Fishing in medieval Valencia

This paper is concerned with fishing in the kingdom of Valencia during the Middle Ages based, mainly, on documentary evidence. Due to features of the sources, it focuses on coastal fishing although it also explores the inland fishing and the existence of fisheries and hatcheries. Although fishing was practised by people from different economic contexts, this paper focused on those that made fishing not their unique but their main professional activity. Through examination of notarial records, local regulations and registries of the court of justice, it analyses fishermen both from a social and an economic perspective. Besides, it deals with the cost of the means of production, trying to stablish how much a boat and the nets costed. Fishing techniques are also studied. An attempt of examining production is made using fish tithe evidence. Consumption is also analysed considering differences among the different social sections but also in accordance with the different religions. Finally, it tackles the trading, the supply and the consumption of fish thanks to urban regulations and tithe, manorial and local custom accounts