Warren (animal husbandry)
A Warren or Domestic Warren is an artificial, enclosed facility for keeping animals, which was used specifically for keeping rabbits for the production of meat and fur. It originated from the Anglo-Norman concept of the free warren , a type of hunting license or a privilege to hunt in a certain forest.
investment
Ditch and post fence
Domestic Warrens were usually surrounded by a fairly wide moat . Since rabbits only swim under compulsion and avoid water, this was the safest protection against breakouts. A palisade ("pale"), or other fence, was built to keep robbers away.
Pillow mounds
Characteristic structures of the "cony-garth" are the pillow mounds, pillow-like, oval, flat hills, which are sometimes described as "cigar-shaped" and sometimes in the shape of a large ⟨E⟩ or in larger connected rows were created. Often these hills were equipped with prefabricated, stone-lined passages. The preferred orientation was on a gentle slope, with the mounds facing the base of the slope to facilitate water drainage. The ground had to be soft so that the rabbits could build more burrows.
Even if this type of animal husbandry has been abandoned, there are still numerous pillow mounds in Britain , some are even maintained as English Heritage . The largest collection is found at Dartmoor .
Word origin and word history
The word is derived from the Old English "warenne", a borrowing from the Old French "warenne" (guarenne, garenne = wildlife park).
The cunicularia of the monasteries were more likely to be large cages or stables than the open enclosures with special structures that the Domestic Warrens ultimately developed into. The enclosures of the monasteries were called “close” , “cony-garth” (rabbit garden), “conegar” , “coneygree” , or “bury” (from “burrow”, construction).
Modern use
In the meantime, the term "warren" is also used for the wild burrows:
The word thus became used of a piece of ground preserved for these beasts of warren. It is now applied loosely to any piece of ground, whether preserved or not, where rabbits breed.
In addition, any den of wild rodents are often referred to as "warren": " prairie dog warren". From 1649 the term was also used disparagingly for poor, overcrowded human dwellings and took on the meaning of "cluster of densely populated living spaces" ( Oxford English Dictionary , OED). Occasionally the term "warren of cubicles" is used for open-plan offices.
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Schematic diagram of a pillow mound .
- ^ The One Show , BBC One news programs. April 24, 2013.
- ↑ English Garth small, "closed field" comes from the Old Norwegian garðr "Hag, Acker, Hof, Zaun" derives.
- ↑ Hugh Chisholm (ed.): "Warren" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911, 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. P. 331. see also: "Forest Laws". Encyclopædia Britannica. 10 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 645.