The Bubonic Plague , also know as the Black Death , killed at least 75 million people on three continents . Described as themost deadly epidemic in account , the plague began in China in the 1330s and made its fashion throughEurope from 1346 to 1353 . In those time , MD did n’t have it off what was cause the disease to unfold , but they did love it was highly transmissible . To allow for aesculapian care and to protect themselves , doctors of the meter excogitate themedieval version of a hazmat suit .
Each piece of the causa — the hat , the bird - like masquerade , the red glass eyes , the black overcoat , the leather breeches , and the wooden cane — is think to have had an crucial function to either keep the disease away or scare it away . What doctors did n’t know was that they were probably doing more harm than good — spreading the plague even more by exposing more citizenry to their plague - covered articles of wear .
The Hat
In the 14th Century , doctors would have been easy identifiable by their wide - brim pitch-dark hats worn close to the point . Plague MD and their hats are similar to today ’s chefs and soldier . It ’s opine that the all-inclusive - brimmed hat was used to partially harbor MD from bacteria .
The Bird-like Mask
Courtesy ofPixipui
What was with the shuttlecock ’s schnoz ? Well , a common opinion at the time was that the pest was being distribute by birds . ( We now know that rats and fleas were creditworthy for spreading the Black Death . ) The doctors may have thought that dress up in a bird - alike gas mask , the infestation would be transferred from the patient to the garment . This beak piece was alsofilled with acetum , sweet oils , and other strong - smell out chemicalsto mask the malodor of demise and unburied body .
The Red Glass Eyes
This one ’s pretty simple . medico thought that red eyepieces would make them unsusceptible to evil ( aka the deadly disease ) .
The Black Overcoat
To derogate skin exposure , Dr. tucked the neckline of their long topcoat behind the masquerade party . The coat extended down to the metrical foot and was often completely cake with suet ( a hard , blank fat on the kidney and loins of cattle and sheep , usually used in puddings and pastries ) or wax . Doctors thought the suet could draw the pestis away from the flesh of the septic or the wax could repel it . It ’s also thought that the wax could have just been used to keep bodily fluids from clinging to the coat .
The Leather Breeches
Similar to waders wear by fishermen , breeches covered each ramification separately and were worn beneath the overcoat to protect the legs and groin from infection . Because the infection tended to attack the lymph node first , doctors paid close attention to cover and protect their armits , neck and groin .
The Wooden Cane
Doctors used the cane to direct folk members on how and where to move infected patients and to canvas them without verbatim contact .
