The Voynich Ninja

In reading bits about medieval religion over the last few days, particularly the rise of Mariology during the VMs C-14 dates, I've seen several articles that mention the Wreath of the Virgin. As the story goes, when the Virgin Mary died, at her funeral, a wreath was place on her breast - a wreath of red, white and sky-blue flowers.

"Elles mirent sur la poitrine une couronne de fleurs blanches, rouges et bleu de ciel, symbole de la virginité."
Not known what the original source is for this information.

Looking for artistic representations has not been productive. Peter Paul Rubens has shown two angels carrying a wreath to place on Mary's head, but the wreath is small, dark and nondescript. Also, the French terminology is a bit problematic, not all wreaths are crowns.

So, what about wreaths in the VMs? Here is the middle image from the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. - f86v6 series.
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It looks like a wreath to me, always has. And in the center - a crescent moon. Perhaps that is also a hint to recognize Mary as the woman standing on the moon. // Woman of the Apocalypse // VMs Virgo 

There is blue, but no red in the VMs illustration. However, given the poor search results for relevant artistic illustrations, there really isn't a better representation (yet). On its own, this may seem to be another flimsy connection, but in combination with the growing number of subtle religious references turning up in the VMs, perhaps this might be considered more seriously. Perhaps the depiction of the wreath was considered as a symbol for the Virgin Mary. After all, the last time a wreath was dedicated to the Virgin was by Pope Francis in Nov. 2021. It's an annual event.

And what about that circular text? What could that be?

(21-02-2022, 01:01 AM)R. Sale Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view."Elles mirent sur la poitrine une couronne de fleurs blanches, rouges et bleu de ciel, symbole de la virginité."

Not known what the original source is for this information.

The visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich.
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Well at least there are the images from Rubens. They're only off by 200 years. Possibly he got it from somewhere earlier.

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There is another potential indicator of later dating to be found in the structure of the patterns on the VMs tubs. Striped patterns are generally made with alternating blank bands between other stripes with a ladder-like pattern of regular perpendicular crossbars creating a series of boxes.

Heraldry used a system of tincture designation known as hatching that would match such an image, but Petra Sancta was also rather late. And if the VMs patterns match the C-14 dates, then this is rather early for this artistic technique. So, there's some ambiguity there. And there is the question of the artist's intent: Is this color or black and white. When examining the chevrons black and white works much better. 

And just by chance, a potential historical connection between Otto the Archdeacon and Ottobuono Fieschi when the latter was papal legate to England. Argent, three chevrons sable would be the same either way.

There are apparent wreaths in these two paintings from the early 1500s. That cuts the dating discrepancy by half.

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., 1515–16, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. below, Assumption above.
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Nice wreath. No data on source.

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The tradition of the coronation of the Virgin is a strong one in Catholicism, and all the Maria's I see in churches across Andalusia are completed with flower crowns. During her Processions she will often wear fresh flowers.

After her death, she is supposed to have Risen and then been Crowned by the one or another of the Holy Trinity. Although the story is recounted from the II century, it is in 11th century France that it took off big style, and the Coronation was on the doors of Notre Dame. She was crowned with flowers to reflect her femininity. 

See, ie, Velzaquez's Coronación de la Virgen (1645)

Religious history shows the development and spread of Mariology. Byzantine images came to Western Europe in the 7th century. Then Bernard of Clairvaux and further expansion in the 12th and 13th centuries along with the number of women that were joining various religious groups.

Wreaths and crowns have a long and obvious association; courrone de fleurs & couronne d'or. 

Floral crowns and wreaths show up in the latter paintings. However, nothing yet as an illustration that is clearly floral in the VMs era or earlier. They always go for the gold.

Is the VMs illustration a potential precursor or is it something else?

(21-02-2022, 01:01 AM)R. Sale Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.So, what about wreaths in the VMs? Here is the middle image from the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. - f86v6 series.
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It looks like a wreath to me, always has. And in the center - a crescent moon. Perhaps that is also a hint to recognize Mary as the woman standing on the moon. // Woman of the Apocalypse // VMs Virgo 

It can't be a wreath, there are people standing in there.
I remember that NickP postulated it could be beehives.

Right. And is that the crescent moon in the middle, or what? So those "people" are standing in a circle of beehives, up to their shoulders, with the moon in the middle? That strains perspective a bit.

It's those darn putti, again, hiding in the foliage.
Look at the illustration in Posting #6. Putti are popping out of the clouds.

Is this a ring of clouds around the moon? A ring of clouds lit by the moon is a corona. And in French 'corona' is 'couronne', and we're halfway back to 'wreath' already.

(26-02-2022, 11:31 PM)R. Sale Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.It's those darn putti, again, hiding in the foliage.

Yes, you may be right. It certainly could be a crowning with the moon as representation of something, such as the Maria.