28
THE GREEN BAG
CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY OF ANIMALS1 BY W. F. DODD. ONE of the most curious and interest also the members of the lower animal world ing customs of mediaeval Europe was were under its control, and pests which that of holding animals criminally respon were considered the work of evil spirits sible for injury to persons or property, were driven away or destroyed by religious as if they were rational beings. Various ceremonies sanctioned by the clergy. Such reasons were assigned for enforcing such ceremonies were considered to be efficacious responsibility. In some cases it was as only if all the inhabitants of the community sumed that the animals themselves acted paid the tithes due to the church. If, as maliciously, but more frequently it was in many cases, the pests were considered asserted that they were possessed with punishments sent as an evidence of divine devils or evil spirits, and that such evil wrath, the unfortunate community could spirits were the sufferers by the torture and only avert such wrath by prayers and pay execution inflicted upon the animals. These ment of tithes. In either case the pecuniary curious ideas have long ago given way interests of the church were safeguarded. The curious feature of conduct towards before the progress of popular education in the more enlightened countries, but still offending animals was that no punishments persist in many catholic regions of Europe, were permitted to be imposed upon them without trial and condemnation in accord where superstition still holds sway. As late as 1739 a French Jesuit priest ance with regular judicial procedure. Even wrote in support of the view that animals mad dogs were in certain cases tried and are incarnations of evil spirits. His theory sentenced before being put to death. A was that pagans and unbaptized persons hangman who in Franconia in 1576 hanged were inhabited by devils, but that with the a sow which had been committed to his keep diminution of such persons by conversion ing to await trial, was forced to flee from and infant baptism, the evil spirits had the country because of his impudent sought refuge in animals. The same idea usurpation of judicial authority. Animals is used by Goethe who has Mephistopheles were usually tried by the ecclesiastical courts, but these courts did not have reveal himself to Faust as: authority to inflict capital punishment, "The Lord of rats and eke of mice, and offenses subject to the death penalty Of flies and frogs, bed-bugs and lice." were tried by the civil courts. Not all devils, however, sought habitations Bartholomew Chassene"e, a distinguished in the bodies of animals. Some remained French lawyer of the sixteenth century, is in living humans and others assumed the said to have gained his reputation by the form and features of dead persons, and defense of some rats charged with having wandered about as ghosts and hobgoblins. eaten the barley crop of the province in The church used this theory to good which he practiced. Chassene"e obtained purpose by pretending to control pests of a postponement of the trial on the ground insects and of other noxious creatures. It that time would be required to serve notice claimed that not only human beings but on his clients, inasmuch as they were dis persed over a large territory. The rats did 1 This paper is principally a summary of a not appear at the appointed time and he recent book by E. P. Evans on the "Criminal excused their absence by asserting that they Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals." could not come with safety, because of the London, 1906.
