15thc perception on swallowtail merlons?

[Koen G]

Thanks Michelle, that's some solid research! The thread and map have been updated. This really cements Venice in second place after the Milan region and followed by Naples.

I do wonder why they drew "eastern" cities with swallowtail merlons. The association does not appear to be with Jerusalem per se, since for example they also show up on "Babilonia", which is the metaphorical antithesis of Jerusalem. The reason for this association may be of interest, since the VM was written well after the heyday of the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict.

Either way, we are now left with a paradoxical situation where, from the Italian perspective, the swallowtail merlon can signify both domestic and (apparently more generalized) foreign areas.