Iceland Cod Trade

The North Atlantic stockfish trade that made dried Icelandic cod a staple currency of late medieval Catholic Europe.

Overview

Air-dried cod, stockfish, kept for years and was exempt meat for the fasting days that structured the medieval Christian calendar. Norwegian merchants dominated early, but by the 15th century German traders, especially from Bremen and Hamburg, and English ships exchanged grain, timber, cloth and beer for Icelandic fish, commodities Iceland largely lacked. Armed competition between English and German interests presaged North Atlantic rivalries. Denmark imposed a royal trade monopoly in 1602 that froze the commerce for centuries. Salt cod from these trades still marks Iberian, West African and Caribbean cuisines, a durable culinary legacy.