Medieval beekeeping

Timeline

1. c. -2400–500Mediterranean and Nile Valley · EgyptAncient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman texts record the use of clay or woven hives for honey harvesting; honey was used for food, preservation, and sacrifice, and beeswax for candles and sealing wax.
2. 1021–1030Rhineland monastery apiaries · GermanyIn the early 11th century, straw skeps and fixed apiaries were widely used in Europe; monasteries and feudal manors monopolized honey-harvesting rights, beeswax supplied church lighting and document sealing, and beekeeping became an important sideline economy.
3. 1100–1400Western European farming settlements · FranceMedieval customary law and manor ordinances gradually regulated swarm ownership, rights to swarms, and the capture of wild swarms; beekeeping knowledge spread through guilds and oral tradition across Eurasian farming regions.
4. 1851Commercial beekeeping regions worldwide · WorldwideInventions such as the Langstroth movable-frame hive replaced destructive honey harvesting; modern beekeeping achieved large-scale pollination and honey production, and medieval skep technology gradually fell out of mainstream use.