So you're a medieval landlord, collecting property rent from your peasants in eels. How do you measure them?
Eels were usually counted in units called sticks (25 eels) -- likely from the number of eels you can smoke on a stick at one time. 10 sticks of eels was called a bind.
Eels were usually counted in units called sticks (25 eels) -- likely from the number of eels you can smoke on a stick at one time. 10 sticks of eels was called a bind.
So may great questions! I'll try to get to them in coming days. But, briefly:
There were LOTS of eels in medieval England. People ate them, traded them, wrote about them, & paid taxes in them. In 1200 there were 500k+ eels being paid in in-kind taxation each year. Here's a map!
There were LOTS of eels in medieval England. People ate them, traded them, wrote about them, & paid taxes in them. In 1200 there were 500k+ eels being paid in in-kind taxation each year. Here's a map!
You can find an interactive version, with information about specific rents, as well as information about rents in other centuries, here:
historiacartarum.org/eel-rents-proj…
historiacartarum.org/eel-rents-proj…
