Les Silver Darlings : emblème de la mer et de l’histoire d’Écosse

Abstract

From the Middle Ages onwards, herring—one of the most used marine resources—has provided Scotland with a precious, cheap, plentiful and nutritious source of food. Fishing was first a subsistence activity, and it then developed into an industry. Once in unbelievable abundance—the Old German word ‘herring’ means ‘multitude’—herring attracted thousands of boats from all over Europe to the Scottish waters, and at the peak of the herring boom, Britain exported a quarter of a million tonnes a year.Political and religious institutions, the Crown and Government supported and encouraged the economic sector through exclusive rights, licences and bounties. Yet, severe competition and intensive methods of fishing endangered the species.Silver-coloured, as slick and bright as mercury, the fish has poetically been nicknamed ‘silver darlings’. This has become the title chosen by Neil Gunn for one of his novels (1941), by Peter Arnott’s for its dramatic adaptation and for Clarence Elder’s film (1947). The decrease of the natural food source magnified its legendary dimension through folklore, songs and tales. The National Museum of Scotland exhibited a piece called The Last of the Silver Darlings by glassmaker and storyteller James Maskrey (2014).This paper focuses on the importance of silver darlings in Scottish History, and on their aesthetic and emblematic use.