![]() It was believed at the time, that the disease was caused by miasma, which was simply called “bad air” or “night air”. The beak had two small “nostrils” in it for air passage but the beak itself was filled with substances such as ambergris, mint leaves, storax, myrrh, laudanum, rose petals, camphor, cloves and straw. And, of course, the beaked mask with the glass eye openings. The remainder of his outfit was usually trousers made of leather and boots and gloves to match. He wore a brimmed hat, usually a symbol of an educated man, or a physician. The coat was light, waxed to prevent fluids from penetrating it. ![]() This though seems unlikely since their first use was in Italy and was first used in Naples, but like the disease, the fashion spread quickly. The plague doctor’s uniform changed as time progressed, but the most identifiable one is the costume thought to be invented by Charles de L’Orme in 1630. And when disease struck, they were at the ready. This is the environment in which the plague doctor is born. In the end, it will kill almost 60% of the population of Europe, nearly 50 million people. They will make landfall in Sicily, and from there the plague will travel to the Italian mainland. The Genoese traders fled, taking the plague with them. While the city was under siege by the Mongols, the invaders hurled their infected dead across the city walls using a catapult. It is commonly believed to come to Europe by Genoese traders from the port city of Kaffa in the Crimea. The first major pandemic is in China and it spread through the Eastern part of the continent like wildfire. It is believed that it originated in the grasslands and due to climate change, the rodents left the wild and fled to populated areas, where the dense population of a city would be the perfect breeding ground for the bacterium and nearly the death of us all. This bacterium is usually found in small rodents, such as rats and marmots. What exactly was the Black Death? It is the evolution of a bacterium known as Yersinia Pestis. Plague though, reaches the main European Continent in 1347, and by then there was no holding it back. In 1338 it appears in Russia, then India. By 1331 it reached China (probably via the Silk Road. Out of this carnage will come the plague doctors, men who sacrificed all to bring aid to those suffering from this disease.īubonic Plague was first discovered in the Gobi Desert in 1320. Being a teacher of history and a purveyor of the macabre, I cannot help but to cover the bubonic plague of the 14 th Century, otherwise known as the Black Death. In trying times such as these right now I want us to look at the past. The long wooden stick in his hand clacks as it strikes the cobblestones at his feet. ![]() ![]() His hat silhouetted by the many bonfires in the city streets. A black robed figure comes through the night. ![]()
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