11-12-2021, 04:39 AM
(07-12-2021, 07:39 PM)Koen G wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.An argument in favor of women being behind the VM relies on a mostly literal reading of the imagery. The plants are medicinal, Q13 has to do with feminine health, basically a scientific compendium. Is this correct? In favor of a "gender-agnostic" interpretation, I have argued that men would also draw "souls" as female figures (anima is feminine), but this requires an interpretation of the nymphs as souls and/or allegorical figures. If I understand correctly, it is the mostly literal interpretation which pushes the balance towards likely female involvement.I agree with Koen that the necked females represent the souls, hence the expression 'naked soul' for one's conscience. In the VM, they seem to have the same function as the angels in Hildegard of Binge's works. There are no angels in the VM, but then, again, angels came from the patriarchal society. On the contrary, Sophia, the divine Wisdom, was the inspiration of Greek mystics. The prophetess of Delphic Oracle were well educated women. The female writers and mystics made great contribution to the medieval spirituality, however, I believe the the VM was written by a monk, who had great compassion towards women and who openly called for the Church reforms to give more opportunities for women in the Church.
My main reason why I believe the VM was written by a male author is the lack of feminine endings. With my transliteration alphabet I was able to find mostly masculine nouns, verbs, adjectives and pronouns, from which I conclude that the the author, or authors, were the Carthusian monks.