An ell was approximately eighteen inches.
Whale fishing is an ancient industry in Norway; it is mentioned as early as the ninth century in the writings of Alfred the Great. See Nansen, _In Northern Mists_, I, 172.
There is another kind of whales called the grampus, which grow no longer than twelve ells and have teeth in proportion to their size very much as dogs have. They are also ravenous for other whales just as dogs are for other beasts. They gather in flocks and attack large whales, and, when a large one is caught alone, they worry and bite it till it succumbs. It is likely, however, that this one, while defending itself with mighty blows, kills a large number of them before it perishes.
There are two other varieties, the beaked whale and the “hog whale,” the largest of which are not more than twenty-five ells in length. These are not fit to be eaten, for the fat that is drawn from them cannot be digested either by man or by any beast that may partake of it. For it runs through them and even through wood; and after it has stood a while, scarcely any vessel can contain it, even if made of horn. There are certain other types which are worth a passing mention only, namely the “raven whale” and the white whale.[204] The white whales are so named because of their snow white color, while most other varieties are black, except that some of them have spots, such as the “shield whale,” the “spear whale,” and the baleen whale. All these kinds that I have just mentioned may be freely eaten and many other kinds too.
Probably the beluga, also called white whale. The other varieties named in this paragraph, excepting the beaked whale and the baleen whale seem not to have been identified with any known types of whales. It has been suggested that some of them may have been sharks. See Nansen, _In Northern Mists_, II, 243.
There is another sort of whales called the “fish driver,”[205] which is perhaps the most useful of all to men; for it drives the herring and all other kinds of fish in toward the land from the ocean outside, as if appointed and sent by the Lord for this purpose. This is its duty and office as long as the fishermen keep the peace on the fishing grounds. Its nature is also peculiar in this, that it seemingly knows how to spare both ships and men. But when the fishermen fall to quarreling and fighting, so that blood is spilt, this whale seems able to perceive it; for it moves in between the land and the fish and chases the shoals back into the ocean, just as it earlier had driven them in toward the men. These whales are not more than thirty ells in length, or forty at the very largest. They would provide good food, if men were allowed to hunt them, but no one is permitted to catch or harm them, since they are of such great and constant service to men.