Viking age fish depiction?

by xXxMadStallionxXx

I'm trying to understand and find answers about fish and their depiction, specifically during the Viking age ranging from Norway to Ireland. I only know a few drawings of fish and I'm wondering if I can find any more on how they would be drawn and viewed.

y_sengaku

Generally speaking, we don't unfortunately have many contemporary iconographic sources like drawings from Viking Age Scandinavia - since the majority of them are taken from runic stones, and the fishery is not featured extensively in runic stones erected by the local elites.

I only know a few drawings of fish

If "drawings" you mentioned in OP are this kind of wood cut, they unfortunately date back to the 16th century, much later than the Viking Age. It is rather rare for medieval Icelandic manuscripts to have any kind of illustration of fishes (whale might have been an exception).

In addition to the sagas, the concrete species of fishes would be mentioned or can be handled in the following type of written and non-written evidence:

1: in Scandinavia

  • Medieval Scandinavian Lawbooks like Icelandic Grágás occasionally mention the stipulation of the fishery and/or fish species, but it is unfortunately not so always easy in individual cases to date the exact provenance of the clause and to determine how the normative text reflect the social reality. In this context, Frostathing Law from Northern Norway must be worth checking - Archbishop Øystein (Eysteinn) Erlendsson (r. 1161-88) stipulates this section of law, and it also specially includes the stipulation on herring fishery based on his consultation with Pope Alexander III (r. 1159-81) (Frostating Law, II-26, 27).
  • Bergen in western Norway developed as a hub of trading (especially fish trade) among Northern Norway, the North Atlantic Isles, and European Market. Thus, the description of 12th and 13th century Norway sometimes mention which species/ product of fishes were traded there, such as Historia De Profectione Danorum in Hierosolymam (NB: AFAIK this text is only available in Latin).
  • It is mainly the works of zooarcheologists that have shed much light on the details of fishery (including which species were caught) in Viking Age and Medieval Scandinavia. I'd especially recommend to check the books and articles written by James Barrett and Sophia Perdikaris (especially the former is specialized in the analysis of fish bones).
  • If you are also interested in whaling, 13th century Old Norse text called Kings' Mirror that I cited before in the following thread might also be important: I am a Danish trader in the 10th century. I mostly keep to the Atlantic, up and down the coast and maybe out to the British Isles if there's opportunity. How common a sight are whales? Do they have any special significance to me?

2: Out of Scandinavia

Recommended Literature:

Steelcan909

Can you be a little more specific? What are you looking for in fish depictions? Biological accuracy? Artistic conventions?