This hexagonal/honeycomb-shaped pendant contains a depiction of a bee. Bees were so important in Early Medieval Ireland that they had their own set of laws, the 'Bechbretha'. It's available here https://t.co/GlkwMbxesX pic.twitter.com/vwBvzexnjT
— Irish Archaeology (@irarchaeology) May 2, 2022
Sure enough. From Wikipedia, Brechbretha.
"Bee-Judgments" and "Kinship of Conducted Water" are two tracts some scholars believe were written by the same author. These two tracts both present legal information about a relatively new animal and technological introductions to Irish law from elsewhere in Europe, Honey Bees and Watermills. Hence they show the Brehons adapting to new legal challenges. In particular, this is one area where it is possible to see a legal analogy in action.
Not accustomed to thinking about the legal implications of bees but apparently it was a thing.
Likewise, the laws only once mention the practice of individuals being ineligible for kingship if they are blemished (a practice more widely evident elsewhere, especially in Irish mythology). That mention is only incidental to a regulation on the compensation for bee stings when the legal tract Bechbretha relates the story of Congal Cáech, who was deposed on account of being blinded by a bee.
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