Follain, Antoine <br/><br/>
Kuhgyher and cow-screwers. Bestiality in the countryside and the case of the 1575 prosecution of Claude Colley in the Vosges 

 -  2018.<br/>							 
<br/><br/> 10 
<br/><br/> Editing the 1575 prosecution of the young Claude Colley in the Vosges allows us to throw light on the perception of the crime of bestiality and of the seriousness of the punishment it could be met with, at this point in time and only in the Judeo-Christian world. Starting with this case study, we also present a whole research program on this particular issue in the history of morals and of sexuality in the Early modern era, the high point of its repression, as well as in earlier and later periods. While the starting point of this story is indeed biblical (Leviticus, 20.15-16), this sexual act has again been considered a crime since 2000/2010 after a long period of disinterest, and for reasons utterly different from the ones invoked in the past. Such procedures were rare in the Early modern era, but this does not prove that the act itself was rare as well. It is necessary to exploit every case which can be recovered, and the article contextualizes the Colley case within its time (the 16th to 17th centuries) and in the longer run. It also raises the issue of sources, since the latter are rare, often lost (destroyed on purpose) or referring to ambiguous situations. The act in itself was always held to be despicable, but the persons who had knowledge of it and reported it rather than ignore it were often trying to turn its author into a criminal who would be found guilty with almost complete certainty. The issue was not morality alone, and those who called upon the Law often used it for their own ulterior motives.