Mole /talpa/ medallion 4 cm in diameter
The text of the bestiary and that of Pseudo-Hugh /III.26/ repeat the story by Isidore /XII.III.5/. The mole is condemned to life in eternal darkness underground. He has no eyes and always digs through the ground and eats the roots of plants. The description of the mole comes from Aristotle /1.491.b.27./ and Pliny /XI.37.52/. Isaiah mentions it prophesying judgement over idols whom “the men will cast forth to the moles” /Isaiah 2:20/. In the bestiary of Pierre of Beauvais /III.274/ the mole is the symbol of one of the four elements — the earth.