Perhaps one of the most macabre and sinister-looking masks around the world is the centuries old 'Plague Doctor' or the 'Medico della Peste’ mask. The grotesque mask, despite being a prominent feature at the famous Venice Carnival, worn at elaborate masquerade balls, and associated with II Medico della Peste, the famous Commedia dell'arte character is steeped in tragic history relating to the Black Death.
THE BLACK DEATH
The bubonic plague, also known as the 'The Black Death', swept through Europe in the mid-1300s leaving a trail of desperation, grief and despair in its wake, as well as social and economic catastrophe. After a brief respite it returned in the early 14th century and relentlessly took its toll until the beginning of the 18th century, by which time the devastating pandemic had caused the deaths of millions of people across the Middle East, Asia and Europe, where the Black Death is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of the population.
Physicians and academics at that time were convinced that the contagious disease was airborne and a result of the 'Miasma Theory'. This theory promoted the view that people fell sick due to the inhalation of foul-smelling air. Today, the Miasma Theory is now medically obsolete, but that offers little comfort to those who suffered and received no real care during their darkest hours.
With no understanding of their symptoms, no clear doctor's advice and no medicine to combat the disease, we can only imagine the terror experienced by the men, women and children infected with the Black Death, not least because their last hope lay with the plague doctor – a ghoulish-looking figure who roamed the streets and was an indicator of their imminent death. To get more information visit #masquerade masks.
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