Abstract
North Atlantic trade in the high Middle Ages was centred on Bergen. The Bergen connection was important to the North Atlantic islanders and townsmen who specialized in trading with them, but up to the early fourteenth century did not count for much in Bergen’s total trade. This changed when larger assignments of Icelandic stockfish were sent to Bergen from the 1340s and reexported via the town’s Hanseatic settlement, the later Kontor. During the fifteenth century fish exports from the North Atlantic to Bergen declined sharply as the English increasingly fetched their fish directly from Iceland, and Hanseatic merchants from Hamburg and Lübeck followed in their wake to Iceland and the more southerly islands. Yet, in the author’s opinion, Hanseatic trade with the North Atlantic from Bergen was not reduced to the degree that has often been assumed. And it should not be overlooked that Bergen had economic relations with the North Atlantic islands outside the Hanse.
Highlights
North Atlantic trade in the high Middle Ages was centred on Bergen
The Bergen connection was important to the North Atlantic islanders and townsmen who specialized in trading with them, but up to the early fourteenth century did not count for much in Bergen’s total trade
This changed when larger assignments of Icelandic stockfish were sent to Bergen from the 1340s and reexported via the town’s Hanseatic settlement, the later Kontor
Summary
It seems that Icelandic fishing for domestic consumption grew in importance from the twelfth century and that cod had become common food by the mid-thirteenth century, helped by the religious rules about fasting. Icelandic stockfish was clearly in demand in Bergen for re-export in the latter part of the fourteenth century, but in the 1390s there are signs that the English had started to fetch fish directly from southwestern Iceland.. In 1513 German merchants, townspeople and counsellors of the realm in Bergen complained that people from Hamburg, Bremen and other Hanse towns brought Icelandic fish directly to North Sea ports. They induced King Christian II to decree that such fish should only be sent to England, as was the earlier practice. It shows that some Shetland fish was brought to Bergen towards the end of the Middle Ages.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
