bathing illustrations and ritual purification

[Helmut Winkler]

Interpreting this as a baptism scene raises a lot of questions:
- why is the woman to be baptized wearing some kind of translucent skirt or vessel around her legs and left hand?
- what is the object in het right hand and why is she holding it?
- why is she only with her feet in the water while the suggested parallel pose is clearly all about submerging the head?
- why is she being grabbed by the eye instead of on top of the head?
- why is the woman who performs the ceremony naked, while at the same time standing on land?

Another illustration that parallels the most bizarre element:
some kind of translucent skirt or vessel around the legs and left hand of the person to be baptized


Claricia Psalter, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., Augsburg, Germany, 1200 ca, fol.10r

1) This is no parallel to the 'skirt' of the VMs, it is just the water of river Jordan Jesus is standing in, the green of the psalter is what is blue in the VMs.

2) The 'baptizing woman' is using her left arm which would  never have been used for a blessing, cp. John the Baptist in the psalter