60 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES 



the Channel. In a book entitled, " de la transla- 

 tion et des miracles des Saint Waast" A Life of 

 Saint Arnould, Bishop of Soissons in the eleventh 

 century, there is mention of a whale fishery by 

 means of the harpoon on the coast of Flanders 

 in 875. 



According to Ducere, 1 the history of the whale 

 fisheries of the Basques has yet to be written. In 

 this fishery the Bayonnais took part, and it is one of 

 the most interesting features in the ancient records 

 of the town of Bayonne. In early historical times 

 it is fairly certain that the whale fisheries were 

 carried on only off the north coast of Spain and the 

 south-west coast of France, i.e., in the Bay of 

 Biscay. Ducere says that it is still possible to trace 

 the remains of the watch towers and furnaces of the 

 whalers along the shores of the Bay of Biscay, 

 the former naturally being used for the look- 

 out, the latter for boiling the blubber. There 

 is documentary evidence of a fishery off Biarritz in 

 the thirteenth century, and the seal of the town 2 

 contains a representation of a " chaloupe " harpoon- 

 ing a whale. In the Middle Ages the Basques 

 seemed to have picked up a living on the coast, 

 partly by different kinds of fishing and partly by 

 pillaging their neighbours. They killed whales 



1 Dictionnaire Historique de Bayonne, Commission des 

 Archives Municipals Ville de Bayonne, par Edouard Ducere. 

 Bayonne, IQII. 2 Vols. 



3 See " La Marina de Castilla," by Fernandez Duro. 

 Madrid, 1892. The seals of Bermeo, Lequeitio, and Castrour- 

 diales, which are reproduced on p. 218, show views of the old 

 Basque Whale Fisheries. 



