Section 4 Summary (Chapter 7 Friday's Salt, Chapter 8 A Nordic Dream, Chapter 9 A Nordic Dream) Summary and Analysis

Chapter 7 begins with the Basque. The Basque lived in a mountainous region partly in Spain, partly in France that border on the Atlantic coast. They speak a special and unique language that is not related to any other European languages. They were also different in that they hunted whales. The Basque made fortunes selling the whale oil and the tons of whale meat that they would catch. In Catholic Europe, the church outlawed eating meat on Friday. Some parts of the whale, like the tongue and lean blubber were allowed. French peasants ate the lean blubber cooker in water and served with peas. The Basque developed a strong whaling business until the arrival of the Vikings in...