I am very proud to share with you that Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture has just published a paper of mine about a rat on the table of the Last Supper!

Last Supper Window in the vestry of St. Mary’s Church, Warwick, u.k.
courtesy of Rene Greville

Bibliographic Information

Bauer, Olivier. (2012). A Rat in the Plate: Last Supper’s Window in Saint-Mary’s Church, Warwick. Gastronomica. The Journal of Food and Culture, 12(4), 62-67.

Abstract

What is a rat doing on a Last Supper plate? Did Jesus and his disciples really eat such a disgusting animal? At the end of the sixteenth century, an anonymous artist positioned a rat in front of Jesus in a Last Supper window of the church of Warwick (UK). The Gospels do not state that Jesus’ last meal included rat, and rat was not a common food at that time; so why did the artist include a rat, if it is indeed a rat? The rat could convey a mysterious message. At the Lord’s Table, the real “rat” might not be who he seems to be!