Pond creatures (f79v)

[ReneZ]

This could be just coincidental.....

One of the baths treated in the Balneis Puteolanis is called the "balneum tripergulae" with minor variations.
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This bath really existed but was destroyed in the 16th Centurry.
According to legend, this is where Christ descended into hell and stayed there for 3 days, after which he closed the gates.
This is reflected in the image in the above wiki link, but also in the MS in the Vatican:
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In the two other MS copies known to me, there are various creatures in the water too:
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Ellie already proposed that the woman and the fish on You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. represent the mouth of hell. Now we also have an association with what seem like fabulous animals in the water (though I can't quite understand how they fit in, in the Balneis MSs).
The nymph isn't a good representation for Christ, but Koen already suggested that such a thing could be concievable. Just tying all theories together here....
By the way, this is the page with the cross on top.

In summary, no idea if there is something to this, or it is, indeed, just coincidental.