2. Flowers Were Believed to Prevent Plague
Thanks to the miasma theory of disease, which claimed that diseases were spread upon foul-smelling air vapors, 14th-century people seized on the idea that if foul smells spread illness then undoubtedly pleasant smells must prevent them. With the lack of any ability to identify the real source of the disease and thousands dying around you, why not try every possible route to avoid sickness?
The macabre, birdlike appearance of plague doctors has been immortalized in steampunk fantasy, horror games, and more. While it may seem like a grotesque reference to death, the masks had a very functional design. The long, beak-like masks were stuffed with a wealth of flowers to keep the foul miasmas from reaching the noses of the physicians. If they couldn’t smell the diseased vapors, they believed they wouldn’t be able to catch the plague.
Body collectors had far less wealth and couldn’t purchase the fanciful-looking physician’s masks, but they too attempted to use flowers to prevent disease. While it may seem absurd to us now, the miasma theory of disease transmission was the dominant belief in society from ancient times up until the late 19th century when germ theory finally, and correctly, become the prevailing view of public health and medicine.