Sometimes pigs were even punished in absentia, and entire herds could be sentenced to death if multiple animals were involved in an attack. These extreme responses highlight the extent to which medieval society personified its animals and saw justice not merely as retribution but as the restoration of cosmic balance.
From Medieval Horror to Modern Curiosity
By the early modern period, the sight of pigs wandering city streets was gradually eliminated through regulation, urban planning, and changing attitudes toward public hygiene. Pig attacks became rare as cities modernized and animal control took shape. The last known pig trials in Europe dwindled by the 17th century.
But the legend of the demon pig persists, and not just as a historical curiosity. It serves as a lens through which we can glimpse medieval life—its fears, its beliefs, and its need to impose order upon chaos. The “killer pig” may sound like folklore, but it was very real, and to many, it was a monster born not in forests or fairy tales, but in the streets of their own cities. shutdown123