Art 152 Medico Mask (Plague Doctor)
SKU:
027
Paper mache Commedia Dell Art mask in white. Plague Doctor character.
This is a wearable mask.
The Plague Doctor
Ever since the plague first struck in 1347, people recognized its infectious nature but were totally ignorant of the sequence (rat-fleas-man). As a result, Europeans overrated the possibility of man to man infection.
Consequently, during periods of infections, it was not easy to find doctors willing to treat plague patients. Moreover it was believed that a doctor visiting a plague patient presented a public hazard as he would carry the disease to other people or patients suffering from other ailments. The solution to this double edged problem was the institution of the community plague doctor. These were physicians or surgeons, especially hired by an infected town or village, who were responsible for the treatment of plague patients only and had to refrain from interaction with the rest of the population.
Their job was not only dangerous but particularly unpleasant as plague doctors were quarantined during the epidemic and for sometime after it had passed.