LAW OF THE JUDGES (FORI IUDICUM), Book III, Title V.
Flavius Chintasvintus, King. (Spain, 650 CE)
V. Concerning the Penetration of Males.
That crime must not be unpunished which in the violation of morality
has always been considered most execrable; therefore those who penetrate
males, or who undergo such things willingly, are to be condemned by this
law: where the crime has been proved after proper investigation by the
judge, both parties shall be castrated without delay, and be delivered
up to the bishop of the diocese where the deed was committed, to be placed
in solitary confinement in a prison; so that, against their will, they
may expiate the crime which they are convicted of having voluntarily perpetrated.
If however, anyone should have commited this horrible offence not voluntarily,
but against his will, whether he was active or passive, may be held blameless
of the crime, if the person who discovered the crime himself appears as
a witness; but without doubt anyone who is known to have been involved
voluntarily in this insanity shall be punished. However, if those who consensually
commit these acts have wives, their children or legal may obtain the right
to inherit. and it shall be lawful for their wives, having received back
their dowries, and retaining all their possessions, to afterwards marry
whomsoever they will.
Flavius Egica, King. (Spain, 693 CE).
VI. Concerning Sodomy, and the Manner in which the Law Should be Enforced.
The doctrine of the orthodox faith requires us to place our censure
upon vicious practices, and to restrain those who are addicted to carnal
offences. For we counsel well for the benefit of our people and our country,
when we take measures to utterly extirpate the crimes of wicked men, and
put an end to the evil deeds of vice. For this reason, we shall attempt
to abolish that crime of detestable lust, by the illicit action of which
men are not ashamed to penetrate males and defile them with filthy and
vulgar acts, which are as contrary to Divine precept as to chastity. And
although the authority of the Holy Scriptures and the censure of earthly
laws alike prohibit offenses of this kind, it is nevertheless necessary
to condemn them by a new decree; lest if timely correction be deferred,
still greater vices may arise. Therefore, we establish by this law, that
if any man whosoever, of any age, or race, whether he belongs to the clergy
or to the laity, should be convicted of the commission of the crime by
competent evidence, he shall, by order of the king, or of any judge, not
only suffer the castration of his male parts, but also the penalty prescribed
by ecclesiatical decree for such offences, and promulgated in the third
year of our reign.