Food at sea on the Late Antique Mediterranean

Meals on the backs of monstersThe 6th-c.Irish saint Brendan, around the midpoint of his life, traveled with a group of fellow monks on a search for the Promised Land of the Saints.One portion of this journey involved stopping on an island, a welcome respite after some time at sea in their currach, or small wood and skin boat.Upon landing ashore, he and his companions disembarked and removed from their craft a cooking pot and various meat and fish for salting.Once the fire was hot enough to make the cooking pot boil, the island began to tremble.Thinking quickly, Brendan ordered his fellow monks back to the boat and the safety of the sea.Only when they saw their campfire recede into the horizon did Brendan tell them this was no island, but the back of the great fish Jasconius.