Plague Doctors and Medieval Music!

Ah, the plague doctors, or beak doctors as they were also known... What an oddity of history.

And yet, my future brother-in-law wants to dress as one for my upcoming Medieval/Renaissance wedding. At first I wasn't fond of the idea. He is in the wedding party after all. Then I decided that, as long as the mask stayed off for the ceremony, I didn't much care. The main point in getting people to dress up is to have fun, after all. At least that's become my opinion. :P

A friend recently showed me this amazing plague doctor costume. How cool is that? My brother to be is hoping to experiment with leather for his mask. If his plans work out, I will post the results for the world to see!


I also want to share a website I found about musical instruments used in early music. I don't know about you, but, while listening to pieces of Medieval or Renaissance music for wedding ideas, I often wonder what certain instruments are. Of course, many of us are very familiar with the harp, the lute, the bagpipes, and the dulcimer. But what about the lizard? The rauschpfeife? The psaltery? Or the haunting gemshorn? Many of the instruments come with sound clips and sometimes whole songs. You can even see what the inside of a hurdy-gurdy looks like! This site is an excellent resource for anyone concerned with period music!