Qui s'y frotte s'y pique

Qui s'y frotte s'y pique is a French proverb which appeared at the end of the 16th century, roughly translating as "Whoever rubs it gets pricked". It has been erroneously asserted that it was a motto of the Dukes of Orléans and Louis XII of France. It is often associated with an image of a porcupine. However, the original late 14th-century motto with that animal for the Dukes and Louis was a Latin one, "Cominus et eminus" (near and far, referring to the medieval myth that porcupines could shoot their quills at enemies at a distance as well as prick them when touched, making them a symbol of warrior virtues).

It can also be considered as an interpretation of the town motto of Nancy, France, which is linked to an image of a thistle, or to be the ancient Créquy or Villéon families from Brittany. It is similar to nemo me impune lacessit, used in 1687 by James VII of Scotland for his Order of the Thistle or Louis XI's device of a bundle of thistles with the motto "Non nu tus premor" ("Nobody touches me without punishment"), which could be considered a free translation of "qui s'y frotte s'y pique" or vice versa.