Fish as an Article of Food. 
325 
CHAPTER XIV. 
The large Catholic population, and the great strictness with 
which fast-days were observed in medieval 
•' pish. 
England, rendered a constant supply of fish 
most important. Even after the Reformation, abstinence 
was still enjoined on all Fridays and Saturdays, as 
well as on other days denominated fish-days. Queen 
Elizabeth, it is said, who continued to enforce this change 
of diet, expressly stated that her object in thus adopting 
a Catholic custom was to encourage “fishermen, the 
chiefest nurse for mariners,” and to diminish the con¬ 
sumption of mutton. This was a measure of protection, 
not of religious observance, but at the same time it was 
politic on the queen’s part to maintain a ceremonial 
abstinence which was harmless and had certain advantages. 
In the fifth year of her Majesty’s reign it was ordained 
that a penalty of £3 should be inflicted on any one eating 
flesh on fish-days, or the alternative of three months’ 
imprisonment. This punishment was considered excessive, 
and on the 10th of March, 1594, an order of Privy Council 
reduced the penalty to £1. This order is given in full 
in Mr. Arber’s English Garner , 1877 (vol. i. p. 299). In 
this document it is estimated that the number of oxen 
killed weekly in the city of London amounted to 67,000 ; 
the fish-days in the year, including Lent, amounted to 
153. 
