(minima,maxima)

A plague doctor took on the sole responsibility of dealing with those infected by the plague. In times when the plague ran rampant, towns would hire plague doctors to control the situation.

Their famous garb wasn’t just for style. It was thought that the heavy, waxed fabric they wore could protect them from the plague. The long nose on their mask was typically stuffed with herbs, straw, spices, or all three, as a preventative measure. Plague doctors also carried around a cane, which isn’t depicted too often today, so they wouldn’t have to come into direct contact with those who they were treating.

Though plague doctors seemed to have been providing a noble service, they would often charge families extra for special treatment and more attentive services. On top of that, plague doctors weren’t the most desired doctors in the medical world; they were often doctors who couldn’t get a job and had little training.