06-11-2020, 05:25 PM
The browsing goat is a very common theme in manuscripts and also in zodiacs, but I think it's a good idea to explore families that use it as an emblem, as Paris has done. People tend to draw things that are familiar, even when they are copying from other sources.
I was curious about how many zodiacs include browsing goats. Here is what I found...
Out of about 700 zodiac series, with about 650 of them being complete, there were only 13 that included browsing goats. Jumping goats are more common than browsing goats.
So browsing goats are quite rare in zodiac imagery. The date range was c. 1260s for two of them, 14th century for 3 of them, and the rest are 15th century with a few in the early 16th century.
So, either the VMS goat is from a non-zodiac source, or it fits in the general time period in which browsing goats were included in zodiacs (late 13th century to early 16th century).
I see browsing goats in non-zodiac sources quite frequently. They are in a variety of manuscripts, religious, scientific, classical literature. They are sometimes in the margins nibbling on decorative foliage. They are almost always standing on their hind legs.
I was curious about how many zodiacs include browsing goats. Here is what I found...
Out of about 700 zodiac series, with about 650 of them being complete, there were only 13 that included browsing goats. Jumping goats are more common than browsing goats.
So browsing goats are quite rare in zodiac imagery. The date range was c. 1260s for two of them, 14th century for 3 of them, and the rest are 15th century with a few in the early 16th century.
So, either the VMS goat is from a non-zodiac source, or it fits in the general time period in which browsing goats were included in zodiacs (late 13th century to early 16th century).
I see browsing goats in non-zodiac sources quite frequently. They are in a variety of manuscripts, religious, scientific, classical literature. They are sometimes in the margins nibbling on decorative foliage. They are almost always standing on their hind legs.