What is the plague doctor ?

Far from the children's costumes like the ninja turtles, cowboys and other tinkerbells. Closer to witches, vampires or Vader costumes... here is an intriguing character adapted for an adult costume.

We will talk about the doctor wearing a mask with a long raven's beak. We see this curious character among other carnival or mardi gras masks, in old history books or in many steampunk works, so much so that the theme of the Plague doctor has become an emblematic archetype of our retro-futurist movement.

See the Steampunk Black Plague Mask



1) WHY ARE BLACK PLAGUE DOCTORS SO CREEPY?

A) THE PLAGUE DOCTOR MASK.

The uniform consisted of an all-leather ensemble with a beak-shaped mask filled with fragrant herbs and a top hat. This outfit had two functions.

It was designed to protect them from contamination and thus limit the spread of plague epidemics. Of course this was not the case, as the medicine of that time was not very scientific and was based on hazardous assumptions.
The scary aspect allowed a form of authority and respect. It must be understood that during a terrible epidemic, fear kills as much as the disease. This reassured the doctor and allowed him to be heard.
The Black Death or Great Plague was the most deadly bubonic plague epidemic in history. It wiped out some 25 million Europeans in just a few years. Out of desperation, cities hired a new breed of doctors, called plague doctors, who were either second-rate professionals, young doctors with limited experience or even no certified medical training at all.



What was important was that the plague doctor was willing to venture into the pandemic areas and count the number of dead bodies. After more than 250 years of fighting the plague, hope finally arrived with the invention of a mask that would block the dangerous effluvia as well as an oilcloth pants, coat and hat. Unfortunately, this did not work out so well.



B) HOW DID THIS DOCTOR'S DISGUISE PROTECT AGAINST THE PLAGUE?
Doctor of the Black Death

Unfortunately the recommendations of the Pasteur Institute and INSERM were not yet available. The main responsibilities of a plague doctor were not to cure or assist the sick. Their tasks were more administrative and laborious, as they followed up on the victims of the Black Death, attended occasional autopsies or witnessed the wills of the dead and dying.

The costume was therefore primarily a distinction and a uniform rather than a real means of protection. Not surprisingly, some plague doctors took advantage of their patients' money and ran off with their final will. The twists and turns however were numerous, these plague accountants were revered but also sometimes held hostage. All situations could arise in these areas of death and despair.

Steampunk Plague Doctor Hat

C) THE LIFE OF A PLAGUE DOCTOR

Other than the fact that they were isolated for obvious reasons, not much is known about 17th century plague doctors. We do know that they were municipal physicians, working in large cities for the burgomaster or the nobility. They were probably more common in southern European cities such as Rome, Milan, and some may even have been active in southern France.

Because they were civil servants, they probably did not have "clients. Instead, they roamed the city during a plague epidemic, deciding which houses to lock up or condemn, which neighborhoods to quarantine, etc. Plague doctors cared for everyone, regardless of economic status, although they sometimes invented their own cures and tinctures that they provided for a fee for the wealthiest patients.

death scene during the great plague

D) CHARLES DE L'ORME.
Doctors and victims did not immediately understand how the plague had spread. However, by the 17th century, doctors had embraced the miasma theory, which was the idea that contagion was spread by foul-smelling air. Previously, plague doctors wore various protective garments, but it was not until 1619 that a "uniform" was invented by Charles de l'Orme, Louis XIII's most experienced physician.

De l'Orme writes of the costume: "Under the coat, one wears boots of Moroccan leather (goat leather)...and a short-sleeved blouse of smooth skin...The hat and gloves are also made of the same skin...with glasses over the eyes..."

Because he believed that foul-smelling fumes could seep into the fibers of their clothing and transmit disease, de l'Orme designed a uniform consisting of a waxed leather coat, leggings, boots, and gloves intended to deflect the miasma from head to toe. The suit was then coated with tallow, a hard white animal fat, to repel body fluids. The plague doctor also donned a prominent black hat to indicate that they were, in fact, a doctor.

alchemy and black plague

He also carried a long wooden stick which he used to communicate with his patients, examine them and occasionally ward off the more desperate and aggressive ones. According to other accounts, patients believed that the plague was a punishment sent by God and asked the plague doctor to whip them into repentance. The foul air was also combated with sweet herbs and spices such as camphor, mint, clove and myrrh, packed into a grotesque mask with a bird's beak. Sometimes the herbs were set on fire before being put into the mask so that the smoke could further protect the doctor from the plague.

Drawing of Plague Doctor

They also wore round glass glasses. A hood and leather bands held the goggles and mask to the doctor's head. In addition to the sweaty and horrifying exterior, the costume was deeply flawed as there were vent holes cut into the bill. As a result, many doctors contracted the plague and died.

Although de l'Orme was lucky enough to live to 96 years of age, most plague doctors had a very short life expectancy, the deadly flea bites were unforgiving, even with their thick suits. And those who were not sick often lived in constant quarantine. In short, they led a lonely and thankless existence for doctors sent to the front lines who were often willing to help at the cost of their lives.



2) THE HORRIBLE TREATMENTS OF THE DOCTORS AGAINST THE PLAGUE
dissection by plague doctors

Because plague doctors were only confronted with the horrific symptoms and not a thorough understanding of the disease, they were often allowed to perform autopsies. These, however, tended to come up empty. Plague doctors therefore resorted to dubious, dangerous, and debilitating treatments. They were largely unqualified, so they had less medical knowledge than the "real" doctors who themselves subscribed to faulty scientific theories. The treatments ranged from the bizarre to the horrific.

They practiced covering buboes (egg-sized pus-filled cysts found on the neck, armpits and groin) with human feces that probably spread the infection. They also turned to bloodletting and removal of buboes to drain the pu. Both practices were very painful, but the worst must have been pouring mercury on the victim and placing him in an oven.

Funeral procession by plague doctors

Not surprisingly, these attempts often hastened death and the spread of infection by covering burn wounds and cysts that became infected. Today, we know that the bubonic plagues and accompanying diseases such as pneumonia were caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis that was carried by rats, which are very common in urban environments. The last outbreak of urban plague in the United States occurred in Los Angeles in 1924 and we have since found a cure with common antibiotics.

This combination of protection from the scent and the horrible treatments remain happily in the past, but the willingness of plague doctors to separate the sick from the healthy, burn the infected, and experiment with treatments has also saved many lives. The plague that brought terror and death to medieval Europe, that brought down mighty empires, is thousands of years older than anyone thought. But this is another story.

Although the famous plague doctor costume was not worn during the famous Black Death, historians say it was often used by plague doctors "during the plague of 1656, which killed 145,000 people in Rome and 300,000 in Naples." The effectiveness of the costume is quite relative. Nevertheless, the scary mask of the plague doctor found another use - in the theater. The figure of the beaked doctor became a character in the commedia dell'arte and the mask is still worn during the Carnival in Venice, Italy.

3) WHY DO STEAMPUNKS USE THE PLAGUE DOCTOR COSTUME SO MUCH?
Fresco of the Black Death

A COSTUME LOADED WITH THE HISTORY OF MILLIONS OF DEATHS.
Although we now consider their appearance to be relatively fearsome, they were originally just doctors, and they have been around since the dawn of time, as long as there have been plagues apparently. Our earliest record of plague doctors dates back to about 400 AD, long before the germ theory of the disease. These physicians were hired by the Roman senate to treat anyone who had the plague. They became a symbol of death and calamity itself. This is not surprising, given that the protective measures they took were almost totally ineffective. In general, 90% of plague doctors died from the diseases they were trying to treat. Meanwhile, the most distinctive part of the costume, the mask, was created to contain incense or herbs that ostensibly prevented "bad air", and thus prevented the plague doctor from getting sick. Ideally, at least, because it didn't really work in practice. The final effect, of course, was somewhat terrifying, but it is important to note that underneath these strange costumes were men who were trying to heal the sick. Their pay was high (nearly four times that of a regular doctor, according to some accounts), but their mortality rate was also high.

Steampunk Plague Doctor

We think of masks as a kind of ornament, but for the plague doctor, they were strictly functional and very unpleasant. In fact, wearing the plague doctor's outfit must have been an absolutely horrible experience, but they did it anyway. Were it not for their fearsome appearance, the plague doctors might have been considered heroes. Sure, many of them were crooks trying to cash in on the high salaries, but some of them were really trying to help.


SO WHY IS STEAMPUNK AWASH WITH PLAGUE DOCTOR COSPLAY?

On the surface, the Plague Doctor seems to be ideologically opposed to Steampunk. First of all, with the popularization of the germ theory of disease in the mid-1800s, plague doctors became more or less a thing of the past. Or at least, the plague doctor costume became very outdated. So plague doctors don't really fit into the Victorian period often associated with Steampunk.

Examples of Steampunk Doctors

Second, plague doctors in many ways represent superstition rather than science. Breathing incense to ward off disease? That sounds pretty stupid to a modern audience, and sounds a lot more like nonsense than science. Eliminating fleas from animals and realizing that it was the black rats carrying them that were the worst vectors of the disease was totally impossible at the time.

However, it is important to remember that when the plague suit was invented, it was science at its best. These people weren't shaking sticks and praying to be cured, they were actively trying to treat patients using the latest medical knowledge available to them. Sure, it was usually something like "drink this herbal mixture I found in my garden," but it was still something.

Another thing that adds to their credibility as scientists and objects of terror is that plague doctors were allowed to perform autopsies on plague victims in hopes of curing the disease. This may not be a big deal now, but at the time, autopsies were considered blasphemous, evil, terrible, etc.... So, in all likelihood, they were doing a solid job towards our understanding of anatomy, which in fact developed medicine considerably at the time.

raven great plague

From this point of view, one can almost consider the plague doctors as champions of science, or perhaps martyrs of science would be more appropriate, given their mortality rate.

Another thing Steampunks love are costumes, and few historically accurate costumes are as impressive as those of the plague doctor. Of course it's a far cry from the carnival with its Venetian half-masks, jesters and other jokers, the costume is dark and ultimately closer to the gothic.

Plague doctors look like terrifying birds in Halloween masks centuries before their time. Ditto for equipment: goggles and gadgets, they had as much power to save people as to keep them from terror. That's why it's not surprising that the plague doctor captured the imagination of the Steampunks. They were outcasts who already had a retro-futuristic style of sorts. Men of science who were viewed with suspicion by the public, and are now an obscure and forgotten part of history.

See the Steampunk Plague Doctor Bag


SO THAT'S THE EXPLANATION, THANKS FOR READING, SHARE THE ARTICLE IF YOU LIKED IT.

DON'T FORGET THAT THE STEAMPUNK STORE OFFERS A VAST CHOICE OF COSTUMES AND ACCESSORIES FOR STEAMPUNK COSTUMES BUT ALSO TO FIND THE COSTUMES OF YESTERYEAR.
SEE YOU SOON VAPORIST !