DOI Artikel:
Mingote Calderón, José Luis: Yokes for three cows: a vanished technique for breaking in cattle in La Sierra Norte of Madrid
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49004#0016
8
J. L. MINGOTE CALDERON
4_i 10 cm
Fig. 7. Yoke for ploughing and threshing from Pradena del Rincon (Madrid). Length: 124 cm. □ Joch
zum Pfliigen und Dreschen, aus Pradena del Rincon (Madrid). Lange: 124 cm.
other clear explanation linked also with
wealth. Oxen could only belong to wealthy
families since to a certain extent they were
useful only because of their power. Cows, on
the other hand, could offer not only their
power but could also provide their owner
with heifers considered as valuable spare ani-
mals for the team. In addition the heifer could
be sold at local fairs and thus offered some
extra earnings.13 Having cows instead of
other draught animals allowed farmers to
have available not only a team of animals but
also some broken in cows. The possession of
a pair of cows was something quite usual in
the area, though differences always existed
and it was also common to find people own-
ing two or three teams of cows and others
lacking even a pair. For the latter it was neces-
sary to join with other farmers, coyuntarse, in
the same position in order to be able to ac-
complish tasks such as ploughing. Untamed
cows and those broken in but not used to the
yoke appear very frequently in historical
sources. Hence, in the Ordenanzas de Bui-
trago in 1534 the differences between un-
tamed and broken cattle is found: “We also
forbid broken in or untamed cattle to walk in
[the area] of reservoirs during fruiting periods
from 1 March, except in [those cases] that the
law has already mentioned and at the indi-
cated times” (Fernandez Garcia 1966, I: 106).
Presence of non-domesticated cows is also re-
gulated in 1544 in Ordenanzas de la Hiruela:
“They also ordered that the access of un-
tamed cows to fenced zones [dehesas] should
be [added by Saint Lucas’ day] and they
should also leave us later than 8 April every
year” (Fernandez Garcia 1966, I: 69-70).
J. L. MINGOTE CALDERON
4_i 10 cm
Fig. 7. Yoke for ploughing and threshing from Pradena del Rincon (Madrid). Length: 124 cm. □ Joch
zum Pfliigen und Dreschen, aus Pradena del Rincon (Madrid). Lange: 124 cm.
other clear explanation linked also with
wealth. Oxen could only belong to wealthy
families since to a certain extent they were
useful only because of their power. Cows, on
the other hand, could offer not only their
power but could also provide their owner
with heifers considered as valuable spare ani-
mals for the team. In addition the heifer could
be sold at local fairs and thus offered some
extra earnings.13 Having cows instead of
other draught animals allowed farmers to
have available not only a team of animals but
also some broken in cows. The possession of
a pair of cows was something quite usual in
the area, though differences always existed
and it was also common to find people own-
ing two or three teams of cows and others
lacking even a pair. For the latter it was neces-
sary to join with other farmers, coyuntarse, in
the same position in order to be able to ac-
complish tasks such as ploughing. Untamed
cows and those broken in but not used to the
yoke appear very frequently in historical
sources. Hence, in the Ordenanzas de Bui-
trago in 1534 the differences between un-
tamed and broken cattle is found: “We also
forbid broken in or untamed cattle to walk in
[the area] of reservoirs during fruiting periods
from 1 March, except in [those cases] that the
law has already mentioned and at the indi-
cated times” (Fernandez Garcia 1966, I: 106).
Presence of non-domesticated cows is also re-
gulated in 1544 in Ordenanzas de la Hiruela:
“They also ordered that the access of un-
tamed cows to fenced zones [dehesas] should
be [added by Saint Lucas’ day] and they
should also leave us later than 8 April every
year” (Fernandez Garcia 1966, I: 69-70).