Eels weren't just for paying rent in medieval England; they were also part of the trade economy!

A 10th C. schoolbook includes an imaginary discussion w/ a fisherman who says he catches eels & takes them to town for sale, but that he can't catch enough to meet market demand. /1

So how do you get your eels to town? You can transport them live in barrels or baskets; eels can live for a time out of water, esp. if packed in damp moss or hay.

Or you might smoke them & take them to market in units of 25, called sticks. /2 https://twitter.com/greenleejw/status/1204839635802841095

Getting the fish to town wasn't always easy, though. There were pirates, bandits, & unscrupulous folk like Geoffrey Cardun. In 1203 he was found guilty of collecting illegal tolls on people passing through his land, including taking one stick from each eel cart.

Villany! /3

There are places where this eel trade is still remembered. In Beverley -- an important premodern market town -- the medieval Fish Traders Guild is memorialized with 6 paving insets, marked w/ eels, leading from the market to the old town gate. /fin