The Plague Doctor - Tattoo Lexicon
He is a symbol of suffering, misery and disease caused by unhygienic conditions in the Middle Ages: The plague doctor, unmistakable due to the mask with the long beak, the black cloak and the hat with a wide brim. The mask gives the plague doctor a creepy, sinister appearance, as if he were bringing death with him instead of stopping it. It was clear that wherever such a figure was to be seen, the situation was serious, the plague was rampant and infected people often died a painful death within a few days.
In the Middle Ages, plague doctors were shady characters; the cities paid them enormous salaries for their very risky work, but their primary task was not to treat the sick - that was not possible anyway and the plague doctors were not trained doctors - but mainly to determine who, where and how many inhabitants were sick or had already died from the plague.
In some cases, some of these figures earned extra money by selling alleged miracle cures to sick people who would pay any price for a spark of hope. There were practically never any complaints about these immoral deals - because the victims were dead after a few days anyway and could no longer claim their money back.
However, the typical appearance of the plague doctor with his long black coat, hat and unmistakable mask is only documented from the middle of the 17th century; fragrant herbs were placed in his beak to mask the stench of the plague and were believed to purify the "foul air", which was thought to be responsible for the plague. However, such eye-catching clothing was mainly worn in France and Italy, where it was also rather rare; it was not common further north.
Text: Dirk-Boris Rödel
Graphic: Jonas Bachmann
The Plague Doctor - Tattoo Lexicon
He is a symbol of suffering, misery and disease caused by unhygienic conditions in the Middle Ages: The plague doctor, unmistakable due to the mask with the long beak, the black cloak and the hat with a wide brim. The mask gives the plague doctor a creepy, sinister appearance, as if he were bringing death with him instead of stopping it. It was clear that wherever such a figure was to be seen, the situation was serious, the plague was rampant and infected people often died a painful death within a few days.
In the Middle Ages, plague doctors were shady characters; the cities paid them enormous salaries for their very risky work, but their primary task was not to treat the sick - that was not possible anyway and the plague doctors were not trained doctors - but mainly to determine who, where and how many inhabitants were sick or had already died from the plague.
In some cases, some of these figures earned extra money by selling alleged miracle cures to sick people who would pay any price for a spark of hope. There were practically never any complaints about these immoral deals - because the victims were dead after a few days anyway and could no longer claim their money back.
However, the typical appearance of the plague doctor with his long black coat, hat and unmistakable mask is only documented from the middle of the 17th century; fragrant herbs were placed in his beak to mask the stench of the plague and were believed to purify the "foul air", which was thought to be responsible for the plague. However, such eye-catching clothing was mainly worn in France and Italy, where it was also rather rare; it was not common further north.
Text: Dirk-Boris Rödel
Graphic: Jonas Bachmann
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