The Great Plague In London
People thought that the
plague was spread by birds. There may have been a belief that if they dressed in a bird mask,
they will have the ability to draw the plague away from the victim and onto the habiliment the
plague doctor wore. The gas helmet also included eyepieces which were made out of red
glass. People thought those who wore that mask would be safe from evil.
The beak of the helmet was filled with aromatic herbs and spices to overpower the miasmas
or "bad air" which was also thought to carry the plague. At the very least, it may have dulled
the smell of unburied corpses, sputum, and ruptured in plague victims. (Grand Gallimaufry
homepage: http://sylvaansuz.wordpress.com/2009/12/09/the-plague-doctors-garb/)
The overcoat worn by the plague doctor was tucked in behind the beak mask at the neckline to
minimize skin exposure. It extended to the feet, and was often coated head to toe in suet or
wax
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