[split] What is "a Zodiac" and does it apply to the VM section?

[-JKP-]

I mean when the animals are standing on terrain and eating they are usually taken from non-astronomical sources, if I recall correctly.

I did a search on slightly more than 500 zodiac-series in my files to see what percentage are standing on terrain. I didn't filter for eating because I haven't keyed it to find all the feasting critters yet. Please keep in mind that I may not have added keywords to all the series (it's ongoing research and constantly being updated), but I've probably keyed at least 90%, so it should yield reasonably good data...


There were 95, so that's about 20%.

When I narrow the search for those that have terrain and are round (many of the French ones are rectangular), there are 23 (with the caveat that having a circle around them doesn't necessarily make them more similar to the VMS than ones that don't).


Of the 23 with both circles and terrain, the earliest was a Hebrew manuscript said to be from the early 11th century that is monochromatic (a drawing rather than a painting). The latest is from Nuremberg, mid-16th century (I don't usually collect ones this late but it's hand-drawn in traditional style and the archer has legs).

In between, we have:

• Notre Dame stained glass with terrain and trees (west windows), also the Cathedral of Lausanne (south window). Both are 13th century.
  
• Then Italy (c. 1326), England (slight suggestion of terrain and there are trees) c. 1332.
  
• France and England, both c. 1380.
  
• Prague c. 1405, France, c. 1410.
  
• Germany and Switzerland c. 1425.
  
• France three, Germany two, and Netherlands one from the mid-1400s.
  
• Flanders, Germany, and Italy c. 1470, Germany c. 1480.
  
• There is one from c. 1480 Bavaria that has a crossbowman (it's on the map in my Sagittarius blog).
  

Arabic zodiac symbols are often free-standing and not usually bounded by circles. Sometimes they have sky behind them and sometimes flowers at the base or trees at the sidex, but it's not common to find terrain under their feet.

Hebrew symbols are often bounded by circles, but not always circles and terrain together.


Animals nibbling are quite common in marginalia in calendars and Bibles, but not common in zodiac series. I'm referring to the ones that are not directly related to the subject matter on the page. Most of them are purely decorative, often part of the floral motifs.