# Fishmonger > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fishmonger > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fishmonger.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishmonger > Source revision: 1345363807 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Profession of selling raw fish and seafood}} {{For|the album by Underscores|Fishmonger (album){{!}}''Fishmonger'' (album)}} [[File:PikePlaceMarket2006.jpg|thumb|A fishmonger in [Pike Place Market](/source/Pike_Place_Market) on the waterfront of [Seattle](/source/Seattle).]] A '''fishmonger''' (historically '''[fishwife](/source/fishwife)''' for female practitioners) is someone who sells raw [fish](/source/fish) and [seafood](/source/seafood). Fishmongers can be [wholesale](/source/wholesale)rs or [retail](/source/retail)ers, and are trained at selecting and purchasing, handling, gutting, boning, [filleting](/source/fillet_(cut)), displaying, merchandising and selling their product. In some countries, modern [supermarket](/source/supermarket)s are replacing fishmongers who operate in shops or [fish market](/source/fish_market)s. ==Worshipful Company of Fishmongers== [[File:Bartolomeo Passarotti - The fish stall.jpg|thumb|left|A 16th-century fishmongers stall. [Bartolomeo Passarotti](/source/Bartolomeo_Passarotti).]] {{Main|Worshipful Company of Fishmongers}} The fishmongers [guild](/source/guild), one of the earliest guilds, was established in the [City of London](/source/City_of_London) by a [Royal Charter](/source/Royal_Charter) granted by [Edward I](/source/Edward_I) shortly after he became king in 1272. Partnership with foreigners was forbidden and the sale of fish was tightly controlled to ensure freshness and restrain profit, which was limited to one penny in the [shilling](/source/shilling). Nevertheless, the guild grew rich and, after Edward's victory over the Scots, was able to make a great show, including one thousand mounted [knights](/source/knights).{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wbguAAAAMAAJ|title=Walks and talks about London|author=John Timbs|chapter=Curiosities of the Fishmongers' Hall|publisher=Lockwood|year=1865}} During the reign of [Edward II](/source/Edward_II), the political power of the fishmongers waned, and [Parliament](/source/English_Parliament) decreed that no fishmonger could become [mayor](/source/mayor) of the city. This was soon rescinded, and their wealth increased further so that, during the reign of [Edward III](/source/Edward_III), the guild could provide £40 to the war against the French, this being a great sum at that time. The guild was then reformed by [Great Charter](/source/Great_Charter) as the ''Mystery of the Fishmongers of London''. They were given a [monopoly](/source/monopoly) over the buying and selling of fish, and they regulated the catching of fish in the [Thames](/source/Thames), which teemed with fish such as [salmon](/source/salmon) at that time. The guild still continues today as one of the [Great Twelve City Livery Companies](/source/Great_Twelve_City_Livery_Companies). {{clear}} ==Tools== [[File:A fishmonger prepares to clean and butcher a pair of large fish in Malé.jpg|thumb|right|A fishmonger prepares to clean and butcher a pair of large fish in [Malé](/source/Mal%C3%A9).]] The tools used by fishmongers include:{{citation |title=The Fishmonger's Apprentice |chapter=A few good tools |page=19 |isbn=9781610594707 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hDe3j9hIgw0C|last1=Green |first1=Aliza |date=January 2011 }} * [Pliers](/source/Pliers) to pull out pinbones * A [fish scaler](/source/fish_scaler) to remove scales * A [filleting knife](/source/filleting_knife) to cut away the flesh from the bones * Short strong knives for opening oysters and other shellfish * Protective gloves * A curved knife for gutting and removing [roe](/source/roe) ==Fishmongers in culture== [[File:Molly malone grafton street-edit.jpg|thumb|right|The [fishwife](/source/fishwife) [Molly Malone](/source/Molly_Malone) of "[Cockle](/source/Cockle_(bivalve))s and [Mussel](/source/Mussel)s" fame.]] In many countries, the fishwife was proverbial for her sharp tongue and outspokenness. In [Medieval France](/source/Medieval_France), the ones in [Paris](/source/Paris) were known for their special privilege of being able to speak frankly to the King himself, when he ventured into the marketplace, and voice criticism without fear of punishment. [Molly Malone](/source/Molly_Malone) is a character from a popular Irish song about a young fishwife who tragically dies at a young age. [Charles Fort](/source/Charles_Fort) in his book ''Lo!'' compiles the story of the Mad Fishmonger or "St. Fishmonger", which later may or may not appear in the ''Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy'' by [Robert Anton Wilson](/source/Robert_Anton_Wilson). St. Fishmonger allegedly caused crabs and periwinkles to fall from the sky. In the English translation of the [Asterix](/source/Asterix) series, the village fishmonger is called Unhygienix. In the film ''[The Beach](/source/The_Beach_(film))'', the Island's chef has only fish as a source of meat, and is named Unhygienix in reference to the Asterix character. In [Shakespeare](/source/Shakespeare)'s ''[Hamlet](/source/Hamlet)'', some contend that the word ''fishmonger'' was a [euphemism](/source/euphemism) for a "fleshmonger," or [pimp](/source/pimp).Steve Roth, [http://www.princehamlet.com/QA.html#3 ''Hamlet: The Undiscovered Country''], 2009[http://www.clicknotes.com/hamlet/Pap.html Hamlet's Puns and Paradoxes] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613133240/http://www.clicknotes.com/hamlet/Pap.html |date=2007-06-13 }}, Click NotesShaaber MA (1971) [https://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2868815?uid=3738776&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21102012376203 "Polonius as Fishmonger"] ''Shakespeare Quarterly'', '''22''' (2). ==Historic fishmongers== * [Marretje Arents](/source/Marretje_Arents) * [Dolly Peel](/source/Dolly_Peel) * [Dolly Pentreath](/source/Dolly_Pentreath), the last native speaker of [Cornish](/source/Cornish_language) * [Bartolomeo Vanzetti](/source/Bartolomeo_Vanzetti), Italian [anarchist](/source/anarchist) executed in 1927 following a controversial American trial * [Muhammad Shahid Nazir](/source/Muhammad_Shahid_Nazir) * Jack Cullen, Irish fishmonger and tuba player ==Gallery== File:Joachim Beuckelaer - Fish Market.jpg |A 16th-century [Flemish](/source/Flanders) fishmonger painted by [Joachim Beuckelaer](/source/Joachim_Beuckelaer). File:Frans Snyders, The Fishmonger.JPG|''The Fishmonger''. By [Frans Snyders](/source/Frans_Snyders) (1579–1657). File:Adriaen van Utrecht - A Fishmonger's Stall.jpg|''Fishmonger's Stall'' by [Adriaen van Utrecht](/source/Adriaen_van_Utrecht) (1599–1652). File:J L Wouters Fishmonger.jpg|''The fishmonger'' by [Jan Ludewick Wouters](/source/Jan_Ludewick_Wouters) (1599–1663). File:Henry Herbert La Thangue - Crying Fish In Spain.jpg|''Crying fish in Spain'' by [Henry Herbert La Thangue](/source/Henry_Herbert_La_Thangue) (1859–1929). File:Gyula Derkovits, fish seller, 1930.jpg|''Fish seller'', 1930. By [Gyula Derkovits](/source/Gyula_Derkovits) (1894–1934). ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{Commons category|Fishmongers}} * [http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/hamlet/Pap.html Hamlet's Puns and Paradoxes] {{Fishing industry topics}} {{Retail}} {{Authority control}} Category:Fishmongers (people) Category:Food service occupations Category:Fish products sales --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fishmonger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishmonger) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishmonger?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.