Between the 13th and 18th centuries, the legal systems of Europe engaged in a practice that seems utterly absurd to the modern mind: they arrested, tried, convicted, and executed non-human animals.
These were not mob lynchings or informal acts of vengeance. They were meticulous, formal legal proceedings complete with judges, defense attorneys, witnesses, and extensive court records.
To understand this bizarre tradition, one must look at how the trials were structured, the famous cases that defined them, and the deeply rooted medieval psychology that made them seem entirely rational.
The Two Types of Animal Courts
Animal trials were generally divided into two distinct legal jurisdictions, depending on the type of animal and the nature of the crime.
1. Secular Courts: Murder and Violent Crimes
Secular courts (civil tribunals) handled cases involving domestic animals—such as pigs, cows, horses, and dogs—accused of violently harming humans. Because these animals lived closely with humans, they were treated much like human citizens. * The Crime: Usually the murder or mutilation of a child. Pigs, which roamed freely in medieval towns and ate almost anything, were the most common defendants. * The Punishment: If found guilty, the animal was usually sentenced to death. They were publicly hanged, burned at the stake, or buried alive.
2. Ecclesiastical (Church) Courts: Property and Crop Damage
Church courts handled cases involving wild animals, insects, and vermin—such as rats, locusts, weevils, and slugs. Because these creatures could not be physically captured and brought to a courtroom, the civil courts had no power over them. Instead, the Church stepped in. * The Crime: Destroying crops, eating stored grain, or damaging property (essentially, threatening a town with famine). * The Punishment: Excommunication from the Catholic Church or formal anathematization (cursing). The Church would order the pests to leave the area within a certain number of days; if they refused, the bishop would excommunicate them.
The Legal Process
The most striking aspect of these trials was their strict adherence to legal protocol.
Animals were served with summonses, which were read aloud by court officers at places the animals were known to frequent (like a rat hole or a destroyed wheat field). When an animal was arrested for a violent crime, it was held in the local human jail. Court records show that jailers were given the exact same daily allowance for the food and upkeep of a pig as they were for a human prisoner.
Crucially, the courts appointed defense attorneys for the animals. These lawyers took their jobs incredibly seriously, using every legal loophole available to save their furry or insectoid clients. They would challenge the jurisdiction of the court, the character of the witnesses, and the legal culpability of the animal.
Famous Case Studies
The Pig of Falaise (1386) In one of the most famous cases in France, a pig was arrested for tearing the face and arms of a young child, resulting in the child's death. The pig was put on trial, found guilty, and sentenced to be maimed and hanged. In a macabre display of justice, the pig was dressed in a human waistcoat, breeches, and gloves, and a human mask was placed on its head before the local executioner strung it up in the town square.
Bartholomew Chasseneuz and the Rats of Autun (1522) A young French lawyer named Bartholomew Chasseneuz made his career by defending a hoard of rats accused of eating the local barley crop. When the rats failed to show up to court, Chasseneuz argued that the summons was too localized; since rats were nomadic, a new summons had to be read from all local pulpits. When the rats missed the second court date, Chasseneuz argued that the journey to court was too dangerous for his clients because the townspeople’s cats were roaming the streets. He demanded the townsfolk lock up their cats to ensure his clients safe passage. The court eventually adjourned the case indefinitely.
The Weevils of St. Julien (1587) A colony of weevils was put on trial for ravaging the local vineyards. The trial lasted for over eight months. The defense attorney argued that God had created the weevils and given them the right to eat plant life, meaning they were just exercising their divine right. The town eventually offered to compromise by granting the weevils a designated plot of land outside the town exclusively for their use.
Why Did They Do It?
To modern eyes, putting a locust on trial is a waste of time. But to the medieval mind, it served several vital purposes:
- The Great Chain of Being: The medieval worldview was heavily dictated by the belief in a strict divine hierarchy, with God at the top, humans in the middle, and animals below. If a pig killed a human, it inverted the divine order. A trial and execution were required to reset the cosmic balance and restore order to the universe.
- Catharsis and Control: Life in the Middle Ages was precarious. An infestation of rats could mean starvation for a whole village. By putting the rats on trial, the villagers took a chaotic, uncontrollable act of nature and forced it into a human framework of rules and order. It provided psychological comfort.
- Deterrence to Owners: Many historians believe that trying and executing domestic animals was a theatrical way to warn human owners to keep a closer eye on their livestock.
- Legal Absolutism: The law was seen as an absolute, divine truth. If the law was perfect, it had to apply to all of God's creations.
The era of animal trials slowly faded during the Enlightenment (18th century), as scientific understanding grew and the concepts of moral agency and intent became the foundation of criminal law. Society accepted that a creature cannot commit a crime if it lacks the cognitive ability to understand right from wrong.