Plague Doctor Tattoo:

The Plague Doctor Tattoo: Symbolism, Meaning, and More

The plague doctor might come to mind when one thinks of death and the 14th century at the same time. 

Physicians who treated patients during the bubonic plague epidemic were known as plague doctors. Wearing an all-black outfit and a mask that looked like a dark bird, the doctor looked fierce.

It represents what most people think of today when they hear the phrase plague doctor. Death and darkness come to mind when people think of the plague doctor. 

Stories about the plague doctor intrigue fans of the dark and the deadly. People go as far as getting it tattooed on them.

Plague doctors are viewed differently by different people. Some consider it to be a fascinating time in history and are fascinated by the expertise of the doctors and their costumes.

As a result, these people may have a brighter and less scary portrait of their doctor tattooed on themselves. 

In contrast, those who are fascinated by horror movies and death might have a darker and more intense tattoo. 

The purpose of this article is to provide you with all the information you need about its origins, symbolism, and meanings.

The origins of the Plague Doctor Tattoo

Doctors in Italy wore the plague doctor costume to treat those with the bubonic plague in 1348. Their masks, which is the main feature of the doctor, were long and beak-like.

To reduce the risk of catching the plague through the air, spices and herbs were inside the beak. That is a myth today.

History

According to Michel Tibayrenc's Encyclopedia of Infectious Diseases, the first mention of the iconic plague doctor is found during the 1619 plague outbreak in Paris, in the written work of royal physician Charles de Lorme, serving King Louis XIII of France at the time.

After De Lorme, German engraver Gerhart Altzenbach published a famous illustration in 1656, which publisher Paulus Fürst’s iconic Doctor Schnabel von Rom is based upon. In this satirical work Fürst describes how the doctor does nothing but terrify people and take money from the dead and dying.

The city of Orvieto hired Matteo fu Angelo in 1348 for four times the normal rate of a doctor of 50-florin per year.Pope Clement VI hired several extra plague doctors during the Black Death plague to tend to the sick people of Avignon. Of 18 doctors in Venice, only one was left by 1348: five had died of the plague, and 12 were missing and may have fled away.