PLAGUE DOCTOR WARNS: DO NOT SNEEZE DIRECTLY INTO THE KING
Royal physicians publish a new ordinance after a chamberlain's untimely expulsion at court.
— Filed by Brother Aldous, Scrivener-at-Large
Medical Advisory
- Crush three parts rue, two parts mugwort, one part regret. Inhale only on Tuesdays.
- Apply leeches to the temples for general decongestion of the humours.
- Practice thinking dry thoughts: stones, kindling, the inside of a barrel.
- Avoid eye contact with horses while afflicted; they remember.
Etiquette Codex
- A sneeze in the presence of a lord requires a 40-day apology in writing.
- The communal handkerchief is to be folded thrice before passing to one's left.
- Never blow before the bell, never after the bell, never during the bell.
- Aristocratic congestion is to be described as 'a small consideration of the head.'
Mucus Forecast
STM-1348.WXArtifacts
Used by the household of the Bishop of Tournai, c. 1346. Provenance disputed.
Recovered from a sealed chest in the Hospital of the Innocents.
A monk depicts an unidentified pale blob lurking beside Saint Sebastian.
BROTHER ALDOUS' RESTORATIVE PASTE
For the gentleman afflicted by the four humours and one or two new ones. Apply liberally to the chest, the brow, and any nearby horse.
May cause visions. Not a substitute for prayer.
Pack the Plague Doctor's Beak
Interactive ExhibitSelect three herbs to ward off miasma. The committee will judge your choices.
A Suspicious Footnote
“A pale, immortal substance was reportedly seen weeping from a chapel wall in Avignon, October 1348.” [citation needed]
Hint: a pale specimen is hidden somewhere in the exhibit above. Find it.