anyway I hope we'll all have a bit more respect for plague doctors from here on out. they didn't have access to the science we do, but they knew enough to seduce that the plague was infectious, that it was airborne, and that wearing masks & gloves offered protection. their masks were....not optimal (and yes, objectively funny to look at) but damn if they weren't using observation & logic, despite having no access to modern germ theory.
a little respect for the birdbrains behind the beaks
mother FUCKERS YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT
“but gaud the plague was spread by fleas” yes! the bubonic plague, aka the most common form/early stage of the disease, was transmitted blood & therefore fleas. however the pneumonic plague (a more advanced stage of the plague, caused by the same bacteria) was airborne. meaning that anyone who came in contact w/ these extremely infectious patients was at risk for airborne transmission, making masks a very good idea.Â
also here is your weekly reminder that plague masks looked like this:
“actually gaud plague medicine was pretty backwards & plague doctors were shit at their jobs” yes! yes that’s true! miasma theory (obsolete theory of how diseases spread) was lousy and not scientifically tested and we know better now (most of us)!Â
but given that the plague took place in the wake of centuries of the church &(church-fueled) warfare & feudalism suppressing scientific progress & preventing scientific discoveries from being imported from the Middle East & India--they could have done worse. honestly, they could have done worse.
like it’s not much, but the idea that an invisible infectious substance radiated off diseased or decaying organic matter....is about as close as you’re gonna get in a society that hasn’t discovered microscopes or the importance of the empirical scientific method. medieval germ theory was not impressive (given they weren’t aware germs existed) but they (kinda) figured out the importance of covering the mouth, eyes, and hands, and even quarantining to prevent airborne plague transmission. they did this while coming up with a bunch of super questionable plague “cures”, bc these guys weren’t scientists, they were barely even physicians, some of them didn’t even have medical training. often their main job was to keep track of infection rates & death tolls for governments that were as terrified & overwhelmed as their populations. these guys were as sad & desperate as everyone else, they were coming into regular high-risk contact w/ the diseased & dying, and there’s honestly no telling how much their suits actually protected them (the masks had nostril holes, the suits weren’t sanitized between uses).
but they kinda sorta got this one thing a little right. imma let them have this
