About Episode Four

Everything you ever wanted to know about fasting and fish, in particular the herring! Maybe more than you need, from weekly fasting to Ember Days and, of course, Lent. How did it all develop? What’s the whole fish thing all about? Manifestations of herring mockery across Europe and over the centuries… So where does Shakespeare’s Falstaff fit into all this? And what about the canons of Reims Cathedral. In a special guest appearance, Ian Duhig reads his poem Pascal Anthem. Alexandre Dumas gives us his great lost prequel to The Three Musketeers. Beautiful information! How could you have managed so long without it?

00:00 Introduction – including Ian Duhig’s Paschal Anthem

07:50 Fasting: the whens & wherefores

15:50 Why Fish?

24:00 The Economics of Herring Fishing

26:40 Herring Mockery

37:40 Acknowledgements