Strawberry

Bosch, Garden of Earthly Delights, Strawberry detail

Strawberries were initially associated with temptation. This was a common meaning shared amongst many fruits. According to “The Medieval Flower Book” by Celia Fisher there was a Virgilian proverb that warned children of snakes sleeping coiled in the cool of their leaves. Furthermore, Hieronymus Bosch used strawberries as a symbol of fleeting and dangerous pleasures in the Garden of Earthly Delights. In some depictions of Christian art, strawberries are not “sinister” but rather they were considered the perfect fruit and symbolized the Virgin. The white flowers and red fruit represent purity and martyrdom and the three leaves the Trinity. Medicinally, strawberries were believed to fight inflammation. The fruit helped with skin, while the leaves and roots cured ailments of the liver and kidneys.

Strawberries are frequently depicted in European medieval manuscripts and are one of the most common plant images found therein.

Strawberries in Manuscripts

A group of nude people surrounding a giant strawberry in Hieronymus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights.

The strawberry in this context symbolizes temptation rather than purity.
Strawberry detail in a Book of Hours.

An image of the Virgin Mary holding a baby Jesus while a Magus kneels at her feet. There are strawberries on the border along with other flowers, including dianthus (also known as Pinks) which are "God's flower". The strawberries in this image could be interpreted as representing the Trinity, the Virgin Mary, and as a result purity.
Illuminated L containing strawberries in Heptameron, a French manuscript collection of moralizing tales.
Strawberries decorate the margins.

A visitation of the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth. The strawberries bordering the image on the right are likely placed here as a representation of Mary.
Strawberries and a unicorn.

An illuminated Bible page, the text is Beginning of Jerome, Epistle to Paulinus. The unicorn is also often used as a symbol of purity and in some contexts a symbol of Christ.
Strawberries bordering an image of Evangelist Luke.

Underneath the strawberries is a fantastical hybrid woman holding a sword. The page is the Evangelium secundum Lucam or The Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke relates how Jesus chose the Twelve Apostles.
Strawberries in the marginalia of what is likely a table of contents for a Book of Hours. There are strawberries found throughout this manuscript, which is lusciously detailed.

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