Fishing in Medieval Ireland
"Of the lakes and the islands therein; of the fishes in the sea, rivers, and lakes; and of those which are not found there; and of some new species of…
From: 1188 C.E. To: 1188 C.E.
Location: Ireland
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From The Topography of Ireland by Giraldus Cambrensis, c. 1188, translated by Thomas Wright.
Of the lakes and the islands therein; of the fishes in the sea, rivers, and lakes; and of those which are not found there; and of some new species of fish not found elsewhere.
This island is also especially remarkable for a great number of beautiful lakes, abounding in fish and surpassing in size those of any other countries I have visited. These lakes encompass some slightly elevated spots, most delightfully situated, which, for the sake of security, and because they are inaccessible except by boats, the lords of the soil appropriate as their places of refuge and seats of residence, where they raise their harvest.
Sea-fishes are found in considerable abundance on all the coasts. The rivers and lakes, also, are plentifully stored with the sorts of fish peculiar to those waters, and especially three species: salmon and trout, muddy eels, and oily shad. The Shannon abounds in lampreys, a dangerous delicacy indulged in by the wealthy.
This country, however, does not produce some fine fishes found in other countries, and some excellent fresh-water fishes, such as the pike, the perch, the roach, the barbel, the gardon, and the gudgeon. Minnows, also bullheads, and verones, are not found there, also, no loches, or they are very rare. Thus, every country is deficient in some particular products. In Great Britain there are no tortoises or scorpions. Cisalpine Gaul produces no leopards or lions; Italy has no perch; Palestine no pikes; and both are without salmon. So also, Italy, Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily, have no salmon; and no part of Spain produces pikes, perch, or pheasants. Crete has no owls; the Mediterranean sea, no herrings; and the kingdom of Hungary no eels.
On the other hand, the lakes of this country contain three species of fish which are found nowhere else. One is a sort of trout, called also salares, which are longer and rounder than trout, and which are white, close-grained, and good-flavoured. The tymal, commonly called the umber, resembles the former kind of fishes, except that it is distinguished by a larger head. There are others which resemble the sea herring both in shape and quality, and in colour and taste. A third sort exactly resembles the trout except that it has no spots.
These three species of fishes make their appearance in the summer only, and are never seen in the winter. In Meath, near Fovera, are three lakes, not far from each other, each of which has its own distinct and peculiar species of fish, and which are frequented by no other, although they are connected by streams affording communications between them; and if a fish of one kind is carried down into the water frequented by another, it either perishes or finds its way back to its first abode.
Giraldus Cambrensis and Thomas Wright, The Historical Works of Giraldus Cambrensis: Containing the Topography of Ireland, and the History of the Conquest of Ireland (London: H.G. Bohn, 1863), 25-27.
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