Comparative perspectives on bee law in Indo-European

Abstract

An illuminating comparison can be made between Early Irish bee law, as reflected in the Bechbretha, and the bee section of the archaic Albanian law code, Chapter 53 of the Kanun of Lek Dukagjin, with reference as well to the relatively brief mention given to bees in the Hittite Laws. Of particular interest are some features of the legal treatment of bees pertaining, e.g., to the role of tracking or pursuing bee swarms and to the issue of ownership in cases of stray swarms, since they show some specific parallels as to content. Still, one must keep in mind that the parallels could reflect independent development based on the nature of the matter at hand; therefore, by way of adjudicating this question, a case involving bees from US law is considered. Ultimately, it is hard to make a definitive case for the bee-law parallels, there is evidence suggestive of Proto-Indo-European practices regarding bees and the law.