This medieval English king died from eating too much of this horrific, parasitic fish

This medieval English king died from eating too much of this horrific, parasitic fish

Source: salon

1/28/2023

Credit: Salon/Getty Images

The life of King Henry I of England could be mistaken for a subplot in "Game of Thrones": He acquired the throne after bloody wars with his brothers, was as well-educated and cunning as he was harsh and ruthless, and ultimately died in a rather undignified manner: gorging himself on a quite disgusting eel-like fish that resembles nothing more than a teethed funnel with a tail.

Meet the lamprey, an elongated creature with an ancient lineage as noble as that of any monarch. Unlike the eels that they so closely resemble, lampreys do not have jaws or even bony skeletons; like sharks, their bodies are instead supported by an infrastructure of cartilege.