The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of AnimalsEvans, E. P. (Edward Payson)
History
The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals
Evans, E. P. (Edward Payson)
Animals -- Law and legislation -- History; Animals, Prosecution and punishment of -- History; Trials -- Europe
my Lord of Lausanne or his deputy will proceed against you according to
the rules of justice with curses and other exorcisms, as is proper in such
cases in accordance with legal form and established practice.” The priest
then exhorts his “dear children” devoutly to beg and to pray on their
knees with Paternosters and Ave Marias to the praise and honour of the
high and holy trinity, and to invoke and crave the divine mercy and help
in order that the inger may be driven away. (_Vide_ Appendix D.)
There is no further record of proceedings at this time, and it is highly
probable that the detection of some technical error rendered it necessary
to postpone the case, since this pettifogger’s trick was almost always
resorted to and proved generally successful in procuring an adjournment.
At any rate either this or a precisely similar trial occurred in the
following year. Early in May 1479, the mayor and common council of Berne
sent copies of the monitorium and citation issued by the Bishop of
Lausanne to their representative for distribution among the priests of the
afflicted parishes, in order that it might be promulgated from their
respective pulpits and thus brought to the knowledge of the delinquents.
About a week later, on May 15, the same authorities sent also a letter to
the Bishop of Lausanne asking for new instructions in the matter, as they
were not certain how they should proceed, urging that immediate steps
should be taken, as the further delay would be “utterly intolerable.” This
impatience would seem to imply that the anathema had been hanging fire for
some time and that the prosecution was identical with that of the
preceding year.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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