17-09-2025, 01:02 PM
It's funny to see this iconographic theme again. Two years ago, I related the staff carried by one of the female figures to medieval pilgrim staffs and included this image of a pilgrimage to Rome.
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You can see the resemblance of the knob of the staff carried by the female figure to the one carried by the pilgrims.
But finding a similarity between two images isn't enough to provide a correct iconographic interpretation. It's necessary to give meaning to the whole, not just to a part. The really important thing is to interpret what we see throughout folio f75r. What I see is a few female figures descending a kind of slide from the roof of what appears to be a tent.
I think it's obvious, although time has made me see that what is obvious to me is not obvious to others, that what we see is the personification of the stars coming down from the sky. In this interpretive context, it makes sense that one of the figures carries a pilgrim's staff because it's an allegory of travel. The stars embark on a journey, although what is meant to be represented is their influence on Earth.
It's not necessary for the author to include a pilgrim's staff on every female figure. Simply placing it on one of them makes the symbolism clear. The same thing happens when we see spindles or rings with gems on some of the figures on other pages of Quire 13. It's not necessary to include these elements on all of them to symbolize that they are the stars that spin time and shine in the sky like precious stones.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
You can see the resemblance of the knob of the staff carried by the female figure to the one carried by the pilgrims.
But finding a similarity between two images isn't enough to provide a correct iconographic interpretation. It's necessary to give meaning to the whole, not just to a part. The really important thing is to interpret what we see throughout folio f75r. What I see is a few female figures descending a kind of slide from the roof of what appears to be a tent.
I think it's obvious, although time has made me see that what is obvious to me is not obvious to others, that what we see is the personification of the stars coming down from the sky. In this interpretive context, it makes sense that one of the figures carries a pilgrim's staff because it's an allegory of travel. The stars embark on a journey, although what is meant to be represented is their influence on Earth.
It's not necessary for the author to include a pilgrim's staff on every female figure. Simply placing it on one of them makes the symbolism clear. The same thing happens when we see spindles or rings with gems on some of the figures on other pages of Quire 13. It's not necessary to include these elements on all of them to symbolize that they are the stars that spin time and shine in the sky like precious stones.
