Was the plague doctor real6/17/2023 After some discussion the council instructed its representatives “to deal promptly with Dr. On May 10, 1630, the town council of Torino considered the conditions requested by one Dr. Although they inform us about the terms eventually agreed upon by the parties involved, the cold and detached juridical prose of the notaries hardly reveals the bargaining which always preceded the final settlements. Texts of agreements between town administrations and plague doctors are not difficult to find in the archives and some have been published. Those who applied for such positions were normally either second rate doctors who had not been particularly successful in their practice or young doctors trying to establish themselves. Their job was not only particularly dangerous but also very unpleasant because the plague doctor was quarantined, so to speak, for the entire period of the epidemic and some til the thereafter. These were physicians or surgeons, especially hired by an infected town or village in time of an epidemic, who were responsible for the treatment of the plague patients only and had to refrain from intercourse with the rest of the population. The solution to this double-edged problem was found with the institution of the community plague doctors. On the other hand, if the plague were so highly contagious, a doctor visiting a patient – it was argued – would not only easily contract the infection but would also carry it to other people or to patients suffering from other ailments. Thus it was not easy in time of epidemic to find doctors willing to treat plague patients. Ever since the outbreak of the great pandemic of 1347 – 1351 people recognized the infectious nature of plague, but because they were totally ignorant of the sequence rat – rat’s flea – man they overrated the possibility of man to man infection. The dire result of this disequilibrium was the recurrence of epidemics, mostly of bubonic plague, which at closely spaced intervals wiped out a large portion of the population. The Medieval and Renaissance city was affiicted with a problem which was essentially ecological in nature, namely a violent disequilibrium between the density of the population and the prevailing levels of hygiene and public health. This is an excerpt from the book The Medieval City, published in 1977. Excerpt from the book The Medieval City (1977) Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. The editorial pages editor is Hardip Johal, who can be reached at HERE to report a typo. He can be reached at to the editor should be sent to. Peter McKnight’s column appears weekly in the Sun. But if it’s the latter, then the College of Physicians and Surgeons needs to take action, since their medical education has been sorely neglected or ignored.Īnd if it’s the former, if they’re knowingly promoting falsehoods - and their propensity to cite far-right non-medical media in defence of their claims seems a dead giveaway - then, again, the College needs to take action.Īfter all, plague doctors ought to be seeking the end of the plague, not the end of those suffering with it. Now I can’t say for certain that this analysis applies to them: I don’t know anything about their conscientiousness, nor do I know if they might really believe in the snake oil they’re selling. Article contentĪll of which brings us back to today’s plague doctors. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.Westcoast Homes & Design Previous Issues.Vancouver Sun Run: Sign up & event info.
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