There’s not much that seems to be noted about their methods or what their conduct was, but Rae appeared to survive the outbreak since he makes an application for payment in 1661. Paulitous is noted 25 December 1644 and Rae seems to be his replacement after his apparent death, taking up the role 6 June 1645. Paulitous and Rae are both referenced as plague doctors who were employed to work by the city. ‘Odiferous’ substances were burned to ward away the foul smells believed to spread the plague, clothes of the deceased were burned and white cloths were hung on windows to indicate the sick. The rest would all be hauled off to a large quarry for mass burial. Only people who paid would get buried in a church. Special carts were used to carry the dead, fixed with bells to announce their arrival. Records, referenced by H.P Tait in their article, indicate it was a very hard time for those who lived there. However, it is known they both served during the outbreak of Edinburgh in 1645. I’ve decided to place these two together because, unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find a great deal of specific information about them. References are provided at the end of the post. Now that we’ve covered that, let’s get into specifics! All of the following has been based on research done through Google, accessing verified, free-to-read historical journals (at the time they were accessed). Below you can see an example of a modernised plague doctor next to a surviving example of a historical version. It should be noted that the way the outfit is typically depicted is a heavily stylised version. The hat and gloves are also made of the same skin… with spectacles over the eyes. Under the coat we wear boots made in Moroccan leather from the front of the breeches in smooth skin that are attached to said boots, and a short-sleeved blouse in smooth skin, the bottom of which is tucked into the breeches. The nose half a foot long, shaped like a beak, filled with perfume with only two holes, one on each side near the nostrils, but that can suffice to breathe and carry along with the air one breathes the impression of the enclosed further along in the beak. He describes it as follows, referenced by Christian Mussap in his journal: Charles d’Lorme, a French physician, came up with the design around 1630. The title of plague doctor has existed since at least the early 14th century (we’ll be exploring a specific case a little later) but the outfit we know wasn’t devised until around the 17th century. There was little recourse but to hope you wouldn’t be next to be struck down. Medical practitioners at the time were wholly unprepared for such a virulent disease and no contemporary treatments were effective against it. With symptoms ranging from a high fever, lumps around the armpits and legs, vomiting and painful spasms, death usually followed in 5 days. The disease itself made a number of comebacks over the years, most notably in the 1600s. The Plague, or the Black Death, first struck Western Europe in 1348 and is believed to have wiped out around 50% of the world’s population at the time. Before we go into the individuals themselves, it would do well to remind ourselves about the profession they held and what they were up against. It’s not known whether or not they wore the distinctive outfit that is typically seen to mark their station, but they definitely held the title from what documents indicate. For this post, we’re going to be looking at three different accounts of plague doctors that have survived in historical documentation. They lived and died, put themselves at great personal risk to carry out their duties, much like any doctor would today. Some even believe that they didn’t actually exist and are something that has been over exaggerated in popular media. Men dressed in dark robes and beaked masks, here to confirm what will be, for most, a tortuously painful death from which there is almost no escape. With their rather bizarre appearance and sinister connotations, plague doctors tend to be seen as a single, nebulous entity.
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