Fishing

["Ruth a. Katz" <71175.1357@compuserve.com>]

Robyyon 
	This is Brok. The information that I have on period fishing, mostly 
is taken from The Art of Fishing with an Angle, by Julianne Burners (Dame). 
This is a wonderful booklet of information that was attached to the Book of 
St Albans in 1492. What the Dame has done is produced a how to make your 
own fishing kit guide that is just as applicable now as it was then. Now 
here is the kicker...some how in my copious research in all of my hours 
trudging through different libraries, I came upon the illustrations that 
origiannly came with the text (Most modern reprintings of this text have 
no, or incomplete, illustrations). This really helps! For instance, there 
is an illustration of a machine you can make to braid your own horsehair 
line. Other information I have gathered gives me period reference to the 
use to green silk line. Not as common as as horsehair, but used nonetheless 
and let me tell you, braiding horse hair is no fun.!
	OK, it shows you how to make hooks, floats, weights, rods, line, 
when where and how to find and catch specific fish, (English) . This is a 
book that works. Other information I have picked up on medieval carp 
fishing in Germany and a type of catfish, the Wels. This is a catfish that 
can obtain a length of over 6 ft, native to the Danube. The possibilities 
are rather exciting...think about a mideval catfish fry..a period thing, 
strickly documentable! Or how 'bout this...Smoked Carp! (with luck to be 
served at Stierbachs fall event). And of course, most everyone is familier 
with the staple of the early midevil period onward...salt herring, also 
smoked (served at a Stierbach feast last year!). This last ties into the 
much more common method of fishing amoungst the peasantry...net fishing. 
(Dame Jullianne makes an interesting note at the end of her monogram as to 
why she has included her work in the Book of St Albans...to 
paraphrase,",...it has been included in this book to keep it out of the 
hands of the common people, so that they won't spend their time being lazy, 
fishing... This is a Gentlemans sport" or something like that).

	I'll be happy to attempt to field specific questions, or just talk 
to me at University! 

					Brok