- description
- # CHAPTER 90. Heads or Tails.
## Overview - What this is (type, form, dates, scope)
This is a section from the text file "moby_dick.txt", labeled "CHAPTER 90. Heads or Tails." It was extracted on January 30, 2026, and is part of the "Melville Complete Works" collection. The section spans lines 15505 to 15626 of the source file. It is a component of the larger chapter structure within the novel.
## Context - Background and provenance from related entities
This section is contained within [BOOK III. (_Duodecimo_), CHAPTER III. (_Mealy-mouthed Porpoise_)](arke:01KG8AK83BA227D6NY5BT040FM), which is part of the novel "Moby Dick" as extracted from the file [moby_dick.txt](arke:01KG89J198KE6FY8WPVJQQRCZ6). The chapter is part of the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. It is preceded by [CHAPTER 89. Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish.](arke:01KG8AM9QTPH8BESAGBVSYQN67) and followed by [CHAPTER 91. The Pequod Meets The Rose-Bud.](arke:01KG8AM9R7GWBRPDSDX37B07EW). The text was extracted by the structure-extraction-lambda.
## Contents - What it contains, key subjects and details
The section is divided into two chunks. The chapter discusses the English law regarding whales, specifically the King's right to the head and the Queen's right to the tail. It references the legal precedent from Bracton and Plowdon, and William Prynne's treatise on "Queen-Gold." The chapter uses an anecdote about mariners and the Duke of Wellington to illustrate the law's application.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:51:04.885Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- CHAPTER 90. Heads or Tails.
- end_line
- 15626
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:29.272Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 15505
- text
- null
- title
- CHAPTER 90. Heads or Tails.