Color of the Day - Scarlet

Scarlet, 1607 – Scarlet cloth was supposed to be endued with medicinal virtues, of which an instance is given by Dr. Gaddesden, who is said to have cured a patient of the small-pox by wrapping him in a scarlet cloth. “And these applied with a right scarlet cloth.” B. Jonson’s Volpone.
Glossary and Etymological Dictionary, 1834

excerpt from:
Elephant's Breath and London Smoke
A Dictionary of Color in History
edited by Deb Salisbury
Available at www.Mantua-Maker.com