Hen, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The hen, gallīna, is a powerful symbol of God's wisdom made flesh, embodying Christ’s protective and sacrificial love for humanity. In the Gospels, Christ likens Himself to a hen who longs to gather Jerusalem's children under His wings, a symbol of His deep, nurturing care. Just as a hen becomes ill when her chicks are sick, Christ took on human weakness to shield us from evil. The hen’s fierce defence against predators reflects Christ’s battle against the devil, whereas her hoarse clucking mirrors His weary cries in His earthly suffering.

The hen’s selflessness parallels Christ’s rejection and humiliation for our sake. Leading her chicks, she reflects Christ’s call to discipleship: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must take up their cross and follow me.” The hen, digging out earth to find grain for her young, symbolises Christ’s work through preachers to cultivate virtue in our hearts. Like the hen feeding her chicks from her own mouth, Christ nourishes us spiritually: “Open your mouth and I will fill it.”

The hen’s wings, under which her chicks find refuge, represent the two Testaments—Mercy and Truth, Fear and Love—that protect believers. Christ, like the hen, becomes weak with His people, embodying Divine Wisdom as a nurturing mother. Even when weakened and humiliated, He remains the Creator and Saviour, whose strength formed the world and whose infirmity redeemed it. Just as the hen is to her chicks, Christ’s weakness is our strength, making Him both our gentle mother and our powerful protector.

Finally, Christ is also likened to an eagle, stirring and guarding His young, as described in Deuteronomy. In both the hen and the eagle, we see the fullness of Christ’s care: tender and fierce, humble and mighty, always seeking to gather and protect His people.

Galline nomine; dicitur sapientia dei. que carnem
assumpsit. Unde dominus dicit in evangelio. Ierusalem
ierusalem que occidis prophetas et lapidas eos qui ad
te missi sunt. quociens volui congregare filios tuos
quemadmodum gallina congregat pullos suos sub
ala. et nolvisti. Hoc animal maximum affectum
habet in filios. ita ut eorum infirmitate infecta; ipsa
infirmetur. Et quod in nullis aliis repperitur. eos
alis protegens contra mulvum pugnet. Sic dei sapientia
per carnem infirmata; protegit nos et defendit a
diabolo. Gallina clamando rauca est. Sic et dicit christus.
Laboravi clamans rauce facte sunt fauces mee. et
laboravi sustinens. Gallina pro amore pullorum
hyspidatur et turpis sit. sic et christus ab iectus ab omni-
bus re(added)putabatur. et leprosus dicebatur. Gallina;
precedit pullos. Et christus dicit. Qii vult meus esse. dis-
cipulus; tollat crucem suam et sequatur me. Gal-
lina unguibus pedum terram scarpendo strami-
na deicit; ut grana inveniat pullis. Sic christus per iiica-
nationis sue predicatores terram cordis nostris ape-

The name of the hen, gallīna, symbolises the wisdom of God, who became flesh. Hence, the Lord says in the Gospel: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to you, how often I wanted to gather your children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing."[1] This animal shows great affection for her chicks, so much so that, infected by their illness, she becomes ill herself. This is something not found in any other animal: she fights against kites whilst protecting the chicks with her wings. Similarly, the wisdom of God, weakened by the flesh, protects and defends us from the devil. The hen, when she clucks, utters a hoarse call. Christ said: "I have laboured and cried out; my throat has become hoarse, and I have laboured and endured."[2] The hen, for the love of her chicks, becomes bristly and ugly. Similarly, Christ was rejected by all and regarded as a leper. The hen leads her chicks. Christ says thereof: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must take up their cross and follow me."[3] The hen, with her claws digging out the earth, throws away the straw to find grains for her chicks. Similarly, Christ, through the preachers of His incarnation,

rit. et superflua deicit. ut paleis vitiorum nostrorum
abiectis; granis virtutum nostrarum et bonorum
operum alios filios suos pascat. Gallina granum
ex ore proprio retrahit. et pullis proicit. Sic et christus
dicit. Aperi os tuum et implebo illud. Ale huius gal-
line sub quibus proteguntur pulli eius; sunt duo testamen-
ta. Vel misericordia et veritas. vel timor et amor. quibus
deus incipientes protegit. Dens voluit congregare fili-
os sinagoge sub alis suis; sed ipsa noluit. quia vo-
luntas dei filios eius congregavit et martires fecit;
et dominos mundi; etiam ipsa nolente; Gallina igitur
infirmitata est christus. et mater nostra est sapientia di-
vina. Nulla enim alia avis mater agnoscitur; nisi
in nido fuerit cum pullis. Gallina autem sic infirmatur
cum pullis suis. et ita fit alis demissis. et plumis his-
pida et voce rauca; et omnibus membris demissa et
abiecta; ut se si filios eius non videas nec nidum;
matrem tamen intelligas. Ecce habes infirmum ihesum. Unde
fatigatus ex itinere. sedit sexta hora ad puteum

digs out the earth of our hearts and throws away the superfluous to feed others with the grains of virtue and good deeds. The hen retrieves grain from her own mouth and feeds it to the chicks. Christ says thereof: "Open your mouth and I will fill it."[4] The wings of this hen, whereunder the chicks are protected, are the two Testaments, Mercy and Truth or Fear and Love, whereby God protects the new believers. God wished to gather the children of the synagogue under His wings but they did not want to, for the will of God gathered His children, made them martyrs and lords of the world, even though the hen herself did not want to. Thus, the weakened hen is Christ and our mother is divine wisdom, for no other bird is recognized as a mother unless she has been in the nest with her chicks. Thus, the hen becomes weak along with her chicks, she lowers her wings, her feathers become bristly and her call hoarse; and although all her limbs are lowered and shabby so that you might not see the chicks or the nest, you understand the mother. Behold, now you have the weak Jesus. Hence, exhausted from His journey, He sat at the sixth hour by the well of

samarie. Sed et est. fortis iesus. Quia per ipsum facta sunt
omnia. et sine ipso factum est. nichil. Et dominus virtu-
tum ipse est rex glorie. Fortitudo christi re creavit. in-
firmitas christi; te recreavit. Condidit nos fortitudine
et quesivit infirmitate. Infirmus infirmos nutrit.
omnibus omnia factus; tanquam gallina pullos suos. In-
firmitas illius nos fortes facit. Quia quod infirmum
est dei; fortius est. hominibus. Gallina igitur christi est; pul-
los fidelium nutriens. Ipse est et aquila; pullos suos
protegens. Unde in deuteronomio. Sicut aquila
provocans ad volandum pullos suos et super eos vo-
litans.

Samaria. Jesus is strong, for He made all things and nothing was made without Him. The Lord of Hosts[5] is the King of Glory. Christ’s strength created you and His infirmity restored you. He strengthened us and sought weakness for Himself. He is the weak who nourishes the weak, becoming all things to all people, like a hen to her chicks. His weakness makes us strong, for that which is weak in God is stronger than that which is in man. Thus, the hen is Christ, nourishing the chicks of the faithful. He is also the eagle, protecting his young. Hence, in Deuteronomy: "As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young and spreads its wings to catch them."

Further Reading

David Badke, The Bestiary Blog: Animals in the Middle Ages, Hen, November 6 2023, https://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast102166.htm

Mynott, J, Birds in the Ancient World (New York: Oxford University Press 2018)

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

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)

Matthews, J. and Matthews C., The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A-Z of fantastic beings from myth and magic (London: HarperElement, 2005)

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

Endnotes

[1] Matthew 23:37: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!"

[2] This is not a direct Bible quote bit it resembles the following from Psalm NKJV 69:3: "I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God."

[3] Matthew NKJV 16:24: "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'"

[4] Psalm NKJV 81:10: "I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it."

[5] The phrase "Dominus virtutum", "Lord of Hosts", refers to God’s role as the leader of heavenly armies. The term virtutum can mean "powers" or "forces" and in a biblical context, it frequently refers to the celestial armies or hosts of angels under God's command.

[6] Deuteronomy NKJV 32:11: "As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings,"