Mask of a plague doctor. How to make a mask of a plague doctor?

The plague is a terrible disease that claimed millions of lives in the Middle Ages and left its imprint on the further development of the entire civilization, especially in Europe.

The plague carriers are small animals, such as marmots and rats. Even now, there are periodic outbreaks, especially in poor settlements, with widespread insanitary conditions and an abundance of rats.

Fortunately, now with the rapid establishment of a diagnosis and properly selected therapy, the plague is treated with little or no negative consequences for the person.

An indelible mark in the history of mankind

The first mention of the plague pandemic dates from 551-580 years and is called '' Justinian plague ''. The hearth of the emergence was Egypt, after which the disease spread to virtually the entire civilized world of the time. About 100 million people became victims.

However, when they talk about the plague, they often mean a terrible epidemic in the 14th century. Black death, brought from China, killed a third of the population of Europe.

During this period, a profession such as a plague doctor appeared. This is a doctor whose duty was to treat patients infected with the plague. In order not to get infected, doctors put on a special protective suit, the image of which is probably familiar to many.

First of all, this costume is known for its "beak" mask, which, by the way, later played a significant role in European culture. It began to be copied in the Italian comedies of the Renaissance and it became the prototype of the Venetian mask.

Medicine in the medieval world

Of course, in Medieval Europe, medicine was in a very deplorable state and did not have any adequate methods of treating even the simplest diseases, because of which the death rate was very high, and the life span was extremely short. All the achievements of the doctors of the Roman Empire were forgotten, and the world began to drown again in epidemics and pandemics.

Because of questionable methods of treatment and their ineffectiveness, the attitude of people towards the doctors was ambiguous. However, with the advent of the plague, it was not necessary to choose especially.

First plague doctors

Pope Clement of Rome 6 was the first to introduce such a position as a plague doctor. Doctors began to look for a cure for the disease, and most likely they found some weak methods, or they could show the appearance of progress. Therefore, soon this profession has become very popular and highly paid.

So, based on the records, the salary of a plague doctor was 4 times higher than the salary of an ordinary doctor.

The main methods of treating black death were bleeding, moxibustion or carving of plague buboes, the putting of toads, frogs and still not clear what to the affected areas. Antiseptics in those days was not.

Costume

The plague doctor's suit in its final form appeared in 1619, and was invented by his physician of French origin Charles da Lom. The robe was made of leather and resembled armor. It included:

• Mask with a "beak";
• Long, to the ankles, cloak;
• tight pants;
• Gloves;
• Shoes;
• Hat.

There was a special technology for fully performing the function of the mask of the plague doctor. With their own hands the creation of such a mask was unlikely, this was done by specially trained people.

Mask with a beak

Mask with a beak, as it was thought, its appearance should scare away the disease. However, it also had a more functional load, namely, it protected the doctor from the stench around him, in which the daily routine of the healers proceeded. In the tip of the beak were placed special medicinal herbs with a strong odor. The beak also had the opposite effect, as doctors constantly chewed garlic, the mask protected the people around from the garlic smell.

In the nostrils and ears were placed wads with incense. Also, the mask had glass inserts protecting the eyes.

Interesting fact: the famous predictor Nostradamus also worked as a plague doctor.

Suit of a plague doctor in our time

The outfit of the plague doctor is popular and recognizable at the moment. So, at many costume parties or Halloween holidays, the image of a medieval doctor will look very useful. Not to mention different theatrical productions.

That is why the mask of the plague doctor, made by himself, will be a very useful preparation for the future event. You can make it in various ways, and generally it is easy and does not require any specific skills. There are many methods by which a very impressive mask of a plague doctor may appear.

With our own hands, we make patterns using trial and error, selecting the desired shape of the beak. The whole mask should be proportional. Do not make the beak too long or thick.

Mask of paper

For example, the mask of a plague doctor with his own hands made of paper is done elementary. Just take paper of A3 size or 2 A4 sheets. Next, cut out two halves of the mask with a long beak, the frontal part of the side. All this is glued together with scotch tape.

We glue a thin elastic band so that the mask can be worn. If you want, paint it in black or some other color.

We make a mask of a plague doctor from papier-mache

The mask of the plague doctor, made with his own hands made of papier-mache, will be much denser and more realistic than just paper.

To do this, you will need:

• Sharp knife;
• Expanded polystyrene;
• Previous paper version of the mask;
• glue;
• toilet paper;
• newspaper.

So, take two blocks of expanded polystyrene, about 7 centimeters wide. First we need the right layout. Give the blocks some kind of mask. To do this, simply outline the paper version on expanded polystyrene. Next, using a knife, we process each block, giving them the appearance of half masks.

We glue the two halves with glue. Wait a few minutes until the mask dries. And then level the surface so that it becomes relatively smooth.

Now take the glue PVA and dilute it with water in the proportion 4: 1. Mix well with a brush. Foil tightly wrap the layout. It's okay if she crashes. Next, take a piece of toilet paper, apply it to the foil and smear with a solution of glue. So we glue the whole mask.

Next, we need an old, unnecessary newspaper, which can be broken into small pieces. We pasted the mask with these pieces. We make 5-6 newspaper layers. Leave this design for a day to dry.

The next day you need to detach the mask from the layout. To do this, you can slightly poddevat it with a clerical knife. When the mask is disconnected, remove the foil.

Now you need to cut out the holes for the eyes, then they can be decorated with a round frame for glasses. For beauty, color the mask gouache. Only use a minimum of water to not soak the structure. Glue the elastic band.

The mask of the plague doctor, created by his own hands, is ready.

How to make a mask from the skin?

So we reached the material from which the original masks of doctors were made. It will be a mask of a plague doctor made with his own hands made of leather. Let's get started.

1. You need a paper base. We cut the paper into separate elements of the mask.
2. Using the resulting pattern, cut out the same details from the skin.
3. Sew two beak halves.
4. Now attach the beak to the main part of the mask.
5. Next you need to glue the side parts of the mask.
6. When the glue dries, gently sew details for durability and beauty.
7. If you want to give the mask the right color, this should be done at this stage, using the dye for the skin.
8. The next step is to attach with rivets, glue or thread belts.
9. And the final touch is to decorate the eye holes. For example, using the side edges of the lids from the bottles.

Everything, the mask of the plague doctor, created by my own hands, is ready. Easy and fast. Now no causative agent of the plague is scary to you and you can bravely resist the scourge. It remains only to pick up a cloak, leather pants and boots with gloves.

Do not be afraid to experiment with different materials to get the most plausible mask of a plague doctor. With your hands how to make a layout, you already know.

It is interesting that the pants and cloak of the plague doctor were impregnated with wax or oil. It was believed that this will protect against disease. In any case, the fleas reacted negatively to such impregnation and stayed away from the fighters with the plague. Perhaps this is what saved the doctors.

A peculiar costume was supplemented with a stick, which doctors pierced buboes, reclined corpses, and at times defended themselves from the aggressive inhabitants of the contaminated territories.

By the way, in the original masks glasses for the eyes were supposed to be red, most likely, people believed that red color would scare away the disease, like the bird's beak. It is unclear only whether the doctors thought that the infection was carried by birds or, conversely, the birds repelled the plague. Whatever it was, and the mask was just such a kind that it is mostly mystical in nature.

In addition, there was another misconception: as if the plague is carried by cats, so very often, for the prevention of shaggy brothers, smaller ones were simply burned, along with corpses and houses.

At the waist, doctors had a bunch of garlic. It is obvious that only men could become doctors, since women in Christian Europe did not have special rights.

So we figured out how to make such an unusual object, like the mask of a plague doctor, with our own hands. Men's plague masks were somewhat different in appearance depending on the region where the doctor worked. So there are no strict criteria for manufacturing.