Overview

Quests for cod, herring and other sea fish had profound impacts on medieval Europe. This interdisciplinary book combines history, archaeology and zooarchaeology to discover the chronology, causes and consequences of these fisheries. It crosscuts traditional temporal and geographical boundaries, ranging from the Migration Period through the Middle Ages into early modern times, and from Iceland to Estonia, Arctic Norway to Belgium. It addresses evidence for human impacts on aquatic ecosystems in some instances and for a negligible medieval footprint on superabundant marine species in others (in contrast with industrial fisheries of the 19th–21st centuries). The book explores both incremental and punctuated changes in marine fishing, providing a unique perspective on the rhythm of Europe’s environmental, demographic, political and social history. The 21 chapters – by experts in their respective fields – cover a range of regions and methodological approaches, but come together to tell a coherent story of long-term change. Regional differences are clear, yet communities of the North Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic, North and Irish Seas also followed trajectories with many resonances. Ultimately they were linked by a pan-European trade network that turned preserved fish into wine, grain and cloth. At the close of the Middle Ages this nascent global network crossed the Atlantic, but its earlier implications were no less pivotal for those who harvested the sea or profited from its abundance.

Full Product Details

Author:   James Barrett ,  David Orton
Publisher:   Oxbow Books
Imprint:   Oxbow Books
Dimensions:   Width: 21.60cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 28.00cm
Weight:   1.429kg
ISBN:  

9781785702396

ISBN 10:   1785702394
Pages:   282
Publication Date:   30 June 2016
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

List of contributors Preface and acknowledgements Introduction 1. Studying Medieval Sea Fishing and Fish Trade: How and Why James H. Barrett Part I: Perspectives from History and Settlement Archaeology 2. Commercial Sea Fisheries in the Baltic Region c. ad 1000-1600 Poul Holm 3. The Early Documentary Evidence for the Commercialisation of the Sea Fisheries in Medieval Britain Maryanne Kowaleski 4. Early Commercial Fisheries and the Interplay Among Farm, Fishing Station and Fishing Village in North Norway Alf Ragnar Nielssen 5. The Development of the Norwegian Long-distance Stockfish Trade Arnved Nedkvitne 6. The Birth of Commercial Fisheries and the Trade of Stockfish in the Borgundfjord, Norway Helge Sorheim 7. Commercial Fishing and the Political Economy of Medieval Iceland Orri Vesteinsson 8. The Character of Commercial Fishing in Icelandic Waters in the Fifteenth Century Mark Gardiner 9. Marine Fisheries and Society in Medieval Ireland Colin Breen 10. The Decline in the Consumption of Stored Cod and Herring in Post-medieval and Early Industrialised England: A Change in Food Culture Alison Locker Part II: Perspectives from Zooarchaeology and Stable Isotope Analysis 11. Fishing and Fish Trade During the Viking Age and Middle Ages in the Eastern and Western Baltic Sea Regions Lembi Lougas 12. Cod and Herring in Medieval Poland D. Makowiecki, D.C. Orton, and J.H. Barrett 13. Herring and Cod in Denmark Inge Bodker Enghoff 14. The Rise of Sea-Fish Consumption in Inland Flanders, Belgium Wim Van Neer and Anton Ervynck 15. Fishing and Fish Trade in Medieval York: The Zooarchaeological Evidence Jennifer F. Harland, Andrew K.G. Jones, David C. Orton and James H. Barrett 16. Fish for London David C. Orton, Alison Locker, James Morris and James H. Barrett 17. The Social Complexities of Early Marine Fish Consumption: New Evidence from Southeast England Rebecca Reynolds 18. Fish Trade in Norway ad 800-1400: Zooarchaeological Evidence Anne Karin Hufthammer 19. Exploring the Contrasts: Fish-Bone Assemblages from Medieval Ireland Sheila Hamilton-Dyer 20. Marine Fish Consumption in Medieval Britain: The Isotope Perspective from Human Skeletal Remains Gundula Muldner 21. Medieval Sea Fishing, ad 500-1550: Chronology, Causes and Consequences James H. Barrett

Reviews

Cod and Herring is a specialised volume, but crammed with fascinating detail that will reward the general reader. -- Brian Fagan Current World Archaeology

Cod and Herring is a specialised volume, but crammed with fascinating detail that will reward the general reader. -- Brian Fagan Current World Archaeology

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