Scorpion, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The scorpion, though more akin to worms than snakes, is grouped with snakes due to its venomous sting and tail strikes. Its distinctive nature includes not stinging the palm of the hand. Symbolically, the scorpion represents various negative aspects: a scourge, heretics, individuals who sabotage good deeds or despair that inflicts harm. In historical contexts, scourges or whips associated with scorpions were often crafted from thorny branches or apple wood, resembling knotted rods. Alternatively, the scourges of the Saracens were made with rods tipped with leaden balls, used to flog martyrs.

The scorpion was frequently associated with heretics and false teachings. Just as a scorpion appears harmless but carries a hidden sting, heretics were seen as deceitful, presenting a facade of righteousness while spreading dangerous ideas. Its ability to sting with its tail symbolised betrayal and treachery. This imagery was often linked to Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, likening his actions to a scorpion's hidden sting.

This animal was sometimes seen as symboloc of divine punishment or scourge. Its sting was likened to the suffering inflicted upon sinners or the faithful, reminiscent of the spiritual trials and tribulations that test one's faith and its venom was allegorically used to represent spiritual harm, such as temptations or the devil's influence, which could lead a person astray from the path of righteousness.

Scorpio est vermis terrenus qui potius ver-
mibus ascribi deberet quam serpentibus. Sed quia
est animal armatum aculeo. et cauda figit. et
arcuato vulnere venena diffundit; inter ser-
pentes nominatur. Proprium autem scorpionis est. quod
manus palmam non feriat. Nomine igitur scorpio-
nis aliquando dicitur flagellum[1]. aliquando hereticus. aliquando qui
inchoatas virtutes[2] ante consummationem viciat. ali-
quando desperatio qui in fine nocet. Quando pro flagellis accipi-
untur; fiunt de spinis vel pomariis quasi virge nodose.
Vel flagellum saracenorum cum duabus virgis vel tribus. q .in sum-
mitate habent plubeas grandines. quibus martires flagellaban-
tur;

The scorpion is a land worm that should be classed among worms rather than among snakes. However, it is listed among snakes, for it is an animal armed with an aculeus (sting), strikes with its tail and spreads its poison with its curved aculeus. It is typical of the scorpion not to sting the palm of the hand. Therefore, the scorpion sometimes symbolises scourge, sometimes heretics, sometimes someone who sabotage good deeds before they are performed and other times despair that always harms. When we are referring to scourges and whips, they are made of thorns or apple wood, resembling branches full of knots. Alternatively, the scourge of the Saracens has two or three rods with leaden balls at the tips wherewith martyrs were flogged.

Further Reading

David Badke, The Bestiary Blog: Animals in the Middle Ages, Scorpion, November 6 2023, https://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast281.htm

Josh Goldenberg (BA 2012) and Matt Shanahan (BA 2014, Logeion, November 2022, https://logeion.uchicago.edu/

Castiglioni, L. and Mariotti, S. (1996). Vocabolario della Lingua Latina: Latino-Italiano Italiano-Latino. Terza Edizione. Loescher Torino

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Wikipedia: The Elephant, 28 November 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant

Matthews, J. and Matthews C., (2010), The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures, HarperCollins UK, London

Curley, M. J., Physiologus: A Medieval Book of Nature Lore (University of Chicago edition 2009)

Rackham, H., M.A., Pliny Natural History Volume III, Libri VIII-XI (London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1949)

Collins, A. H., M.A., Symbolism of Animals and Birds (New York: McBride, Nast & Company, 1913)

Henderson, C., The Book of Barely Imagined Beings (London: University of Chicago Press, 2013)

White, T. H., The Bestiary: A Book of Beasts (New York: G.P Putnam’s Sons, 1960)

Barney, S. A., Lewis, W. J., Beach A., Berghof O., The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006)

Endnotes

[1] The word flagellum means whip, lash but also scourge in the figurative sense.

[2] Virtus means virtue in Latin but in the plural form, virtutes, also means good deeds, mighty works.