18-04-2022, 06:24 PM
It's the ongoing dilemma of VMs investigation. Are those illustrations representative of factual information or are they just idiosyncratic doodles? What does the VMS artist really know? And how much is fill-in and just guessing?
The number of potential religious references in the VMs might lead to a question regarding the intensity of the artist's religious belief. In that, it was said that Colette of Corbie had visions. Perhaps she was not the only one to do so.
On the other hand, various potential, mythological interpretations in the VMs indicate that there are also certain influences from outside the Christian tradition. Melusine, Philomela, the Muses. So perhaps there is some moderation and combination of both.
The apparent flow of water in some illustrations has been compared to the historical "river of life" images. And of course, the Muses, nine ladies in a pool. While there is an obvious connection to bathing there is also a connection to the Muses and the works of Christine de Pizan. And she then connects to the Valois libraries of Berry and Burgundy. Her books are in the KBR. The trick is to find the *second* set of nine ladies in the VMs, but there are volunteers.
This section has so many subtle things: the double rainbow throne - temporarily vacant. And the Agnus Dei image in three parts. With these two references to Christian sources, there are Philomela and the Muses tied to Classical sources, and Melusine which fits with neither. The inclusion of the myth of Philomela has to raise the question of why this story was chosen. There was a version of this text in the Berry library with other relevant documents. As far as I know currently, Christine de Pizan did not use 'Philomela' or "Melusine.'
The number of potential religious references in the VMs might lead to a question regarding the intensity of the artist's religious belief. In that, it was said that Colette of Corbie had visions. Perhaps she was not the only one to do so.
On the other hand, various potential, mythological interpretations in the VMs indicate that there are also certain influences from outside the Christian tradition. Melusine, Philomela, the Muses. So perhaps there is some moderation and combination of both.
The apparent flow of water in some illustrations has been compared to the historical "river of life" images. And of course, the Muses, nine ladies in a pool. While there is an obvious connection to bathing there is also a connection to the Muses and the works of Christine de Pizan. And she then connects to the Valois libraries of Berry and Burgundy. Her books are in the KBR. The trick is to find the *second* set of nine ladies in the VMs, but there are volunteers.
This section has so many subtle things: the double rainbow throne - temporarily vacant. And the Agnus Dei image in three parts. With these two references to Christian sources, there are Philomela and the Muses tied to Classical sources, and Melusine which fits with neither. The inclusion of the myth of Philomela has to raise the question of why this story was chosen. There was a version of this text in the Berry library with other relevant documents. As far as I know currently, Christine de Pizan did not use 'Philomela' or "Melusine.'