Monstrous fishes and the Mead-Dark Sea : : whaling in the medieval North Atlantic / / Vicki Ellen Szabo.

• Superior document: The Northern world, v. 35
• Author: Szabo, Vicki Ellen.
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2008.
• Year of Publication: 2008
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Northern world ; 35.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (xx, 326 pages) :; illustrations, maps

Medieval people viewed whales in complex and contradictory ways, from marvelous to monstrous to mundane, heaven-sent or hell-bent. Despite this, whales are conspicuous in their absence from most historical and archaeological dialogues on the Middle Ages. Drawing upon a wealth of legal, literary and material evidence, this work details the ways in which whales were sought out and scavenged at sea and shore, fought over in legal and physical battles, and prized for meat, bone and fuel. Using Old Norse sagas, laws and material culture, alongside comparative historical and ethnographic evidence, Monstrous Fishes and the Mead-Dark Sea reexamines the value of whales in the medieval North Atlantic world.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Materials / V.E. Szabo -- Introduction Mundane And Marvelous Whales In The Mead-Dark Sea / V.E. Szabo -- Chapter One. Medieval Perceptions Of The Natural World / V.E. Szabo -- Chapter Two. Whales And Whaling From Classical Antiquity To The Middle Ages / V.E. Szabo -- Chapter Three. Whales And North Atlantic Ecology / V.E. Szabo -- Chapter Four. Whalers And North Atlantic Ethnography / V.E. Szabo -- Images / V.E. Szabo -- Chapter Five. Archaeological Approaches To North Atlantic Whale Use / V.E. Szabo -- Chapter Six. From Krakens To Fish Drivers: Monstrous Fishes In North Atlantic History And Literature / V.E. Szabo -- Chapter Seven. Blubber Missiles And Whale Riders: Mundane Fishes And The Sagas / V.E. Szabo -- Chapter Eight. Hidden Harpoons And Poached Whales: Mundane Fishes In North Atlantic Laws / V.E. Szabo -- Conclusion From Medieval To Modern: The Legacy Of Premodern Whaling / V.E. Szabo -- Appendix Mysticete. And Odontocete—Whales Of Thenorth Atlantic / V.E. Szabo -- Bibliography / V.E. Szabo -- Index / V.E. Szabo.