Surely Einstein was correct. And perhaps, you are both, if imagination is 'unbridled'. Melusine is a clear example of artistic trickery. Same with the VMs cosmos, White Aries, the Agnus Dei.
I say, look at the evidence, look at the details, look at the structure, and don't worry so much about the 'appearance'. Pick apart these VMs illustrations with every bit of modern knowledge at your disposal and see what you get.
Is that really Melusine in VMs f79v, where there should be just a generic, nymphy mermaid? How would Melusine be identified and who is she 'really'? Look at the historical information about Melusine mythology and the Valois connections.
There are a couple of other VMs illustrations that have Valois connections: the Oresme cosmos and the Agnus Dei.
There were suggestions, even before the C-14 dating, regarding the interpretation of the Golden Fleece. Of course, it could not be fixed as a firm identification. But it did fix a firm date. 1430 is the origin of (the Order of) the Golden Fleece. It fits inside the C-14 dates. And it ties to the Valois.
These are not the products of my imagination: Melusine, the Oresme cosmos, the Golden Fleece or the Agnus Dei. These are the interpretations of other investigators. What I say is that their interpretations are all correct, if we recognize how they can be historically interconnected from a Valois perspective. The VMs artist seems to demonstrate a familiarity with these and other elements of traditional and cultural history that came from the Valois (Burgundian) era in the 1430s.
I say, look at the evidence, look at the details, look at the structure, and don't worry so much about the 'appearance'. Pick apart these VMs illustrations with every bit of modern knowledge at your disposal and see what you get.
Is that really Melusine in VMs f79v, where there should be just a generic, nymphy mermaid? How would Melusine be identified and who is she 'really'? Look at the historical information about Melusine mythology and the Valois connections.
There are a couple of other VMs illustrations that have Valois connections: the Oresme cosmos and the Agnus Dei.
There were suggestions, even before the C-14 dating, regarding the interpretation of the Golden Fleece. Of course, it could not be fixed as a firm identification. But it did fix a firm date. 1430 is the origin of (the Order of) the Golden Fleece. It fits inside the C-14 dates. And it ties to the Valois.
These are not the products of my imagination: Melusine, the Oresme cosmos, the Golden Fleece or the Agnus Dei. These are the interpretations of other investigators. What I say is that their interpretations are all correct, if we recognize how they can be historically interconnected from a Valois perspective. The VMs artist seems to demonstrate a familiarity with these and other elements of traditional and cultural history that came from the Valois (Burgundian) era in the 1430s.