A basic understanding of the period from school teaches that people had no idea what was causing the spread of the disease, leading to the rise of Plague Doctors offering herbs and flowers to ward off the disease. Was the existence of these doctors due to a lack of any real understanding of what was causing the plague, or were they merely con artists looking for uninformed marks? Furthermore, was there any widespread faith placed in in the success of these doctors, and were they as commonplace as one might imagine? Thanks a lot for any insight.
No, no one knew the original source of the plague. They did understand human-to-human transmission though. They knew if you touched someone with the plague, you were likely to get it.
That's why houses were quarantined and the entire village of Eyam quarantined itself.
There was a general belief that smells caused disease, because often, what smells bad can carry disease. They made the link but a slightly wrong one. It was common for people to use scents and flowers to try to purify the air. People thought a good smell would counteract a bad one.