Herring fishing

In the Laws of the Land, herring seems to be considered one of the most important resources for the country’s coastal population. In the early Middle Ages, herring was probably primarily food for the population, but at least from the 13th century onwards, it is also documented as merchandise. In the 14th century, herring imported by Norwegian merchant ships is frequently mentioned in English customs registers. When the Land Tenancy section describes herring as “God’s gifts”, it should be understood that it refers to its importance both as food supply and for the economy. In some cases, one could take more liberties when fishing for herring than otherwise – for example, to protect the catch, as the quotation above shows. Herring fishing was so important that all lawsuits had to be put on hold while it was going on. In the Human Inviolability section, herring fishing is highlighted as one of the cases in which it was particularly important that people kept peace with each other – on a par with the Christmas and Easter holidays, weddings, thing assemblies, and mass levy expeditions – and double fines were to be imposed for fighting and other acts of violence. The Gulathing law does not include special provisions for herring fishing, but the provisions of the Frostathing law clearly influenced the Laws of the Land in this respect. The Church also took into account that herring fishing could not be planned in the same way as other fishing. It was therefore legal to fish for herring on most holy days in Norway. This was confirmed by a written permit from Pope Alexander III (1161–1172) to the Norwegian Archbishop and during Cardinal Wilhelm of Sabina’s visit to Norway in 1247.