The origin of this legendary blend of ingredients comes into history somewhere between 1413 to 1630 somewhere in Europe. There are several versions, but most scholars place the emergence at around the 15th Century with emphasis on the Bubonic Plague. Legend has it that four French thieves — possibly originally spice traders — were robbing the sick and the dead during the pandemic of the Bubonic plague. To protect themselves from getting infected and dying from the Bubonic plague, the thieves used a blend of clove, cinnamon, eucalyptus, rosemary, and lemon oils.
Not much is known about how the thieves used their secret concoction. It's possible that they rubbed themselves — their hands, faces, and any exposed parts of their body with it, or wrapped a scarf saturated with the oil blend around their faces. It's also possible that they carried the ingredients in pouches as spice merchants were known to do during that time. Again, these facts are not known, but what is known is that miraculously none of them — despite being in contact with the sick and dying — succumbed to the deadly Bubonic plague.
Eventually authorities caught the four thieves. While there are several versions of what took place after they were caught, most believe this version: the judges were curious about why the four thieves did not die from the plague since they were constantly in such close contact with the sick and the corpses of those who died from the Bubonic plague. Instead of killing them for their crimes, the authorities struck a deal with the robbers to learn their secret concoction. Thus, the gift of the four french Thieves lives on for us today, to keep us safe.
