Oinking in the Mountains

The history of pigs and pannage—the autumnal fattening of pigs on acorns and beechnuts—has been largely overlooked in international scholarship, particularly in Transylvania, where research has favored sheep husbandry. This article examines the ideological underpinnings of this imbalance and investigates the scale and economic significance of pig husbandry and pannage in the Principality of Transylvania (1541–1699). It highlights the association between pigs and mountains and their entanglement with sheep breeding. Contemporary sources underscore the economic importance of pig husbandry through the evidence of revenues landlords derived from leasing of mast-bearing forests for pannage. The article further considers the possibility of pig transhumance—the seasonal movement of swine to distant forests, at times even across the Carpathians. By analyzing local regulations on oak and beech forest use, the study demonstrates how pigs compelled humans to negotiate a balance between economic interests and ecological capabilities.