Since time began bees have enchanted and perplexed human beings. From Mesopotamia to Mexico bees have figured in the ritual and mythology of the world’s most vibrant cultures. Egyptian Pharoahs, Renaissance popes and nineteenth century emperors have all chosen the modest insect as their emblem, while the hive itself has been seen as a model of everything from the ideal democracy to the ecclesiastical hierarchy, to the perfect urban dwellings. In ancient times bees supported mankind from birth to death; honey served as a tax, an offering, a propitiation and a libation, it was daubed on the lips of newborns and preserved corpses after death. Predating both bread and wine it was man’s first sweetener and first intoxicant. Being both antiseptic and antibacterial it was also essential in medicine, cosmetics, preservation and contraception. Virgil and the Bees will look at the social history of beekeeping, exploring the myths and misconceptions, the products of the hive and the history of the apiary. Katie Campbell will present these talks for The Gardens Trust, and the cost is £5 each or 2 for £8. through Eventbrite. Details for registration are HERE. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards.
The June 7 talk is entitled The Song of Increase. As apian life has intrigued human observers, it has also challenged human classification. Some cultures believed bees rose from the ground, others that they fell from the sky; some saw them as the souls of the dead, others thought them the tears of the gods; Greek philosophers thought they were propagated by beating the corpse of a bull, Roman lawyers argued whether bees were tame or wild to determine the responsibility for, and ownership of, bee swarms. Some believed honey grew on trees, others thought it rained from the heavens, even today most Jains and many vegans refuse to consume honey which they deem an animal product. The Song of Increase will explore the rich symbolism attached to bees and investigate the major misconceptions around these mysterious creatures.
The lecture on June 14 is The Celestial Gift. he history of beekeeping is the history of honey harvest; from the first courageous souls who braved rock faces to steal from wild colonies, through the apiarists who burnt whole colonies to get at the honey; from to the benign clerics who devised hives which enable the humane extraction of honey, to today’s industrial producers who confine colonies in vast warehouses where the bees never see a live flower. This lecture will survey the changing theory and practice of beekeeping and the different uses of honey and hive, from the ancient custom of mellification to the modern ‘mad honey’ which sells illegally on the dark web, from the Celtic tribesmen who tortured enemies by smearing their naked bodies with honey to the Roman legions which created chaos by tossing live hives into enemy camps.
Katie Campbell is a writer and garden historian. She lectures widely, has taught at Birkbeck, Bristol and Buckingham universities; she writes for various publications and leads art and garden tours. Her recently published Cultivating the Renaissance (Routledge, 2022) examines how the Medici’s Tuscan villas reflect the changing ideas of the Renaissance. Earlier books include British Gardens in Time, to accompany the BBC television series; Paradise of Exiles, which explores the Anglo- American garden-makers in late nineteenth century Florence; Policies and Pleasances: A Guide to Scotland’s Gardens, and Icons of Twentieth Century Landscape Design. She is currently working on ‘Virgil and the Bees’, a social history of beekeeping.
