Podcast Summary: After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Episode: Day in the Life of a Black Death Rat

Hosts: Anthony Delaney & Maddy Pelling
Guest: Dr. Kathleen Walker Meekel (Historian at the University of Basel)
Date: October 16, 2025

Overview

This lively and imaginative episode of After Dark explores the Black Death through an unexpected lens: the daily existence of a medieval "Black Death" rat. Departing from the human-centric narrative, the hosts and their guest, Dr. Kathleen Walker Meekel, delve into how rats lived, what medieval towns were really like, misconceptions about dirt and disease, and how society viewed and attempted to control these animals. The result is a humorous, enlightening, and at times surprising journey into the realities and myths of 14th-century life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: England, 1348

(02:31)

• Maddy paints a sensory image of a small English village, introducing the central "character": a rat (Rattus rattus).
• This narrative device sets the stage for discussing the realities and perceptions of medieval towns and their animal populations.

2. Medieval Towns: Busting Myths about Filth

(06:02–08:03)

• Dr. Walker Meekel debunks the widespread idea that medieval towns were cesspools of filth:
  • Medieval people actively regulated waste disposal and animal control.
  • Towns had rules against dumping trash and letting animals roam unchecked.
  • Public bathhouses were common, and hygiene was taken seriously.
  • Bad smells (miasmas) were considered a health risk, so townspeople tried to eliminate them.

"The idea that people in the Middle Ages are living around happily in their filth, I'm afraid, is a stereotype I'd like to very strongly take against."
— Dr. Kathleen Walker Meekel (06:02)

3. Black vs. Brown Rats: Who Spread the Plague?

(08:25–10:00)

• The "Black Death rat" was not the brown rat (now common in Europe) but the black rat.
  • Black rats are slimmer, slightly smaller, and have larger tails relative to size.
  • The black rat (Rattus rattus) is not native to Europe but came from South Asia.
  • Medieval references tend to distinguish rats from mice by size, not color.

4. Rat Imagery in Medieval Manuscripts

(10:54–14:12)

• Maddy describes a medieval drawing of rats rowing a boat—"Rats on a boat"—highlighting the way rats and mice were depicted in marginalia (the decorated borders of manuscripts).
  • Such images reflect the ubiquity of these animals and the medieval love of role-reversal and humor.
  • Rats sometimes appear as anthropomorphized, even performing human activities or starring in comic scenes.

"They liked very much this idea of the world upside down… so the animal that is normally picked on… gets its own back."
— Dr. Kathleen Walker Meekel (11:54)

5. Rat Social Life & Encounters

(14:23–15:42)

• Rats would share space with various animals: mice (often seen as subordinate), dogs, cats, pigs, horses, and of course, humans.
• The idea that rats "bully" mice is prominent in medieval literature.

6. Pets in Medieval Society

(16:20–17:57)

• Contrary to modern belief, medieval people regularly kept pets:
  • Dogs (all shapes and sizes) and cats were the most common.
  • Cats were prized as both companions and efficient exterminators; monks and nuns often kept them, too.
  • Exotic pets such as parrots, monkeys, squirrels, rabbits, and even badgers and marmots were documented.

"They are keeping pets… and cats also have the good use in that they can get rid of your rats and your mice."
— Dr. Kathleen Walker Meekel (16:20)

7. Rats Inside Homes: Where Did They Hide?

(18:21–19:06)

• Rats made themselves at home in walls, under floorboards, and behind furniture.
• Medieval homes had fewer furnishings than today, but plenty of nooks for rodents to inhabit.

8. Medieval Attitudes Toward Rats

(19:46–22:09)

• Most people viewed rats as disgusting, troubling vermin.
• Widespread belief held that creatures like rats, fleas, and worms were born by "spontaneous generation"—emerging from decaying matter.

"They definitely saw them as vermin… and this is partly because rats and mice… are believed to be born by spontaneous generation."
— Dr. Kathleen Walker Meekel (19:46)

9. Getting Rid of Rats: Traps, Charms, and Poisons

(22:09–31:38)

• Dr. Walker Meekel outlines various methods:
  • Charms and Magic: Religious and magical charms invoked saints (especially St. Gertrude of Nivelles) to banish rats.
    • Example from a 15th-century manuscript (in Middle English) calls upon the Virgin Mary and St. Gertrude to drive away all rats. (26:39–28:12)

"I command all the rats that are in this place, within and without… that all these rats will go, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
— Dr. Kathleen Walker Meekel, reading a medieval rat charm (26:39) - Traps: Ingenious traps, sometimes looking like miniature crossbows, or simple box traps with cheese as bait. - Poisons: Recipes included arsenic, mercury, sugar, lard, honey, and more. - Chaucer's The Pardoner’s Tale references buying "rat poison" from an apothecary (29:06). - Listeners warned not to emulate medieval rat poison methods!

10. The Plague’s Spread: How Fast Did It Move?

(32:08)

• Medieval sources describe rapid, catastrophic spread and casualties.
• Historians still debate the exact rate and vectors of transmission, but note that plague likely spread swiftly in heavily populated areas.

11. Disease Theories and Rats’ Reputation

(33:23–35:13)

• Medieval people ascribed disease to foul air, miasmas, planetary alignments, poisoned wells, or personal bodily imbalances (humours)—not rats or fleas.
  • Even if told rats were the culprits, many might not have been surprised, since they already linked them to rot and pestilence.
• The importance of not scapegoating rats: modern outbreaks are manageable, and the medieval rats’ blame is both misunderstood and historically potent.

12. Medieval Squirrels: Surprising Significance

(35:45–36:58)

• The red squirrel was economically important for fur (linings for clothing), and also kept as a pet.
• Recent research indicates that squirrels might have played a role as reservoirs of leprosy in medieval Europe.

"A huge portion of the medieval economy is based around squirrel fur… they are keeping squirrels as pets."
— Dr. Kathleen Walker Meekel (35:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Medieval Stereotypes:

  “The idea that people in the Middle Ages are living around happily in their filth, I'm afraid, is a stereotype I'd like to very strongly take against.” — Dr. Walker Meekel (06:02)

• On Rat vs. Mouse Iconography:

  "They would cheerfully paint cats green, rats bright blue. So that's not really distinguishing on imagery." — Dr. Walker Meekel (11:54)

• On Pet Ownership in the Middle Ages:

  "They are keeping pets, particularly if we define that as an animal kept primarily for companionship..." — Dr. Walker Meekel (16:20)

• Middle English Rat Charm:

  “I command all the rats that are in this place, within and without, by the virtue of our sweet lady... that all these rats will go, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
  — Dr. Kathleen Walker Meekel, reading from a 15th-c. manuscript (26:39)

• On Medieval Disease Theories:

  “The main cause of disease is actually believed to be yourself, your own body, that due to a humoral distemper… if they get unbalanced, that makes you sick.” — Dr. Walker Meekel (33:23)

• On Squirrels and Leprosy:

  “That connection between squirrels and leprosy in the Middle Ages in which squirrels being a potential reservoir of the disease.” — Dr. Walker Meekel (36:51)

Key Timestamps

• 02:31: Setting the scene (the rat’s viewpoint)
• 06:02: Reality vs. myth: cleanliness in medieval towns
• 08:38: Differences between black and brown rats
• 10:54: Rat depictions in medieval art and their meanings
• 14:12: Rat encounters with other animals, fleas, and humans
• 16:20: Medieval pet ownership debunked
• 19:46: How people felt about rats and spontaneous generation
• 22:09: Folk magic and “official” responses to rats
• 26:39: Reading of a 15th-century rat-banishment charm
• 28:53: Poisons and trap technology
• 32:08: Plague transmission speed
• 33:23: Disease theory and rats' unfair reputation
• 35:45: Medieval squirrels: economy and disease

Final Thoughts

The episode is a playful yet rigorously researched exploration of how rats lived (and died) during the Black Death—and how people related to them. Dr. Walker Meekel’s expertise busts myths about medieval filth, provides laugh-out-loud animal anecdotes, and reframes the narrative away from scapegoating the rat, instead inviting consideration of their misunderstood historical role.

For fans of quirky history, animal studies, or just good storytelling, this episode offers vivid scene-setting, memorable characters (both human and rodent), and a robust challenge to lazy historical assumptions.