Plague Doctor Bird Mask Costume

The mask had glass openings in the eyes and a curved beak shaped like that of a bird with straps that held the beak in front of the doctor’s nose. The idea of plague doctor costumes is attributed to Charles de L’Orme, inspired by the armour of the soldiers, which protected the entire body, from the head to the feet. He developed a suit that would protect the doctor in the same way, from the head to the feet, against the miasmatic Bad Air.

Plague doctor costumes must protect the doctor’s entire body, avoiding the contact of the skin with the Bad Air to prevent being infected by the Black Death.

The mask also prevented the doctor from smelling the rot and putrefaction of the infected people, thanks to the aromatic products contained in the bird’s beak-shaped cavity of the mask. Often they used these aromatics to spray them all over the plague doctor’s costume.