In December 1457, the town of Savigny, France, witnessed one of the most meticulously documented secular animal trials in medieval history. A mother sow and her six piglets were formally arrested and charged with the murder of a five-year-old child. Far from a mob-led lynch party, the legal proceedings strictly adhered to customary French criminal law.
The local magistrate appointed formal defense counsel for the pigs, summoned eyewitnesses, and conducted a thorough judicial inquiry into the incident. The legal logic underpinning medieval animal trials rested on the belief that justice was an absolute moral framework governing all living creatures within Christendom. Under secular jurisdiction, domestic animals were viewed as property capable of committing willful harm, requiring formal legal retribution to cleanse the community of moral guilt and deter future harm.
During the trial, the defense attorney argued persuasively that while the sow was directly implicated in the attack, the six piglets should be acquitted due to their youth, lack of criminal intent, and the corrupting influence of their mother. The court ultimately convicted the sow, sentencing her to public execution by hanging, while the six piglets were fully exonerated and released under a bond of good behavior.