Plague doctors were individuals in the Middle Ages who were given the task of tending to people infected with the plague. In most cases, they were either second rate or under-trained physicians, incapable of maintaining their own practice. Many were not doctors at all, but people of various other employments paid by towns to cater to the sick. 

Plague doctors were employed in various methods whenever plague set in. The earliest documentation of these individuals being hired go as far back as the mid 500s AD. The plague doctor image that we as a general public are familiar with was not seen until the 1600s. It was then that the “traditional” plague doctor costume was created. The costume consisted of a cloak made of heavy fabric covered in wax to protect the doctor’s body, and a mask to keep out the sick air. The masks had a long cone shaped structure at the nose, to be filled with scents that would protect the doctor from the bad air.

Because of the nature of their work, plague doctors often became victims of the plague themselves, or were quarantined for the protection of the public.

(via fuckyeahcreepypictures)

Source: alexxxiselizabeth

33544 Notes/ Hide

  1. cannibal-queen-x reblogged this from ohio-is-for-haters
  2. brookeleer reblogged this from illbebetterwheniamable
  3. ohio-is-for-haters reblogged this from queen-from-the-ghetto
  4. loneshadow reblogged this from i-need-a-dandelion
  5. i-need-a-dandelion reblogged this from illbebetterwheniamable
  6. queen-from-the-ghetto reblogged this from illbebetterwheniamable
  7. porcelain-bowties reblogged this from illbebetterwheniamable
  8. illbebetterwheniamable reblogged this from mrdreadful
  9. weirdstares reblogged this from ryandrogyny
  10. jekel-and-hyde reblogged this from texansnowman
  11. mrs-unavailable reblogged this from yajnaji
  12. texansnowman reblogged this from darth-sebious
  13. yajnaji reblogged this from ect0plasma
  14. theglassisfullyempty reblogged this from somethingwilde
  15. spacequakes reblogged this from iwantxtobelieve
  16. troxyyy reblogged this from yourenothipster
  17. sebastian-michaelis-phantomhive reblogged this from t0mfuckinghiddlest0n
  18. t0mfuckinghiddlest0n reblogged this from iwantxtobelieve
  19. iwantxtobelieve reblogged this from avoicelikethunder
  20. avoicelikethunder reblogged this from r-cycle
  21. drinkyourlittleheartout reblogged this from whitepolkadots
  22. whitepolkadots reblogged this from exscin-d