A Cultural History of the Plague

[Matthew]

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04sv2wt


Have not had a chance to listen but seems interesting.

[Matthew]

Rats not responsible for the Black Death (at least to start with !).

www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31588671

Interesting to see this. Recently read a history of 'The Black Death' and much was made of the difference of opinion between mainly Russian researchers and others around this particular theory. My understanding is that this article very much puts forward the Russian stance although credit is given to a Norwegian Professor.

[edwin]

In America, for example, ground squirrels and prairie dogs are the main plague reservoirs.Nothing new in this report.
So assuming large numbers of rats weren't living with gerbils what was the mechanism to conduct fleas from gerbils to X then to rats? Fleas on black rats caused the plaque in Europe, that narrative doesn't change.

[Matthew]

I think the issue has been in trying to ascertain who 'patient zero' might have been and tracking its progress into Western Europe (although that most certainly seems to have been via trading ships arriving at, I think, Genoa).

[edwin]

OT but have I mentioned that I once worked with a Were-gerbil. She kept gerbils and had a passing resemblance in the quickness of her movements to them so we became convinced that come the new moon...........