Fish, Fishponds & Garum — Cornell-style Flashcards (Clauses 21,34,44,45,62,65)
Instructions: Each card is Cornell-style — left cue column (clause number + quirky legal advice / question), right note column (places, settings, roles from that clause & a short Ally McBeal–style lyric summary). Print double-sided if you like: cues left, notes right.
Cue: Steward, pond or pond-not? (Legal tip: keep the royals fed and the mud tidy!)
- Our estates (royal demesne)
- Fishponds — existing ones to be kept or enlarged; new ponds where practicable
- The steward (responsible on each estate)
Lyrical legalese: "Steward, steward, mind the moat — keep the pond full, enlarge the boat; where practicable, dig and sow, so royal kitchens never go low."
Think like a mini-lawyer: Where would you place a new pond on an estate — near fields, near streams, or by the kitchen? Why?
Cue: Garum gets a hygiene grade — clean or be seen to fail the smell test!
- Work done on the estates (places where household goods are made & prepared)
- Those who make foods and goods on the estate (that is, the steward’s workers / estate craftsmen)
- Product highlighted: garum (fish sauce)
Lyrical legalese: "Make the sauce with hands so clean, garum fit for royal cuisine; neat as law, neat as art — a tidy vat, a tidy heart."
Think like a mini-lawyer: Why would the ruler care that garum is made very cleanly? What could go wrong if it isn’t?
Cue: Lent delivery duty — fish on the royal table or boxed for the lord? (Legal hint: count two-thirds!)
- Lenten provisions on estates (fish are explicitly named among Lenten food)
- Sent for "our use" — i.e., royal/palace use
- Stewards (they arrange the sending and must report leftovers)
Lyrical legalese: "Two-thirds by Lent to palace sped — fish in the chest, the table fed; steward write, report the rest, so crown can know who did the best."
Think like a mini-lawyer: If you were a steward, how would you choose which fish to send for Lent and which to keep?
Cue: Keep your fishermen and net-makers handy — hire smart hands in every district!
- The steward’s district (local area of each estate)
- Every steward (must keep good workmen in his district)
- Fishermen (explicitly named)
- Net-makers (to make good nets for hunting or fishing)
Lyrical legalese: "Fisherman, net‑maker, fine and neat — in every district, keep the fleet; steward hires, steward keeps, fish and nets for royal feasts."
Think like a mini-lawyer: What two skills would you teach a new fisherman first? Why?
Cue: Count the fish like coins — annual report due at Christmas. (Legal tip: keep neat tallies!)
- Fishponds (listed among income sources from estates)
- Estates — where income (including fish) is produced
- Information to be sent at Christmas time (reporting to the royal court)
- Each steward (must make an annual statement of income, including fishpond yields)
Lyrical legalese: "Ledger set at Christmas tide — fishpond count on paper wide; steward notes each net and fry, sends the sums to palace high."
Think like a mini-lawyer: How could a steward keep a fair count of fish from a pond? What records would help?
Cue: Sell, restock, repeat — profit for the crown when the king’s away. (Legal wink: keep stock but mind the purse!)
- Fishponds on the royal estates
- When the ruler does not visit the estate (times when king absent)
- Our stewards (may sell fish from ponds, restock with new fish, and gain profit for the ruler)
Lyrical legalese: "Fish away when sovereign’s gone — sell a share, then put new on; steward pockets royal gain, yet leaves the pond to swell again."
Think like a mini-lawyer: If you could only sell half the pond this year, how many fish would you restock so there’s always some left for next season?
Notes: Each card includes only the places/settings and people/roles that are actually mentioned in the listed clauses and only where they connect to fish, fishponds or garum. Use these as front/back flashcards: left column = cue & question, right column = facts + tiny Ally McBeal lyric to help memory.