In a nutshell, a fish pond is a controlled reservoir, pond, or artificial lake stocked with fish that is used for recreational or ornamental purposes. What you may not know is that fish ponds date all the way back to medieval Europe. In the medieval era, it was typical for castles and even monasteries to feature fish ponds. Even The Capitulary De Villis 9th Century highlights fish ponds, in an excerpt shared by Fordham University.
Fish ponds became more prevalent as the Middle Ages progressed, establishing themselves as a popular feature in urbanizing environments, according to the article “Economic Development and Aquatic Ecosystems in Medieval Europe” shared by The American Historical Review.
Fish ponds provided a controlled source of food, not unlike pastures for sheep and cattle, to those who had access to them. This provided an extra benefit of use for days when it was not religiously permitted to consume meat.
However, fish ponds proved difficult to maintain in those early days. Only wealthy nobles and grand institutions like monasteries could afford to maintain them. Without access to pond liners or filtration systems, fish ponds in the Middle Ages were symbols of authority and power.
Supplying food in the winter for a castle garrison presented challenges that only fish ponds could solve. While nobles had access to meat from deer parks, this could not sustain an entire household. Fish ponds were a sophisticated way to provide noble houses and monasteries access to fresh fish such as pike and carp, which proved to be popular species from the 14th century onward.
