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A new study published in Fish and Fisheries has uncovered the piscine preferences of medieval countries in the southern North Sea area. The research analysed fish-bone remains from sites across the UK, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, focused on the consumption of flatfish in these areas from AD 600 to 1600.
During the study (led by the University of York as part of the SeaChanges network, an international doctoral training network made up of 25 institutions sponsoring research that encompasses archaeology and marine biology), the remains of 356 flatfish were analysed alongside 120 comparative archaeological examples and seven modern samples. This work was undertaken in BioArCh at the University of York, in collaboration with experts from France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Flatfish are defined as any group of marine fish that swim on one side of their flattened body, with both eyes on the upper side, and include species such as plaice, sole, and flounder. Previous research has confirmed that these types of fish were consumed during the medieval period, but this new study is the first to differentiate between the species, which has in turn led to significant advances in the understanding of habits of fish-catching and -consumption in the Middle Ages.
The study made use of new molecular techniques to identify the fish species and demonstrate where they were likely to have been caught. Peptide mass fingerprinting – a method used to identify proteins – and multi-isotope carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur analysis were used on collagen samples from the marine osteology specimens. This allowed researchers to explore the catch habitat of each species from the North Sea area.
It had previously been believed that a shift in popularity from freshwater to marine fish species, known as the ‘marine fish event horizon’ and probably prompted by a decline in quality of freshwater environments, had taken place during the 10th to 11th centuries. This had been established by examination of human remains. However, the results of this new fish-focused study have demonstrated that the early medieval period in fact had a high abundance of plaice and flounder species, highlighting an earlier preference for marine flatfish than previously thought, and suggesting that there was a more gradual shift from coastal to marine fish exploitation during the medieval period as a whole.
The popularity of certain types of flatfish also saw gradual changes over time. The study found that plaice was the most popular fish overall, and there was a significant increase in consumption of plaice between the start and end of the study period. It was caught in marine environments, usually further out to sea during the late medieval period. Flounder, the second most popular species, had a contrasting decline between the early and late medieval periods, and while it was occasionally caught in rivers or estuaries, this became less frequent after the 10th century. This trend lines up with increased marine fishing around the North Sea.
Certain fish were found in particular contexts, which indicates conscious consumption habits within medieval society. For example, Dover sole was found exclusively at religious sites such as monasteries. Freshwater samples were more popular in London and York than in other contexts, which corresponds with historical sources that state that plaice was brought into London from coastal areas, while flounder was instead caught in the Thames. Settlements close to the North Sea, such as the coastal town of Koksijde in Belgium, naturally demonstrated higher numbers of plaice in the early medieval period, whereas towns with estuaries close-by had higher numbers of flounder.
There are a number of other factors that are thought to have had an effect on the popularity of fish-consumption and fishing habits. Increased city growth led to a higher demand for a steady supply of food, and trade networks and cultural influences from areas such as Scandinavia may also have influenced the popularity and availability of fish for medieval consumers in Europe. Religion played a role, too, with consumption of fish inevitably increasing as it became a staple of meals on Fridays and during Lent. Historical sources attest as well to a collapse in freshwater fish stocks across Europe during the medieval period, which would again contribute to the increase in marine fish popularity.
By analysing the fish bones, this new research has made a significant contribution to the understanding of fish-consumption and fishing habits in medieval Europe. Through molecular analysis, this new species-specific approach has revealed a detailed time-line of the place of plaice (and other flatfish) on the medieval dinner table around the southern North Sea.
The study is available to be read in full online: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/faf.12847 (open access).
Text: Rebecca Preedy / Image: Katrien Dierickx
