In 1540, the winemakers of Saint-Julien-de-Maurienne in the French Alps were in a complete panic. A vast army of caterpillars was mercilessly devouring their prized vineyards. Desperate for a solution and lacking modern pest control, the villagers did what any reasonable 16th-century citizens would do: they sued the insects in ecclesiastical court.
Under medieval and early modern legal precedent, all creatures fell under divine law, meaning animals could be summoned, tried, and excommunicated for public offenses. The church appointed an official defense attorney to represent the caterpillars' legal interests. The lawyer argued brilliantly, reminding the court that caterpillars were created by God and possessed a divine right to feed on local flora.
The prosecutor acknowledged that while the insects had a right to survive, they ought to respect human property. The court originally urged public prayers, but when the pests returned decades later in 1587, the lawsuit resumed with legendary intensity. The town council offered a formal settlement: a legal deed granting the caterpillars their own dedicated plot of land nearby called La Grand-Contree, provided they vacated the vineyards.
However, the defense lawyer rejected the compromise, arguing before the judge that the assigned land was barren, dry, and legally insufficient to sustain his crawling clients. The legal debate dragged on for months. In a twist of ultimate historical irony, the final verdict remains unknown today because the official court documents were eventually eaten by insects in the archives.