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Monstrous Fishes and the Mead-Dark Sea
Whaling in the Medieval North Atlantic
Series: - The Northern World, Volume: 35
Author:
Medieval people viewed whales in complex and contradictory ways, from marvelous to monstrous to mundane, heaven-sent or hell-bent. Despite this, whales are conspicuous in their absence from most historical and archaeological dialogues on the Middle Ages. Drawing upon a wealth of legal, literary and material evidence, this work details the ways in which whales were sought out and scavenged at sea and shore, fought over in legal and physical battles, and prized for meat, bone and fuel. Using Old Norse sagas, laws and material culture, alongside comparative historical and ethnographic evidence, Monstrous Fishes and the Mead-Dark Sea reexamines the value of whales in the medieval North Atlantic world.
Vicki Ellen Szabo, Ph.D. (2000) in Medieval Studies, Cornell University, is an Associate Professor of Ancient and Medieval History at Western Carolina University.
"...Szabo, now professor of ancient and medieval history at Western Carolina University, is fascinated by whales. In studies of medieval economics or food production, whales are rarely mentioned. Art and utensils made from whale bone are supposed to come from stranded whales, if the source is even considered. Szabo changes all this. In her wonderful monomania, she has researched the early perceptions of whales in Europe, the methods used in hunting them, the many uses made of them and how they improved the economy of the communities in which whalers lived or sold the catch.... Szabo's enthusiasm is infectious; the book is fascinating, shedding light on a little-known aspect of medieval culture..." - in: Book News, May 1, 2008 (©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR. booknews.com)
".... Monstrous Fishes is simply an incredible work. There is no other book that is even remotely like this, and it is likely to remain the definitive work on medieval whaling for a very long time.... Monstrous Fishes brings together an exceptional array of documentary, iconographic and archaeological sources not only for medieval whaling but indeed for medieval North Atlantic seafaring, society, economy and ecology. Indeed, the bookâs title is frankly misleading; Monstrous Fishes may have whales at its heart but it ranges widely, and is as much as anything about the perception of the ocean through the evidence of the communities that played a part in this one particular industry... Monstrous Fishes is essentially an extended, detailed demonstration of the âvalue addedâ of combining all the available data on the topic for this period, and the result is a book that is both readable for the generalist and âmineableâ for the specialist, an exposition as well as an encyclopaedia of medieval whaling..." - Joe Flatman, Institute of Archaeology, University College London, in: The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 38.2 (2009), 438-439
".... Monstrous Fishes is simply an incredible work. There is no other book that is even remotely like this, and it is likely to remain the definitive work on medieval whaling for a very long time.... Monstrous Fishes brings together an exceptional array of documentary, iconographic and archaeological sources not only for medieval whaling but indeed for medieval North Atlantic seafaring, society, economy and ecology. Indeed, the bookâs title is frankly misleading; Monstrous Fishes may have whales at its heart but it ranges widely, and is as much as anything about the perception of the ocean through the evidence of the communities that played a part in this one particular industry... Monstrous Fishes is essentially an extended, detailed demonstration of the âvalue addedâ of combining all the available data on the topic for this period, and the result is a book that is both readable for the generalist and âmineableâ for the specialist, an exposition as well as an encyclopaedia of medieval whaling..." - Joe Flatman, Institute of Archaeology, University College London, in: The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 38.2 (2009), 438-439
List of Illustrations... ix
Maps .... xi
Chronology ... xvii
Acknowledgements ... xix
Introduction Mundane and Marvelous Whales in the Mead-Dark Sea ... 1
Chapter One Medieval Perceptions of the Natural World .... 13
Chapter Two Whales and Whaling from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages ... 31
Chapter Three Whales and North Atlantic Ecology ... 67
Chapter Four Whalers and North Atlantic Ethnography ... 93
Chapter Five Archaeological Approaches to North Atlantic Whale Use ... 147
Chapter Six From Krakens to Fish Drivers: Monstrous Fishes in North Atlantic History and Literature .... 177
Chapter Seven Blubber Missiles and Whale Riders: Mundane Fishes and the Sagas ... 211
Chapter Eight Hidden Harpoons and Poached Whales: Mundane Fishes in North Atlantic Laws ... 243
Conclusion From Medieval to Modern: The Legacy of Premodern Whaling .... 277
Appendix Mysticete and OdontoceteâWhales of the North Atlantic ... 285
Bibliography .... 293
Index ... 319
Maps .... xi
Chronology ... xvii
Acknowledgements ... xix
Introduction Mundane and Marvelous Whales in the Mead-Dark Sea ... 1
Chapter One Medieval Perceptions of the Natural World .... 13
Chapter Two Whales and Whaling from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages ... 31
Chapter Three Whales and North Atlantic Ecology ... 67
Chapter Four Whalers and North Atlantic Ethnography ... 93
Chapter Five Archaeological Approaches to North Atlantic Whale Use ... 147
Chapter Six From Krakens to Fish Drivers: Monstrous Fishes in North Atlantic History and Literature .... 177
Chapter Seven Blubber Missiles and Whale Riders: Mundane Fishes and the Sagas ... 211
Chapter Eight Hidden Harpoons and Poached Whales: Mundane Fishes in North Atlantic Laws ... 243
Conclusion From Medieval to Modern: The Legacy of Premodern Whaling .... 277
Appendix Mysticete and OdontoceteâWhales of the North Atlantic ... 285
Bibliography .... 293
Index ... 319
Of interest to students and scholars of medieval studies, environmental history, zooarchaeology, whaling and maritime history, and the history and archaeology of the Viking Age and North Atlantic world.