Norfish 07 German Herring Fishery 1520– 1790

Arguably the greatest impact on the German herring fishery in the period 1520-1790 was the fact that Germany was a conglomeration of small Principalities and Protectorates under the loose leadership of a Holy Roman Emperor which radically changed during the Reformation. Instigated by Martin Luther in 1521 the act of protestation against the Roman Catholic Church’s engagement in political and state affairs led to the Peasant’s War of 1524-25. The upshot of this process was a printing revolution which saw more than 10,000 pamphlet titles published by 1530, spreading the religious and political message of reform and change to the population (Edwards 1994).

可以说，1520至1790年间对德国鲱鱼渔业影响最为深远的因素，是当时德意志地区处于神圣罗马帝国皇帝松散统领下的诸多小型公国与保护领地的联合体状态，而这一格局在宗教改革时期发生了根本性变革。1521年，由马丁·路德发起的针对罗马教廷涉足政治与国家事务的抗议行动，引发了1524至1525年的农民战争。这一进程的直接结果是印刷革命的兴起：截至1530年，已有逾万种小册子刊印发行，将宗教与政治改革的理念传播至全体民众（Edwards 1994）。