at such a low rate.