The Icelandic plate consists of a lot of arctic fish, spices, and milk. The fish in Iceland are much bigger than the same species of fish elsewhere in Europe due to the cold waters, so I can only assume that the Icelandic people were even more well-fed during this time.
Am I right in this assumption? Is there any information on this? Thanks!
During the optimum which came previous to this, the Icelanders had managed to squander the resources of their island pretty catastrophically. Within two generations you have the woodlands, which previously comprised 25% of the island, reduced to approximately 1%, where they remain today. Livestock destroyed much of the vegetation, causing desertification. Think Easter island. The porpoises, and walruses that had previously inhabited the waters around the island had been hunted to significant scarcity, even the sea birds had ceased to come to the island. The fish also received similar treatment. Maintaining boats had become prohibitively expensive due to the mass deforestation, making fishing more difficult. Needless to say, this was not an easy time to be an Icelander.