Exploding Pigs & Retirement Homes For Cows: Alpine Human-Animal Relations in the Late Middle Ages

Exploding Pigs and Retirement Homes for Cows: Alpine Human-Animal Relations in the Late Middle Ages Living in the Alps during the Middle Ages meant having to cope with a lot of different challenges and hazards, from the obvious like avalanches to the hidden and unexpected, like the series of curious events which happened to a farmer in Grisons in 1568: The midden where he piled up the manure of his cattle suddenly began glittering in the sunlight—and shortly afterwards his cows started wasting away and dying in a horrific manner. This talk will explore the story behind these seemingly unconnected strange incidents as part of a large investigation into the history of human-animal relations in the area from Valais to Tyrol in the time from the 14th to the 16th centuries: How were animals perceived and treated by the rural population? A special focus will be the topics of animal health and welfare: What kind of dangers to animal health existed? How did people try to mitigate or prevent them? The presented case studies will show that medieval alpine villagers found ways to cope even with problems like sudden mysterious mass deaths of livestock and tried to consider the needs and interests of animals.