A plague doctor was a physician who treated victims of bubonic plague [1] during epidemics in 17th-century Europe. These physicians were hired by cities to treat infected patients regardless of income, especially the poor, who could not afford to pay.

The Genevan physician, Jean-Jacques Manget, in his 1721 work Treatise on the Plague written just after the Great Plague of Marseille, describes the costume worn by plague doctors at Nijmegen in 1636–1637.

Dec 13, 2024 · Plague doctor, physician contracted by a government to tend to patients infected with plague during an epidemic, especially the plagues in Europe in the Middle Ages. Plague doctors were contracted by a city or town during an outbreak to treat plague patients specifically.

May 19, 2020 · Using ancient and medieval medical theories, plague doctors argued that the Black Death was a pestilential fever that corrupted the humors, causing horrific plague buboes, or lymph nodes...

Aug 16, 2022 · Known for their costumes featuring beaked masks and black cloaks, plague doctors treated victims of the bubonic plague in Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries. The uniform of the plague doctor was invented in 1619 and featured an all-leather ensemble.

Oct 20, 2020 · By the time the second major plague struck Great Britain in 1665, the physicians who treated the disease became known as “plague doctors”. Plague doctors came from all kinds of medical backgrounds and could be hired by individuals or communities to treat the victims.

May 27, 2020 · During the epidemics of bubonic plague that swept western Europe, plague doctors, who exclusively treated the infected, wore costumes to protect themselves from the miasma or “bad air” believed to carry disease.

Aug 21, 2024 · What is a Plague Doctor? Picture this: it's the 17th century, and you're strolling down a cobblestone street when you spot a figure that looks like a cross between a bird and a Victorian gentleman. Congratulations, you've just encountered a plague doctor!

Aug 26, 2022 · In this week’s blog post, Daniel has been having a look at the lives and careers of some real historical plague doctors. Mad quacks in beaky masks, or dedicated fighters against a deadly contagion?

Oct 9, 2015 · Physicians and other medical practitioners invented imaginative concoctions in an attempt – largely in vain – to treat and cure the disease. In the so-called ‘Great Plague’ of 1665, most physicians followed their wealthy patients in fleeing London, a city that was rife with plague.