↑ JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.↑ Doktor Schnabel von Rom, engraving by Paul Fürst (after J Columbina), Rome 1656.↑ Center for Advanced Study in Theatre Arts, p.Infectious Diseases Society of America, Volume 11, p.↑ Füssli’s image is reproduced and discussed in Robert Fletcher, A tragedy of the Great Plague of Milan in 1630 (Baltimore: The Lord Baltimore Press, 1898), p.It is one of the most unique masks worn during the Carnival of Venice. The eye-holes were covered with clear glass. It was made up of a beak and round eye-holes. The costume was worn by a commedia dell'arte character called Il Medico della Peste (the Plague Doctor). The costume made people very scared because it was a sign that they would die soon. This plague killed 145,000 people in Rome and 300,000 in Naples. This costume was also worn by plague doctors during the Plague of 1656. Their robes, leggings, hats, and gloves were made of morocco leather. The plague doctors of Nijmegen also wore beaked masks. A picture of the costume is at the front of the book. Jean-Jacques Manget, in his 1721 book Treatise on the Plague, written just after the Great Plague of Marseille, talks about the costumes that plague doctors wore at Nijmegen in 1636-1637. As may be seen on picture here, In Rome the doctors do appear, When to their patients they are called, In places by the plague appalled, Their hats and cloaks, of fashion new, Are made of oilcloth, dark of hue, Their caps with glasses are designed, Their bills with antidotes all lined, That foulsome air may do no harm, Nor cause the doctor man alarm, The staff in hand must serve to show Their noble trade where'er they go. It describes the plague doctor's costume. This poem was written in the seventeenth century. The garment was impregnated with similar fragrant items as the beak mask. The clothing which went on top of the gown, as well as leggings, gloves, boots and a hat, were made of waxed leather. The gown went from the neck to the ankles. This was made up of a bird-like mask and a long leather (Moroccan or Levantine) or waxed-canvas gown. It was modelled after a soldier's armour. In 1619 he used the idea of full head-to-toe protective clothing. However, medical historians say that the plague doctor costume was invented by Charles de Lorme. Some modern writers have said that fourteenth-century plague doctors wore masks which looked like birds. Fleas could not bite through the leather jacket and infected people could not touch the doctor, which was also because of his leather jacket. Wearing these clothes actually helped make sure that the doctors were not infected by fleas or rats. The canes were also used to keep people away, to take clothes off plague victims without having to touch them and to take a patient's pulse. This was also used to look at patients without touching them. They used wooden canes to point out areas needing medical attention. The costume had a wide brimmed leather hood to show that they were doctors. Doctors believed the herbs would take away the "evil" smells of the plague and stop them from getting it. At that time, it was thought that bad smells caused infection. The mask was supposed to keep away bad smells. Dried flowers (such as roses and carnations), herbs (such as mint), spices, camphor or a vinegar sponge could all be placed in the beak. It was a type of respirator which was often filled with strong, nice smelling things. The mask had two smaller holes for the doctor to breathe. There were two holes in the mask, filled with glass at eye level, so that the doctor could see properly. The beak was held in front of the doctor's nose by straps. Along with this, gloves, boots, a hat and something else to go over the jacket was worn. The beak was often filled with things which smelled sweet or strong (often lavender). The costume was made up of a coat which went down to the ankles and a mask. The plague doctor's costume was the clothes worn by a plague doctor to protect him from diseases spread through the air. His nose-case is filled with smoking material to keep off the plague. Johann Melchior Füssli's engraving of a plague doctor of Marseille. He is wearing protective clothing which plague doctors in Rome usually wore at the time.
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