7 November 2013 Plague Doctor

Sam is obsessed with the plague, aka the Black Death that swept through Europe in the middle of the 14th century. We read about the costume that doctors who treated plague victims wore, and today she wanted to make one for herself. Apparently the beak-like nose could hold fragrant herbs and flowers. Doctors believed that the disease spread through smells (the miasma theory), and so the herbs were supposed to prevent infection. In fact, it was fleas and rats who carried the deadly bacteria. The rough estimate is that one in three people died from the plague in the Middle Ages.

When Sam showed her costume to her friend Susie this afternoon, Susie said, “If you were my doctor, I’d die of fright!”

I wonder how many people felt the same way all those years ago?