The remarkable series of obedientiary rolls of every kind pertaining to the great Benedictine priory of Durham, which have recently been printed for the Surtees’ Society in three volumes by Canon Fowler (1898-1901), throw remarkably full light on the dieting of monks in a great house whose funds were never lacking. The accounts are exceptionally complete for the year 1333-4. The cellarer’s roll contains each week’s expenditure for food. The roll begins with the week after Martinmas, when the following were the cellarer’s purchases:--1000 herrings, 6_s._ 9_d._; a horse-load of whiting, 4_s._; 7 salmon, plaice, and smelts, 4_s._ 2_d._; pork and veal, 9_s._ 0½_d._; 7 sucking pigs, 14 geese and 17 fowls, 7_s._ 4½_d._; wildfowl, 3_s._; butter and honey, 10_d._; 48 fowls, 8_s._; and 700 eggs, 42_s._ 6_d._ The following are the entries for the week that included Christmas Day:--8 horse-loads of whiting, 26_s._ 9_d._; 2 horse-loads of plaice, smelts, and lobsters, 17_s._ 1_d._; 2 turbots and 1 salmon, bought in the town, 6_s._ 9_d._; veal, 3_s._ 2_d._; 68 fowls for gifts, 5_s._ 4_d._; 10 ducks and wildfowl, 9_s._ 9_d._; 4 stone of cheese and 4 stone of butter, 7_s._ 6_d._; and 12 fowls, 2_s._ 2_d._ There were no eggs bought in Christmas week, but in the following week 900 were purchased. Throughout the whole of Lent the weekly purchases were strictly confined to fish, not even eggs being allowed; the week before Lent 900 eggs were bought, and in Easter week 300. It may here be mentioned that the eggs purchased by the cellarer in the whole year amounted to 44,140. The purchases made in the second week in Lent were:--9 horse-loads of whiting, bought at the seaside and elsewhere, 43_s._ 6½_d._; 9 fresh salmon and 3 turbot, 26_s._ 10_d._; and 27 crabs, plaice, smelts, and mussels, 6_s._ 7_d._ The third week’s purchases were:--1000 red herrings, bought at Newcastle, 9_s._; 9 horse-loads of whiting, bought at the seaside and in the town, 55_s._ 9_d._; 2 salmon, 5_s._ 2_d._; 80 salt fish bought at Newcastle, 16_s._ 6_d._; and 140 salt mackerel and mussels, for the servants, 6_s._ 7_d._ Lent was evidently rigorously kept, for twice during the great fast the prior entertained an earl and his household without any change in the fish diet. This monastery was certainly fortunate in being within easy distance of the best part of England’s fishing coast. The Durham monks and their retainers and guests could always procure a considerable variety of fish diet. During this particular year, in addition to the varieties already named, the cellarer was able to supply for the tables, whelks, kippers, cod, codling, trout, skate, sturgeon, eels, lamprey, fresh herrings, and porpoise.