f82v: those rainbows

[MarcoP]

A whole different rainbow situation:

Venus, sitting on a rainbow, with her devotees who offer their hearts to her ----The Hague, KB, 74 G 27 . Christine de Pisan, L'Epistre d'Othea Place of origin, date: Auvergne(?); c. 1450-1475 You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

This double page from Vergilius Romanus (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., 5th century) shows classical illustrations of the gods: the central figures in the two groups are Jupiter and Neptune. Both groups are presented in a cosmological framework: Sun and Moon, rainbow and a multitude of cross-shaped stars.
   

Apparently, this rainbow motif was related with divinity since classical times. It was then adopted by Christianity, at that time the motif of a figure (Christ / God) sitting upon the rainbow was invented (but I wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be of classical origin too). This motif could also be used in a "parody" like that of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..

With the XV Century new popularity of the planetary gods (in particular in the context of the Children of the Planets theory) the motif returned to be associated with pagan deities. In this other copy of the Epistre (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., 1460), it is clear that the rainbows here are a variant of the wolkenband / nebuly-line motif: they have the function of making the personifications of gods different from the regular persons that appear in the illustrations.