AN OVERVIEW OF LIVESTOCK BREEDING IN THE MEDIEVAL ZETA THROUGH THE LEGAL NORMS OF THE STATUTES OF KOTOR, BUDVA AND SKADAR

Keywords: statutes, animal husbandry, the Middle Ages INTRODUCTION The economy of the people in the medieval Zeta communes was determined above all by social conditions, but also by the natural environment that existed in them. In addition to written norms, in the Zeta communes, when it comes to animal husbandry, customary law was also applied, which would represent the next, although much less common source (material) used for writing this work (On customary law, see: A very significant comparative material for the study of this topic is represented by the statutes of medieval Dalmatian communes, first of all, due to their geographical proximity and similar socio-economic structure, the statute of Korcula (Statuta et leges civitatis et insulae Curzullae, 1877), but also of other smaller Dalmatian communes, that were close in social structure to Zeta communes, especially Budva and Skadar. [...]the legal institutes that were in force, and which are said to be regulated according to customary law, are mentioned in the Kotor official and notary documents.