Mesta
This article is about the medieval sheep holders association in Castile. For other meanings, see Mesta (disambiguation).
The
Mesta (Spanish
Honrado Concejo de la Mesta, Honored Council of the Mesta) was a powerful association of
sheep holders in the medieval
Kingdom of Castile.
The sheep were
transhumant, migrating from the pastures of
Extremadura and
Andalusia to
Castile and back according to the season.
The nomansland (up to 100km across) between Christian Spain and
Moorish-occupied Spain was too insecure for
arable farming and was only exploited by shepherds. When the land was reconquered by the Spanish, farmers began to settle and disputes with pastoralists were common. The Mesta can be regarded as the first, and most powerful, agricultural union in mediaeval
Europe.
The exportation of
merino wool enriched the Mesta members (nobility and church orders) who had acquired
ranches during the process of
Reconquista.
The kings of Castile conceded many privileges to the Mesta.Even today, herds of sheep may be transported by rail, but the
cañadas (traditional
rights-of-ways for sheep) are legally protected "forever" from occupation and barring.
Some
Madrid streets are still part of the
cañada system, and there are groups that organize sheep transportation across the modern city as a reminder of old farming.
The word comes from Latin
animalia mixta ("mixed animals"), beasts without a known owner.The reunion of beast to attribute them became a reunion of shepherds.When the council was established, it was also called
mesta.
The word
mustang comes from
mesteño or
mestengo ("a mesta [i.e. ownerless] beast").
*
Diccionario Crítico Etimológico Castellano e Hispánico, by
Joan Corominas and
José A. Pascual, vol IV, Editorial Gredos, 1989, Madrid, ISBN 84-249-0066-9
