For legal experts, prosecutors, and lawyers, this was one way to make their mark, to demonstrate their cleverness and persuasiveness. In addition, animal trials gained momentum on their own, especially after the Middle Ages, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. If people could not eradicate harmful insects or rodents with practical measures, they used ecclesiastical trials to ask the Almighty for help. ‘In addition, the medieval culture and society were extremely religious. Witnesses were interrogated to unmask potential malicious intent, and a growing number of cities banned pigs from roaming the streets freely.’ Acquittal of rats This arose from the need to do “something”, but people also took practical measures. A pig “was not supposed” to kill a human, so when it did happen, prosecuting and punishing the animal was a ritual attempt to restore rightful hierarchy. Such trials took place among other things when this presumed order had been disrupted. They did, however, believe in a strict world order, in which humans occupied a fixed position above animals. Clearly, they knew that animals had no idea of what was discussed in court, let alone that they had any sense of guilt or repentance. They were ordinary people, like you and me. ‘Hanging a living pig upside down until death ensues must have been unbearably painful for the poor distressed animal.’ Gins: "We should not be so quick to condemn medieval people."īased on his current Dutch Research Council (NWO) research at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Gins has gained more insight into such animal trials. For Gins, the rarity of these court cases does not make the reality of the animals’ sentences any less unsettling. Animals were hung, strangled, buried alive, tortured, burned, or beheaded. In a secular court, however, ‘the suspect’ would face more gruesome prospects. In cases where an animal appeared before an ecclesiastical court, the punishment could amount to suffering a curse. Such cases may seem ridiculous or amusing to us, but in those days, they were serious matters, extensively debated by legal experts, and a good source of income for court officials, lawyers, and executioners. In Europe, from Antiquity to the Renaissance, animals were regularly put on trial, either individually or as a group. A child dies from the consequences of a dog bite: the dog is sentenced to the gallows and its few belongings confiscated (Leiden, Holland, 1595). During a beetle plague, a debate arises as to whether the insects can be excommunicated (Saint-Julie, France, 1587). A child perishes on account of a sow: the pig is sentenced to being hung upside down until death ensues. Someone dies from a bee sting: the bee colony is sentenced to death by suffocation (Worms, Germany, 864). Text: Gert Gritter, Communication Office UG / Photos: Hesterliena Wolthuis Beetle plague We might have World Animal Day and a Party for the Animals in the Dutch House of Representatives, but are we really more humane? ‘Medieval people would probably be just as shocked to see how we treat animals in the bio-industry and in nature.’ Sven Gins investigates these kinds of medieval animal trials. Dolphins, horses, moles, and flies being sentenced in court. Snails being solemnly banished for nibbling too much on the crops of the inhabitants of Autun, France.
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