Meet the Middle Ages
BackFishing
In the Middle Ages, everyone ate fish. Fish was served every Friday and on other fast days, but fish courses were also made for festive occasions. Many peasants went fishing when they did not have to work on their farms. Others fished during most parts of the year.
Peasants living in the interior of the country fished in lakes and streams. People on the coasts could fish in the sea. If they caught a lot of fish, part of the haul could be sold and this gave an extra income. In the regions where fishing was important, people even paid their tax in fish.
Well-known kinds of fish were: salmon, herring, cod, pike, lavaret and eel.
There were several different ways of fishing. In shallow water, a fish-spear was used to pierce the fish. From boats, one laid long lines or nets. The most effective way of fishing was by using a seine. Two boats pulled a net between them, right through the shoal of fish. Those who fished together in this way made up a team, a so-called "notlag".
The fish was dried and salted so that it would keep. One often ate dried pike and salted herring. Dried and salted fish was also sold to the town-dwellers. We know for example that the citizens of Stockholm bought large quantities of dried pike from the fishers in the Gulf of Bothnia.