Midieval Bee Keepers -Ireland
Bee Laws - in medieval Ireland the only available sweetener was honey, and the Irish made extensive use of it as a dipping sauce for meats, for basting and in breads and stirabout. Honey was important enough in ancient Ireland to have an entire law tract, the Bechbretha or bee-judgements, devoted to the subject. Ancient writers remarked on the prevalence of beehives in Ireland as compared to other lands. Every household of any size kept hives to ensure a steady supply of honey and beeswax. Bees were kept in hives called skeps, made of wicker smeared with cow manure or woven straw. These hives were kept in alcoves called bee boles built into stone walls or in bee houses, special enclosures that allowed the bees free access to the outside while protecting the hives from the elements.
The Laws recognized the importance of honey as well as the nature of bees by providing that the occupants of the four nearest farms to a domestic hive were entitled to a share of the honey each year and a swarm of bees every fourth year. There were also specific divisions laid out for wild hives and swarms found on cultivated land and on land belonging to the tuath but not under cultivation. For example; if bees from one plot swarmed onto another, their produce for the following year was evenly divided between the two plots.
Extract from Food In Ancient Ireland by Erin Minerva
Image: Bee Boles Ballingarry Castle
The Laws recognized the importance of honey as well as the nature of bees by providing that the occupants of the four nearest farms to a domestic hive were entitled to a share of the honey each year and a swarm of bees every fourth year. There were also specific divisions laid out for wild hives and swarms found on cultivated land and on land belonging to the tuath but not under cultivation. For example; if bees from one plot swarmed onto another, their produce for the following year was evenly divided between the two plots.
Extract from Food In Ancient Ireland by Erin Minerva
Image: Bee Boles Ballingarry Castle
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