La apicultura sevillana afines de la Edad Media

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present the apiculture industry in Seville in the Late Middle Ages. Due to the importance of this economic activity, "ordenanzas" (bylaws), which regulated the exploitation of the apiaries, were passed shortly after the conquest of Seville. By means of these "ordenanzas" and other documents which made reference to beekeeping, I have tried to reconstruct the map of the areas dedicated to apiculture in Seville, by indicating where the beehives were located and how they were exploited.
I will deal especially with the existence of institutions relating to beekeeping, for example the "alcaldes de los colmeneros" (municipal officials who supervised and controlled the activities of the beekeepers). I will also deal with the owners of the beehives and the conflicts they had with other economic activities carried out in the same place. I will pay special attention to the problems the beekeepers had with the farmers and stockbreeders, and to the problems existing among the beekeepers themselves. These problems forced the creation of boundaries and regulated distances between the different exploitations.