Eels were once the most widely eaten fish in England, eaten in greater quantities than all the other fresh and sea fish combined. Before the drainage of the fens and marshes got going they were ubiquitous, in every stream and pond. In a Catholic country, before the Reformation, fish were needed every Friday and in Lent, and eels didn’t need to be preserved because they could be kept alive. Henry I loved eels, and Henry II gave his otter hunter a piece of property on the condition that he could drop in at any time for a feed of eels. Nobles ordered tens of thousands of eels for their feasts.
"Henry II gave his otter hunter a piece of property on the condition that he could drop in at any time for a feed of eels."
This story has a familiar bleakness but I'm grateful for this one sweet thing. I hope it wasn't an awkward occasion when the king dropped by.