![]() People carried their posey with them to quickly deploy under their nose should they come across a foul smell that might carry the miasma of the plague. Painting: Portrait of a woman with a posey. Rosemary, tansy, lavender, carnation, and feverfew was a popular combination. The plague doctor renaissance vs victorian full#They consisted of strong smelling flowers and kitchen herbs being carried in a bundle, pinned to one’s garments or stuffed into pockets, hence pocket full of posey. The most common plague preservatives were posies and nosegays (aka bouquets and corsages). Life during the plague years was hard enough, one didn’t need to add to the burden by smelling of sulfur. While some people did choose to go this route, the most popular personal preservatives were pleasant smelling. When municipalities deployed aromatics for fumigations of public spaces they were mostly acrid. If you’ve read the Miasma post you will see a stark difference here between personal plague preservatives and public fumigations. (1432)īelow we will be discussing some of the smelly plague blockers that came into vogue over the four centuries of the Second Pandemic. Painting Detail: The Virgin Mary crowned with Lilies, Roses, and Lilly of the Valley. As the fear of infection grew people sought to be constantly surrounded by a perfumed force field. If malodour could carry pestilence the only solution, particularly for the wealthy, would be to counter them with pleasant smells. There were many amulets, magic ribbons, and special prayers that fall into this category but the overwhelming majority of plague preservatives were aromatic due to the prevalence of Miasma Theory. Essentially anything one was wearing or doing to avoid catching ill. 14r A plague preservative was a non-medical prophylactic to ward off the plague. Illustration: Charles VIII with Christ and Mary Magdalen in a walled herbal garden. The provenance of the song only goes back to the 18th century so who can say for sure, but the inclusion of the line, “pocket full of posey” helps support the case, as its the only line that directly references the custom of plague preservatives. Part III: An Apple of Whale Poop a Day Keeps The Black Death at BayĪ popular 20th-century interpretation of the nursery rhyme Ring-Around-The-Rosie is that it is about the Black Death.Part I: The Scented History of the Plague: A Primer.The Scented History of the Plague Series: In today’s post, we will be discussing the deliciously smelly ways that people tried to thwart the plague through the use of aromatics. If you are not familiar with the history of the plague in Europe, you may want to pop over to our primer first or learn about why miasma was important to the Black Death. This post is part of the Scented History of the Plague series. ![]()
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