Cats had a contradictory place in medieval life. They killed rats and mice, and the sumptuary laws of 1363 allowed lower-status people to wear cat fur for warmth. Edward, Duke of York's hunting treatise nevertheless described cats as devilish because they tormented prey before killing it. Practical acceptance appears at Exeter Cathedral, which paid its cats one penny a week and gave them a small opening through the north transept wall so they could hunt vermin. A guide for enclosed women allowed cats as companions while warning that affection for them must not outrank love of God. Records of purchases and a lawsuit show that cats were valued property, while a manuscript illumination depicts them hunting rodents and birds, roaming at night, and sleeping beside the fire.
Notable Point · 4:18-6:30
Cats between pest control and suspicion
Cats appear as useful mousers and affordable fur, but also as animals burdened by moral suspicion and religious imagery.