From the 13th to the 18th centuries, there are numerous records of animals being put on trial and receiving punishment, often capital.
From the 13th to the 18th centuries, there are numerous records of animals being put on trial and receiving punishment, often capital. The first case cited is often that of a pig tried and executed in Fontenay-aux-Roses in 1266, though the presence of a trial is disputed. On 5th September 1379, three pigs from a herd, apparently wound up by the squealing of a piglet, rushed at Perrinot Muet, the swineherd’s son. He suffered such terrible injuries that he died shortly afterwards. The three sows were arrested, tried and executed. Furthermore, because both herds in the field had rushed over, they were deemed accomplices to the murder, and the rest of both herds were tried and executed too. Horses, cows, bulls and even insects were the subject of legal cases. What other odd medieval ideas didn't last?