Fish and Shellfish.—­Freshwater fish, which was much more abundant in former days than now, was the ordinary food of those who lived on the borders of lakes, ponds, or rivers, or who, at all events, were not so far distant but that they could procure it fresh.  There was of course much diversity at different periods and in different countries as regards the estimation in which the various kinds of fish were held.  Thus Ausone, who was a native of Bordeaux, spoke highly of the delicacy of the perch, and asserted that shad, pike, and tench should be left to the lower orders; an opinion which was subsequently contradicted by the inhabitants of other parts of Gaul, and even by the countrymen of the Latin poet Gregory of Tours, who loudly praised the Geneva trout.  But a time arrived when the higher classes preferred the freshwater fish of Orchies in Flanders, and even those of the Lyonnais.  Thus we see in the thirteenth century the barbel of Saint-Florentin held in great estimation, whereas two hundred years later a man who was of no use, or a nonentity, was said to resemble a barbel, “which is neither good for roasting nor boiling.”

[Illustration:  Fig. 100.—­The Pond Fisherman.—­Fac-simile of a Woodcut of the “Cosmographie Universelle” of Munster, folio, Basle, 1549.]

In a collection of vulgar proverbs of the twelfth century mention is made, amongst the fish most in demand, besides the barbel of Saint-Florentin above referred to, of the eels of Maine, the pike of Chalons, the lampreys of Nantes, the trout of Andeli, and the dace of Aise.  The “Menagier” adds several others to the above list, including blay, shad, roach, and gudgeon, but, above all, the carp, which was supposed to be a native of Southern Europe, and which must have been naturalised at a much later period in the northern waters (Figs. 100, 101, and 102).

[Illustration:  Fig. 101.—­The River Fisherman, designed and engraved, in the Sixteenth Century, by J. Amman.]

[Illustration:  Fig. 102.—­Conveyance of Fish by Water and Land.—­Fac-simile of an Engraving in the Royal Statutes of the Provostship of Merchants, 1528.]

The most ancient documents bear witness that the natives of the sea-coasts of Europe, and particularly of the Mediterranean, fed on the same fish as at present:  there were, however, a few other sea-fish, which were also used for food, but which have since been abandoned.  Our ancestors were, not difficult to please:  they had good teeth, and their palates, having become accustomed to the flesh of the cormorant, heron, and crane, without difficulty appreciated the delicacy of the nauseous sea-dog, the porpoise, and even the whale, which, when salted, furnished to a great extent all the markets of Europe.

The trade in salted sea-fish only began in Paris in the twelfth century, when a company of merchants was instituted, or rather re-established, on the principle of the ancient association of Nantes.  This association had existed from the period of the foundation under the Gauls of Lutetia, the city of fluvial commerce (Fig. 103), and it is mentioned in the letters patent of Louis VII. (1170).  One of the first cargoes which this company brought in its boats was that of salted herrings from the coast of Normandy.  These herrings became a necessary food during Lent, and