a mask with a long beak that looked like a bird and a broad-brimmed hat.a long leather coat, oiled with herb-infused oil to make it smell good.

tall, leather boots that looked a little like hip-waders.It was also to this purpose, medieval doctors developed what we might call an ancient hazmat suit consisting of: Thus, people often carried posies of fresh flowers or herbs to hold up to their faces when encountering a plague victim, believing it would save them from contracting the disease. Most physicians believed the ‘bad air’ could be countered by ‘good air’ or at least air that smelled good. One of the most prevalent medical theories of the middle ages was that of ‘bad air’– miasma as it was called at the time–caused disease (There’s a theory that the ring-around-the-rosy song came from this idea) This theory proves that although medieval doctors didn’t have all the information we have today, they were on the right track. Much as I’d love to write about all the fascinating aspects of the plague - or better yet, write an novel about it! - I’ll focus on just one aspect in this post: the bird-like masks and leather suits worn by plague doctors. No one was immune to a disease that dealt a swift and gruesome death to rich and poor, old and young alike. In less than ten years, a bacteria carried by fleas on the backs of black rats laid waste to cities and towns, estates, palaces, and kingdoms. Debates continue on the hows, whens, and whys of the disease and its spread, but there is no refuting that the Great Mortality was the single-most devastating health crisis in the history of the world.

Whatever name you choose, 60% of the world’s population died from it in the middle of the fourteenth century.

Who created the plague doctor