Medieval Rodent
The preserved body of a rat found in the skull of William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury when his tomb was opened by Wyatt in 1791. This is an old English black rat and is in a remarkable state of preservation. It has been suggested that Longespée died ‘not without suspicion of poison’ and in fact arsenical poisoning might account for the condition of the rat. The Earl was the illegitimate son of King Henry II and therefore the half-brother of King John. William was one of the original witnesses to the Magna Carta.
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