The plague is a terrible disease that claimed millions of lives in the Middle Ages and left its mark on the further development of all civilization, especially in Europe.
The carriers of the plague are small animals such as marmots and rats. Even at present, outbreaks of the disease occur periodically, especially for poor settlements, with general unsanitary conditions and an abundance of rats.
Fortunately, at the present time, with a quick diagnosis and the right therapy, the plague is being treated with practically no negative consequences for a person.
An indelible mark in the history of mankind
The first mention of the plague pandemic dates back to 551-580 years and is called the `` Justinian Plague. '' Egypt became the focus of emergence, after which the disease spread to almost the entire civilized world of that time. Approximately 100 million people became victims.
However, when talking about the plague, most often they mean the terrible epidemic in the 14th century. Black death brought from China, mowed a third of the population of Europe.
During this period, a profession such as the plague doctor appeared. This is a doctor whose duty was to treat patients infected with plague. In order not to get infected, the doctors put on a special protective suit, the image of which is probably familiar to many.
First of all, this costume is known for its mask with a beak, which, by the way, subsequently played a significant role in European culture. She began to be copied in the Italian comedies of the Renaissance and she became the prototype of the Venetian mask.
Medicine in the medieval world
Of course, in medieval Europe, medicine was in a very poor state and did not have any adequate methods of treating even the simplest diseases, which is why mortality was very high and life expectancy was extremely short. All the achievements of the doctors of the Roman Empire were forgotten, and the world again began to drown in epidemics and pandemics.
Due to the dubious methods of treatment and their inefficiency, the attitude of people towards doctors was ambiguous. However, with the advent of the plague, there was no particular choice.
The first plague doctors
Pope Clement 6 was the first to introduce such a position as a plague doctor. Doctors began to look for a cure for the disease, and most likely, they found some weak methods, or were able to show the appearance of progress. Therefore, soon this profession became very popular and highly paid.
So, based on the notes, the plague doctor’s salary was 4 times the salary of a regular doctor.
The main methods of treating black death were bloodletting, cauterization or cutting of plague buboes, the application of toads, frogs, and what is still unclear to the affected areas. There were no antiseptics in those days.
Costume
The costume of the plague doctor in its final form appeared in 1619, and its physician of French origin Charles da Lom invented it. The robe was made of leather and resembled armor. It included:
- mask with a beak;
- long cloak to the ankles;
- tight pants;
- gloves
- boots;
- a hat.
There was a special technology to ensure that the mask of the plague doctor performed its full function. With their own hands, creating such a mask was unlikely, this was done by specially trained people.
Beak mask
A mask with a beak, as it was believed, its appearance should scare away the disease. However, it also had a more functional load, namely, it protected the doctor from the stench reigning around, in which the healers' everyday life proceeded. At the tip of the beak were placed special medicinal herbs with a strong odor. The beak also had the opposite effect, since doctors constantly chewed garlic, the mask protected others from the garlic smell.
Fleeces with incense were placed in the nostrils and ears. Also, the mask had glass inserts that protect the eyes.
An interesting fact: the famous forecaster Nostradamus also worked as a plague doctor.
Plague Doctor Costume Nowadays
The plague doctor outfit is popular and recognizable at present. So, at many costume parties or holidays such as Halloween, the image of a medieval doctor will look very handy. Not to mention different theatrical productions.
That is why the plague doctor’s mask, made with his own hands, will be a very useful preparation for a future event. You can make it in various ways, and in general it is done easily and does not require any specific skills. There are many methods by which a very impressive plague doctor mask may appear.
We make patterns with our own hands by trial and error, choosing the right shape of the beak. The whole mask should be proportional. Do not make the beak too long or thick.
Paper mask
For example, the mask of a plague doctor with his own hands is made of paper elementary. Just grab A3 paper or 2 A4 sheets. Next, cut out two halves of the mask with a long beak, the frontal part is lateral. We glue it all together with adhesive tape.
Glue a thin elastic band so that the mask can be worn. If desired, paint it black or some other color.
Making a plague doctor mask from papier-mâché
The plague doctor’s mask, made from papier-mâché, will be much denser and more realistic than just paper.
To do this, you will need:
- sharp knife;
- expanded polystyrene;
- previous paper version of the mask;
- glue;
- toilet paper;
- newspaper.
So, we take two blocks of expanded polystyrene, approximately 7 centimeters wide each. First we need the right layout. Let's give the blocks a kind of mask. To do this, simply circle the paper version on the polystyrene foam. Next, with the help of a knife, we process each block, giving them the appearance of halves of the mask.
Glue two halves with glue. We wait a few minutes until the mask dries. And then we level the surface so that it becomes relatively smooth.
Now we take PVA glue and dilute it with water in a ratio of 4: 1. Mix well with a brush. Foil tightly wrap the layout. It's okay if she rummages. Next, take a piece of toilet paper, apply it to the foil and coat with a glue solution. Thus we glue the whole mask.
Next, we need an old unnecessary newspaper, which can be torn into small pieces. We glue the mask with these pieces. We make 5-6 newspaper layers. We leave this design for a day to dry.
The next day, you need to disconnect the mask from the layout. To do this, you can slightly pry it with an office knife. When the mask is disconnected, remove the foil.
Now you should cut openings for the eyes, later they can be decorated with a round eyeglass frame. For beauty, color the mask with gouache. Only use a minimum of water so as not to soak the structure. Glue the gum.
The plague doctor’s mask, created with his own hands, is ready.
How to make a mask of leather?
So we came to the material from which the original masks of doctors were made. It will be a plague doctor’s mask made of leather with his own hands. Let's get started.
- You will need a paper base. Cut the paper into separate elements of the mask.
- Using the resulting pattern, cut the same details from the skin.
- Sew two halves of the beak.
- Now attach the beak to the main part of the mask.
- Next, you need to glue the side parts of the mask.
- When the glue dries, carefully stitch the parts for strength and beauty.
- If you want to give the mask the desired color, this must be done at this stage, using a dye for the skin.
- The next step will be attaching with rivets, glue or thread belts.
- And the final touch is to decorate the eye holes. For example, using the side faces of bottle caps.
Everything, the mask of the plague doctor, created with his own hands, is ready. Easy and fast. Now you are not afraid of any causative agent of the plague, and you can safely resist adversity. It remains only to pick up a raincoat, leather pants and boots with gloves.
Do not be afraid to experiment with different materials to get the most plausible mask of the plague doctor. With your own hands how to make a layout, you already know.
Interestingly, the pants and cloak of the plague doctor were saturated with wax or oil. It was believed that this would protect against the disease. In any case, fleas reacted negatively to such impregnation and stayed away from the plague fighters. Perhaps this is what saved the doctors.
A peculiar suit was supplemented with a stick, which doctors pierced buboes, threw corpses, and sometimes defended themselves from aggressive residents of infected territories.
By the way, in the original masks, the glass for the eyes should have been red, most likely, people believed that the red color would scare away the disease, like the bird's beak. It is not clear whether the doctors thought that the birds were infected or, on the contrary, the birds scared away the plague. Whatever it was, but the mask had just such a look that bears mainly a mystical character.
In addition, there was another misconception: it was as if cats suffered the plague, so very often, in order to prevent shaggy brothers, the smaller ones were simply burned, along with corpses and houses.
On the belt, doctors had a bunch of garlic. Obviously, only men could become doctors, since women in Christian Europe did not have special rights.
So we figured out how to make such an unusual object, like a plague doctor’s mask, with our own hands. Male plague masks were slightly different in appearance depending on the region where the doctor worked. So there are no strict criteria for manufacturing.