In medieval Europe, the law applied to more than just human citizens. Secular and ecclesiastical courts routinely held formal legal proceedings against animals accused of crimes ranging from property damage to murder. The most famous of these cases occurred in Falaise, Normandy, in 1386, when a sow severely injured a young child, who subsequently died.
Rather than simply putting the animal down, local authorities arrested the pig and jailed her alongside human prisoners. The justice system treated the case with solemn legal rigor. A formal trial was convened, complete with a judge, prosecutors, defense counsel, and witnesses.
The sow was accused of infanticide. To underscore the seriousness of the offense, the pig was dressed in human clothes—specifically a waistcoat, breeches, and gloves—before being brought into court. After listening to arguments, the judge found the animal guilty and sentenced her to be maimed and subsequently hanged by the neck until dead.
The execution was conducted publicly in the Falaise marketplace as a warning to both human citizens and other livestock. The town even hired a painter to document the event in a fresco on the wall of the Church of the Holy Trinity. The total cost of the trial, including the pig's room and board in prison, the executioner's fee, and a new pair of gloves for the executioner, was meticulously logged in town financial records, proving that even six centuries ago, justice came with a hefty invoice.