27-03-2024, 06:03 AM
It's fine that you see what you see. However, the real question is what did the VMs artist intend? Are there similar illustrations from other sources that offer a clearer explanation of the situation in some sort of historical, artistic context? Is it Ms. Jonah and the undernourished whale? <No, it's not.>
The mermaid / Melusine discussion goes back almost to the origins of this forum. If you have the opportunity to read some of it, and then have questions, that may preclude telling the whole story from scratch.
One side of the coin is how familiar are you with the relevant medieval information. I had never heard of Melusine until the myths were introduced by other investigators. So, historical obscurity is a relevant factor. And even after reading the myths, it may not be clear that the immediate source of the Valois ancestral connection to Melusine was through Bonne of Luxembourg. Likewise, Colette of Corbie is a fairly obscure historical figure, and even then, in many of her biographies, the incidents of the ring and the cross are omitted.
The other side has to do with the attempt to evaluate the VMs artist's 'honesty'. Does the artist make every effort to make the illustrations as clear and obvious as possible? Or are there certain elements of ambiguity and obfuscation used to make the illustrations more 'interesting'? There are several VMs illustrations where elements of trickery appear to be involved and that adds a whole other dimension to determining what's what.
The mermaid / Melusine discussion goes back almost to the origins of this forum. If you have the opportunity to read some of it, and then have questions, that may preclude telling the whole story from scratch.
One side of the coin is how familiar are you with the relevant medieval information. I had never heard of Melusine until the myths were introduced by other investigators. So, historical obscurity is a relevant factor. And even after reading the myths, it may not be clear that the immediate source of the Valois ancestral connection to Melusine was through Bonne of Luxembourg. Likewise, Colette of Corbie is a fairly obscure historical figure, and even then, in many of her biographies, the incidents of the ring and the cross are omitted.
The other side has to do with the attempt to evaluate the VMs artist's 'honesty'. Does the artist make every effort to make the illustrations as clear and obvious as possible? Or are there certain elements of ambiguity and obfuscation used to make the illustrations more 'interesting'? There are several VMs illustrations where elements of trickery appear to be involved and that adds a whole other dimension to determining what's what.