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Surprised Eel Historian, PhD
@greenleejw.bsky.social
Surprised historian, not surprised eels. Doctor of medieval history. Talking about eels, maps, the Spaniel, and funny things kids say. Custom maps on commission: surprisedeelmaps.com/
10.4k followers194 following3.4k posts
SEgreenleejw.bsky.social

Friends, it's Friday. You deserve a little treat. An eel history treat. So enjoy this 12th C. image of a medieval hulk. It may be the earliest illustration of one that we have. But ALSO there's a saucy upside-down eel in the water. And that's the important thing! 🗃️🧪

Medieval painting of a ship on the water, against an orange background. The ship has one sail, and it is being blown all out of shape by the winds, which you can see personified behind the ship. They look like little angry fuzzballs with faces, blowing furiously. The ship is atop a the crest of a good sized wave; this along with the wind suggest a squall. The front of the ship has been carved into something like a griffin's head. The ship carries six people. The man at the back is controlling a long steering board, or an oar that he's using for a rudder. His moth is slack, and he looks distressed by the state of the sale. The other people on the boat seem uninterested, but do seem to be arguing with each other. Perhaps one of them was using loaded dice. Below the ship, in the water, are several fish, including an upside down eel. You are expecting me to make an Incredible Hulk joke here, but this hulk is wholly credible. Source: Corpus Christi College, Oxford MS 157, fol 383r.
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michael-mooney.bsky.social

That’s eely something

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NGnigelgoldenfeld.bsky.social

Thank you for this! It's not often that I've seen the words "saucy upside down eel" in the same sentence or paragraph, let alone phrase.

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Surprised Eel Historian, PhD
@greenleejw.bsky.social
Surprised historian, not surprised eels. Doctor of medieval history. Talking about eels, maps, the Spaniel, and funny things kids say. Custom maps on commission: surprisedeelmaps.com/
10.4k followers194 following3.4k posts
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