The trademark of the plague doctor was an eery mask with circular glass eye-holes and a long hooked beak. Worn with gloves, boots, an ankle-length overcoat, a stick for prodding patients, and a wide-brimmed hat (this item indicated their profession), all traditionally of black leather, plague doctors of the 17th century were easy to distinguish. The beak of the mask would be filled with aromatic herbs or plants, commonly lavender, which drowned out the stench of death. Before germ theory was discovered, medical professionals believed miasma theory (that disease was spread through 'bad air'), and the heavily scented beak of the mask was thought to protect plague doctors from infection. Authors have written of plague doctors as early as the 1300s, though French doctor to the royals, Charles de Lorme (1584 - 1678) is credited with inventing the completely covering, beaked costume in 1619. Plague doctors were emblematic of death; people knew that their presence meant disease was among them and there was little that could be done to save them... #generallygothic #gothic #death #disease #plaguedoctor #plaguedoctormask #plague #medicalhistory #medicine #charlesdelorme #germtheory #miasmatheory #academic #halloweencostume #halloweencostumeideas #costumeideas
