“Majores mures, qui vulgariter rati vocantur”: черният плъх (Rattus rattus) и Юстиниановата чума
“Majores mures, qui vulgariter rati vocantur”: the Black rat (Rattus rattus) and the Justinianic plague

Summary/Abstract: The present paper deals with the introduction and distribution of the black or ship rat (Rattus rattus) into Europe and the Near East during the Early Middle Ages. The black rat is carrier of the oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis), which is the main vector of the Yersinia pestis pathogen – the causative agent of the bubonic plague. Thus Rattus rattus is considered to be a “prime suspect”, if we use the words of M. McCormick, in the outbreak and spreading of the so-called Justinianic plague (541–750). Thoroughly based on zooarchaeological evidence, the paper clearly demonstrates that the black rat colonies exceed permanently the borders of their natural habitat in South East Asia not later than the early 1st century AD, and reach not only the Mediterranean Basin but also France and the British Isles. As a result of that arises the necessary ecological background for the outbreak and spreading of the Justinianic plague.

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