Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS

[bi3mw]

To your third point:

I would not necessarily say that the representations are "deformed", but that they are overloaded with an "ideological superstructure". Highly recommended here is the book by DeVun, "Prophecy, Alchemy, and the End of Time", ( Especially the chapter "Metaphor and Alchemy ").

Let us assume that on the factual level it is really about the multiple distillation of alcohol from wine, this process would never be written down in a purely technical way in the Middle Ages, but would always be presented as part of a larger concept. There it is then about Christ, the sun, the planets the stars and the (human) heaven etc. . Especially Rupescissa, who was not only an alchemist but also a Franciscan and an apocalyptic visionary, had a world view that is quite crude for today's rational man.

The authors of the VMS obviously wanted to illustrate the text extensively. The illustrations are thus the "framework" that gives the "reader" possibilities for interpretation. Here the authors could make statements on more than one level of meaning and really "let off steam". So the naked nymphs possibly accompany the distillation process (as heavenly beings?), but can have another meaning independently and superimposed. This ambiguity makes in the end an assignment so difficult. But if one reduces the representation of the nymphs to only one level, then this can block one's view.

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