Speaking of rings as we have previously, perhaps the nymphs with rings are a modified representation of the sort of "bride of Christ" ideology. Modified in the sense that one would *not* expect her to be seen with no clothes on, but then it is the VMs and so many other nymphs are in the buff.
Historically this occurs with Colette of Corbie and the Colettine Poor Clares.
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Historical data:
1) Occurs c. 1400-1450
2) Occurs (in part) in the Duchy of Burgundy
3) Supported by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy and his wife, Isabella
4) Two versions of Colette's biography have survived in Duke Philip's library and are in KBR.
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Also:
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Quoted from above:
"[font=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]St Colette had a special devotion to St John the Apostle, who appeared to her on one occasion to place a miraculous ring on her finger. As he did so, he said: "by my own right and on behalf of the sovereign King and Prince of virginity and chastity." This ring was visible to all, and was a beautiful and very precious ring of gold.[/font]"
[The 1313 text of The Apocalypse of S Jean, (BNF Fr. 13086 f 18), later in the library of Philip the Good, has an Agnus Dei illustration with the best structural similarity to the VMs 'critter' representation on f80v.]
Currently, as part of her confirmation, the Colettine sister "receives a silver ring".
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The ring identifies the bride. Once again the VMs artist is being tricky. Picture everyone naked, unless clothing or some other item is necessary to affirm their identity. Unfortunately, as investigators, we are operating on a sort of event horizon, a place where the apparently insignificant, historical details are on the verge of being lost in current references. Some details (papelonny) already have been omitted in some sources. The artistic obfuscation, when combined with the loss of historical details, presents a significant difficulty for VMs interpretation.
Hi R. Sale,
Since you mentioned the ring and the cross yesterday You are not allowed to view links.
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Login to view. I'd like to congratulate you on your discovery.
Women were not allowed to preach since pope Innocent III. A predecessor of Colette, Marguerite Porete, also a mystic, wrote the famous
Miroir des âmes simples which was translated to many languages. Her book was received with suspicion and hostility by the Church. It was banned by the Inquisition and burned (she was also judged and executed in 1310) but many copies survived and were widely circulated.
It is plausible, I guess, that a collection of prayers, that were not approved by the Church, was ciphered and disguised as a herbal/astronomical compendium.
Somehow, Edgar Allan Poe knew.
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nablator,
Hey, thanks, it's only been a year and a half, and you're the first one. So, this is where I posted all those links.
Margureite Porete is interesting, though a bit too early. Where were her books in 1400-1450? As a mystic and a female, of course she *was* heterodox. Can't have that. But how is that relevant? That doesn't mean that the VMs is heretical. Or that it is strictly orthodox, for that matter. There may not be a collection of prayers, but one or two would be nice, the Wreath of the Virgin, would indicate a connection to Mariology that was part of the C-14 era. Certainly, there are an increasing number of VMs illustrations where religious interpretations have been shown to be possible. One question is to what extent the artist (and the VMs in general) might be a promoter of religious ideology, or more of a reporter of events?
Furthermore, there is the issue of image ambiguity. Both a promoter and a reporter would prefer clear representations. The VMs is not clear by nature. And furthermore, it is not clear by intent. Establishing artistic trickery is difficult, but with a number of examples: cosmos, Melusine, White Aries; it becomes clearer. Clearer that trickery is there. Not any clearer as to why.
For me, these VMs pages are all reflective and representative of things that were current in the life of the VMs artist at a time that is closely tied to the C-14 dates. Colette fits in both time and place. She was a reformer, not an author. She ended up as a saint, rather than being executed.
(05-08-2022, 08:13 PM)R. Sale Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Margureite Porete is interesting, though a bit too early. Where were her books in 1400-1450?
I'm not sure how influential she was at the time. Anyway, she is just an example of what Sainte Colette was not: an author. Not writing a book was clearly the safe option. And yet the difference between heretic and saint was mostly political: this is also the case of Sainte Jeanne d'Arc, 1412-1431. Marguerite Porete was a target because she was both successful, as an author, and highly critical of religious authorities. Her book may have been 'full of errors', but it was more original, in an eastern mystical kind of way, than heretical. The moral, there, is that heresy was not the only way to get into trouble, originality and politics were enough.
I don't want to hijack your thread, maybe I should have started a new one. I just wanted to say that your discovery goes well with my speculations and research.
About the
Hortulus Animae, it was too late to be relevant (but it had some popular predecessors in the XVth century), and of course it must have been a coincidence that E.A. Poe mentioned it in the context of an unreadable book, but having both the garden metaphor (also possible in alchemy) and a type of book that was (later) considered reprehensible and yet was a popular prayer book, is interesting in view of the possible hidden religious iconography and also what f. 116v suggests (parts of a charm/prayer).
Quoted from
Dictionnaire historique, ou Mémoires critiques et littéraires, concernant la vie et les ouvrages de divers personnages distingués particulièrement dans la république des lettres by Prosper Marchand (1758), a description later translated in Isaac D'Israeli's
Curiosities of Literature (1791):
Quote:It is a small octavo en lettres gothiques, printed by John Grunninger, 1500. "A garden," says the author, "which abounds with flowers for the pleasure of the soul;" but they are full of poison. In spite of his fine promises, the chief part of these meditations are as puerile as they are superstitious. This we might excuse, because the ignorance and superstition of the times allowed such things: but the figures which accompany this work are to be condemned in all ages; one represents Saint Ursula and some of her eleven thousand virgins, with all the licentious inventions of an Aretine.
I followed a few of links for basic info:
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He died at the stake, but he was an old man by then.
This is not even a start to the heterodox thinking in the century leading up to the VMs C-14 dates. And as sure as the VMs is the product of another idiosyncratic mind, a vast spectrum of possibilities has opened up. It's up to the VMs artist to present the illustrations.
The more that is known about the actual history of the relevant C-14 era, the better chance there is to find meaning in the VMs illustrations. Heraldry is a prime example. And so it is that specific details in the biography of Colette of Corbie have a certain affinity in the VMs illustration of f79v. It's hard to say if this is before her death (1447) or after. Does the VMs illustration represent her assumption? And it is another connection with the state of Burgundy, starting with the Golden Fleece (1430). It is another indication that this era is well-known to the artist and an example that things have progressed, as VMs artistry is better known through collective investigation.
The Wedding Ring of the Virgin Mary was venerated too.
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I've seen four different VMs drawings of nymphs holding rings. If the ring and associated cross on You are not allowed to view links.
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Login to view. are indicative of Colette of Corbie, that still leaves three other possibilities for Mary's wedding ring. Not sure which one that might be.
And then there still are two other rings and there is the potential interpretation of what they might represent. There are some other rings in religious traditions. And there was the tradition of the nun's ring.
This is the Ring of the Virgin. Costmary is the Herb of the Virgin, then there is the Wreath of the Virgin, and the Arches of the Virgin. These are all valid identifications from the perspective of the C-14 dates.
It's not that any one of these interpretations is ironclad. There's always some level of ambiguity because the VMs is intentionally unique. There are other ways to pass on information. It's clear that all four of these interpretations are pointing in the same direction and are indicative of a singular situation. Plus, there are other VMs illustrations with interpretations of religious content not specifically tied to the Virgin Mary.
Before the ring was in Perugia (1473), it was in Chiusi. Before 1420, in Chiusi, it was held by the canons of Santa Mustiola.
I've never heard of Santa Mustiola and don't find her name here.
It says in her biography, "she is often pictured holding a ring."
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Rings and the meaning.
For over 2000 years, the ring has stood for the fact that the woman is already promised and the dowry has been paid.
This has been adopted by many religions and peoples.
Today it is called betrothal and according to ancient custom it should last 1 year.
translated original text
SYMBOL OF THE ENGAGEMENT - THE RING
The tradition of the ring also originated in Judaism, according to which a golden nose ring was originally given to the bride as an equivalent in money. In the Roman era, rings became established as a romantic symbol of love and devotion between two people. Since the Romans assumed that the circle represented an eternal bond between the two people, they wore it on the fourth finger, because a vein leads from the ring finger to the heart. Both the Romans and the Egyptians already knew this tradition in antiquity. It was only worn by women. With it, men could tell if the lady was already taken. The ring was also the receipt of the dowry that the bride had to bring into the marriage.
Today, the engagement ring is a symbol of love, devotion and commitment to one's partner. In the southern countries of Europe, the engagement ring with a light-coloured gemstone is traditional. Traditionally worn on the right hand, the ring switched from the right to the left hand at the wedding ceremony.
In the USA, it is traditional for the engagement ring to be worth about 3 months' salary. This means that the ring is usually set with an appropriately valuable stone, such as a one-carat diamond and a ring band made of platinum. The ring has the shape of a circle and thus the shape of the full moon and the sun. It is therefore not surprising that ancient cultures saw it as a symbol of perfection, unity and infinity.