Tangible evolutional dynamics of silkworm’s introduction in Europe

This article critically examines the early evolutional dynamics of the European silk road by inquiring into the points of entry, distribution routes, and evolution of the agricultural activity of silkworm rearing and the production of silk in Europe in the Middle Ages. Historical texts and manuscripts were examined revealing that silkworm rearing in Europe can be initially traced to around 960 in Córdoba, Spain. Subsequently, this agricultural activity is reported in Avellino, Italy, in 1037, and later in Nafpaktos, Greece, in 1217/18. Silkworm rearing for raw silk production is much later identified as present in northern Italy when the first artistic depiction of the silkworm’s life cycle appears in a 1427 illustration. The historical texts provide no credible evidence to support the notion that silkworm rearing existed in the early and middle Byzantine Empire, while textual evidence leads us to the conclusion that silkworm rearing was introduced in southern Spain by Arab populations from Syria, and by the eleventh century the production of raw silk was known throughout the Mediterranean Sea.