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Why weren't commoners allowed to build dovecotes? Did they think the carrying capacity of the land was limited to what the lords could eat? Would pigeons see ot
by IncreasePosts 2y ago
Why weren't commoners allowed to build dovecotes? Did they think the carrying capacity of the land was limited to what the lords could eat? Would pigeons see other dovecotes and decide to roost there instead of the lord's?
- kibwen 2y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumptuary_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumptuary_law "The laws often prevented commoners from imitating the appearance of aristocrats, and could be used to stigmatize disfavoured groups. In Late Medieval cities, sumptuary laws were instituted as a way for the nobility to limit the conspicuous consumption of the prosperous bourgeoisie. Bourgeois subjects appearing to be as wealthy as or wealthier than the ruling nobility could undermine the nobility's presentation of themselves as powerful, legitimate rulers."
- garciansmith 2y agoSumptuary laws might have been part of it. But likely it was that natural resources were all highly regulated by the end of the Middle Ages in Western Europe. That was especially true of hunting and fishing rights (even things like taking firewood from a forest could be regulated), so I imagine that keeping animals like pigeons were an offshoot of those kinds of customary rights and laws.
- legitster 2y agoManorial and feudal societies were a much different paradigm. Everything was seen as the purview of the lord - you couldn't build a pond, barn, stable, etc unless it was in service of the manor. In this regard dovecotes are not particularly special. While there may have been class restrictions in certain times and places, in all likelihood most lords probably sold pigeons at the market and commoners bought them that way.
- jollyllama 2y agoIt's really not that different now; try building a dovecote and see what your local officials think of it.
- dukeyukey 2y agoThe upper class wanted to publicly differentiate themselves from the peasantry and yeoman classes. You couldn't easily do it with displays of wealth (since the town yeomanry were often well-off even if they lacked titles), so they did it by making it illegal for commoners to do stuff. Like have dovecotes, or wear certain colours.