Two hedgehogs next to a
vine or tree with white grapes. The hedgehog on the right has the
fruits stuck on its spines, while the one on the left appears to be
preparing to do the same or has already begun. This scene is based
on a mediaeval belief that hedgehogs would climb or shake grapevines
to make the fruit fall, then roll over the grapes to stick them onto
their spines, carrying them back to their dens. It is a classic
example of how mediaeval manuscripts combined observation, folklore,
and moral lessons. In bestiaries, animals often symbolised virtues
or vices, and the hedgehog’s cleverness in gathering food could be
interpreted as industriousness or cunning. It was thought that the
hedgehog’s ability to carry food on its spines and store it away for
later mirrored the wise person’s forethought in spiritual or
practical matters. Writers of bestiaries sometimes used the hedgehog
to illustrate moral lessons, especially the idea of storing up good
deeds or spiritual treasures. Some accounts also described hedgehogs
defending themselves from predators by curling into a ball, a
behaviour they admired as a symbol of self-defence through humility
and prudence. The combination of real traits—such as curling up—with
imagined ones—such as grape-harvesting—reflected the mediaeval habit
of interpreting nature through a lens of symbolism, where every
creature could carry a message for human behaviour and divine order.
