What if the animal history has blamed for killing a third of Europe was not the primary culprit — and we have had the wrong suspect for over a century?

In this episode of Histories and Castles Deep Dive, we examine medieval pest control and the Black Death, the second plague pandemic that reshaped European society, demography, and the relationship between people and the natural world. From the filth of medieval streets to the DNA evidence locked in centuries-old burial sites, the picture that emerges is more complex, and more disturbing, than the standard story allows.

Listeners will discover:

• Why the black rat became the default villain of plague history, and what modern science actually says
• How human ectoparasites and direct transmission may have driven  ...