Plague Doctor Ring w/Gun Metal Finish (#686GM)Plague Doctor Ring w Gun Metal Finish Behind the Mask: The Plague Doctor In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, some doctors wore a beak like mask which was filled with aromatic items. The masks were designed to protect them from the bubonic plague. The first epidemic of bubonic plague dates back to the mid 6th century, known as the Plague of Justinian. The largest epidemic was the Black Death of Europe in the 14th century. In medieval times the