Starting with the outer ring of VMs Pisces, the designs on various tubs are comparable to patterns used in armorial heraldry: vertical stripes, horizonal stripes, diagonal stripes, chevrons, circles (roundels), rings (annulets). There are also a few examples that do not work so well. The objective is to introduce the idea of heraldry and also to maintain some ambiguity.
Heraldic blazons are a combination of pattern and tincture, so unless the cross-hatching on the stripes is interpreted according to Petra Sancta, there is no tincture (color) designated. One problem is that Petra Sancta is anachronistic. Also problematic is that the cross-hatching is always perpendicular to the stripe. Makes for a strange set of chevrons.
Things are a bit different on VMs White Aries because of all the painting that's been done. Solid color shields are heraldically valid. The interesting part, however, involves the two patterns with alternating blue stripes. Identification of the pattern depends on the orientation of the striped patterns, and the natural thing to do seems be to orient the image so the respective nymph is vertical. While this is valid, it yields nothing of particular significance.
In addition to armorial heraldry, the church made use of heraldic identifications in the designation of various ranks and orders through the colors of ecclesiastical hats. Red galeros for cardinals, green for abbots, white for Premonstratensians.
In the inner ring of VMs White Aries, the nymph in the blue-striped tub also has a reddish hat. A red hat (galero) and a blue-striped armorial insignia - these are clear cues to historical identification. However, identification relies of recognition and recognition requires previous exposure to the relevant information. Otherwise, there is nothing.
An alternate interpretation of the orientation of the blue-striped patterns can be seen if all the tendencies for radial alignment are eliminated. In the non-radial interpretation, both striped patterns roughly correspond to the standard diagonal design of a heraldic bend. The existence of this second separate interpretation is a clear example of intentional duality.
While church history is replete with cardinals, and blue-striped insignias are not uncommon, the combination of the two elements has a very limited and specific set of interpretations, belonging to the Fieschi popes and cardinals from Genoa.
The blazon of the Fieschi insignia is bendy argent et azure. It predates the VMs parchment, whereas insignias for the majority of popes were back filled much later (17th C.) It also happens that Sinibaldo Fieschi, as Pope Innocent IV, initiated the tradition of the cardinal's red galero. He made several of his relatives cardinals, including Ottobuono, who was later elected pope as Adrian V, but he died before installation. Relevance to the VMs era is further enhanced by the fact that Pope Innocent IV approved the original foundation of the original Poor Clares, and during the first part of the 15th C. there was the revival and reform of the Coletine Poor Clares by Colette of Corbie.
Beyond these visual factors there are a number of structural confirmations which were built into the illustration such as the proper hierarchical positioning of pope and cardinal in the celestial spheres, and the placement of both characters in the favored, upper right heraldic quadrant.
Further confirmation through the use of heraldic canting is found in the placement of tubs with scale-like patterns in the outer ring of Pisces and the inner ring of Dark Aries, Those two patterns structurally correspond in quadrant and in sphere with the two blue-striped patterns of White Aries. The heraldic term for these scale patterns (heraldic furs) is papelonny which is a canting pun on the word 'pape' which is French for 'pope'. There is no problem in finding the structural elements, the difficulty results from the failure to recover the proper heraldic terminology.
Heraldic blazons are a combination of pattern and tincture, so unless the cross-hatching on the stripes is interpreted according to Petra Sancta, there is no tincture (color) designated. One problem is that Petra Sancta is anachronistic. Also problematic is that the cross-hatching is always perpendicular to the stripe. Makes for a strange set of chevrons.
Things are a bit different on VMs White Aries because of all the painting that's been done. Solid color shields are heraldically valid. The interesting part, however, involves the two patterns with alternating blue stripes. Identification of the pattern depends on the orientation of the striped patterns, and the natural thing to do seems be to orient the image so the respective nymph is vertical. While this is valid, it yields nothing of particular significance.
In addition to armorial heraldry, the church made use of heraldic identifications in the designation of various ranks and orders through the colors of ecclesiastical hats. Red galeros for cardinals, green for abbots, white for Premonstratensians.
In the inner ring of VMs White Aries, the nymph in the blue-striped tub also has a reddish hat. A red hat (galero) and a blue-striped armorial insignia - these are clear cues to historical identification. However, identification relies of recognition and recognition requires previous exposure to the relevant information. Otherwise, there is nothing.
An alternate interpretation of the orientation of the blue-striped patterns can be seen if all the tendencies for radial alignment are eliminated. In the non-radial interpretation, both striped patterns roughly correspond to the standard diagonal design of a heraldic bend. The existence of this second separate interpretation is a clear example of intentional duality.
While church history is replete with cardinals, and blue-striped insignias are not uncommon, the combination of the two elements has a very limited and specific set of interpretations, belonging to the Fieschi popes and cardinals from Genoa.
The blazon of the Fieschi insignia is bendy argent et azure. It predates the VMs parchment, whereas insignias for the majority of popes were back filled much later (17th C.) It also happens that Sinibaldo Fieschi, as Pope Innocent IV, initiated the tradition of the cardinal's red galero. He made several of his relatives cardinals, including Ottobuono, who was later elected pope as Adrian V, but he died before installation. Relevance to the VMs era is further enhanced by the fact that Pope Innocent IV approved the original foundation of the original Poor Clares, and during the first part of the 15th C. there was the revival and reform of the Coletine Poor Clares by Colette of Corbie.
Beyond these visual factors there are a number of structural confirmations which were built into the illustration such as the proper hierarchical positioning of pope and cardinal in the celestial spheres, and the placement of both characters in the favored, upper right heraldic quadrant.
Further confirmation through the use of heraldic canting is found in the placement of tubs with scale-like patterns in the outer ring of Pisces and the inner ring of Dark Aries, Those two patterns structurally correspond in quadrant and in sphere with the two blue-striped patterns of White Aries. The heraldic term for these scale patterns (heraldic furs) is papelonny which is a canting pun on the word 'pape' which is French for 'pope'. There is no problem in finding the structural elements, the difficulty results from the failure to recover the proper heraldic terminology.
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