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+--- Thread: A collection of motifs (/thread-1744.html)
A collection of motifs - R. Sale - 31-03-2017
It occurred to me that we have discovered a number of artistic motifs in the VMs that have good correspondence in other, historical, illustrated sources.
Those examples include:
1) The nebuly line
2 & 3) The ladder pattern and the dotted ladder
4) The herringbone pattern
5) The quatrefoil
6) The dotted sine wave
7) Oresme's cosmos The cosmic pattern that consists of a central sphere and a background of stars - as opposed to the multi-sphere of planets.
8) The scallop-shell cloud band
9) The pairing paradigm. The first five houses of the VMs Zodiac Sequential pairing and non-sequential pairing A simple pattern as a basic motif
10) Heraldic Ordinaries These are well-know patterns. Some of them (VMs) have certain problems. Is it incompetence or intentional distraction?
11) Heraldic representations of historical tradition The Fieschi insignia and the red galero; hidden by a radial illusion and affirmed by other factors built into the illustration
12) A traditional heraldic fur strategically placed and paired The papelonny pun It's an intentional construction.
This is quite a collection in one manuscript source. It currently appears that each of these is a motif that can be shown to exist before the VMs parchment dates. Which is also to say that none of this was an unusual or occult type of knowledge that might be difficult to represent. These are common and ordinary medieval motifs, but they are used in a sophisticated and punning manner that makes them more difficult to interpret for those familiar with the motifs of those times. And almost impossible for those unfamiliar with the motifs and heraldic canting in use at the time of VMs composition to follow the artist's intentions. The pathways are marked - often with a quatrefoil.