It caught on elsewhere in continental Europe (there are no known examples from the UK) and became the iconic Plague Doctor costume we know today. To people who understand how bacteria and viruses ...

Avoid him like the plague ... as a 17th-century plague doctor, according to a report. The menacing oddball — who sports a black cloak, hat and beak-like mask — has been spotted several ...

One of the most distinctive masks worn during the Carnival of Venice is “Il Medico della Peste,” or “The Plague Doctor.” But the distinctive bone-white mask and black clothing was actually ...

In the 17th century, people believed these outfits could purify poisonous air. They were wrong. During the 17th-century European plague, physicians wore beaked masks, leather gloves, and long ...

The Plague Doctor’s eerie beak mask was designed to protect against “evil” smells thought to cause disease. But the truth behind this creepy costume will shock you!

(Today, you might recognize it from the “plague doctor” costumes worn during the Carnival of Venice, as it’s associated with Il Medico della Peste, the famous commedia dell’arte character.) ...

This is a 17th-century German or Austrian plague doctor mask, from the collection of the Deutches Historisches Museum. (Anagoria/GNU Free Documentation License) Since the onset of the pandemic ...