Finding my historical face masks

I’m one of many people that wear face masks during the corona virus pandemic. Not always of course, for example not during a forest walk where I’m alone. But for sure during shopping or in crowded places.

I also wear a mouth mask during my work. As a high school teacher, washing our hands and opening the windows is just not safe enough when you work with a group within a building or room. So mouth masks are evidently a part of the solution.

And of course as a history teacher, I needed to get my hands on some historical face masks. Spoiler alert: mission accomplished!

History themed face masks: not that easy to find

In my opinion, the Covid pandemic is an historic event which will be remembered. It’s also not the only disease with a historic background. Think about examples like rickets disease.

Although I had my summer vacation to find face masks with a historical theme, they were not easy to find. I saw some on Twitter, but there were only a few ones to raise funding for a good cause. Unfortunately I was too late to buy one of these.

Most of the face masks you can find are very colourful, or made with an environmental theme (which is also a good idea for masks used in schools). But as a history teacher I really wanted some masks that had something to do with history.

Finding the historical themed face masks: Royal Library of Belgium

It took me a while, but I found my historical themed face masks. The Royal Library of Belgium printed several of them, always with another theme. The Royal Library of Belgium is not a regular library. It is a scientific library with a collection of all the work published in Belgium. It’s also responsible for the research and preservation of cultural heritage (mainly manuscripts and miniatures).

Let me first show you my masks before explaining the themes:

First mask: books of the Dukes of Burgundy

The origin of the artwork of the first mouth mask is an old manuscript: the books of the Dukes of Burgundy, dating back to the 15th century. These manuscripts were used as a propaganda tool. On the face mask, you see a depiction of the First Punic War where consul Marcus Aurelius is fighting a dragon. The artwork is based on the ancient work of Latin author Titus Livius.

It’s obvious that the Burgundy manuscripts are showing a depiction of a medieval scenery instead of an ancient one. We see a dragon, armor and even medieval architecture. An example of the Middle Ages, where artists used there own time and environment instead of being historically correct.

Second mask: psalter count of Flandres (Dampierre)

The second mask is more colorful. It’s a miniature from a psalter made for one of the Dukes of Flandres: Guy of Dampierre who lived in the 13th century. You see a manuscript text with the sdies decorated with several creative motives, colors and creatures. Most of the time, these decorations were used to demonstrate moral lessons. Because of course, a picture tells you more than words.

Your own historical themed face mask?

If you want more information about my face masks or you want to buy your own historical themed face mask (and support the Royal Library of Belgium), then visit the KBR website.

My review of the masks: I must say, the quality of the fabric is good, but it needs a special way to knot it around your head. At least I couldn’t figure it out myself and I needed to ask two people before we figured out you need to hang it in front of you like a baby napkin before strapping the other string behind your head. And after that it needs several adjustments.

You also need to put a filter cloth inside the mask which tends to move when you talk a lot (a problem that occurs a lot when you work as a teacher and have a bit of a beard).

So as a conclusion: these historical themed face masks are a very nice gimmick. My pupils loved it. But it’s not a face mask I will wear everyday or in less safe environments where there is a crowd. For these situations, I still prefer the regular mouth masks.

Stay safe!