Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS

[Barbrey]

I am so with you reregarding collecting references. A marvellous idea.Im not so sure of the herbal focus.

When it comes to herbals, I see similarities between the so-called “Alchemical Herbals” presented by @MarcoP and the VMS. Both the stylistic structure of roots, stems, leaves, and flowers as well as certain details show this similarities. For example, the depiction of faces in root tubers is a clear match ( You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. ). The distinctive roots with the “attached” stems are also shown. I would have to study the subject in more detail to be able to classify the Alchemical Herbals in relation to the VMS in terms of time, but there are at least examples from the 15th century ( e.g., Firenze Riccardiana You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., 1463-1499  and You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. ).

Wow, some of those are incredibly close. I can see why you’re doing this work. What differentiates “alchemical herbals” from regular herbals of the time period?  I’m imagining it has something to do with spagyric medicine but don’t know if medieval herbals had this as a focus?

Honestly, Paracelsus is a bitch sometimes. He labels things, like “spagyric”, but you’re told the concept or method has been around for centuries. Same as with his “prima tria”: he includes salt along with sulphur and mercury as the third component but was this just a formal labelling, because sources say salt was always included, just not given the primacy of the other two. 

It really matters when trying to disentangle images. The mermaid tail/suit, for instance: post Paracelsus I’d have no hesitation in seeing this as a metaphor for “salt”, when the other two to me are so recognizably sulphur and mercury. But pre-Paracelsus, you would have to write an article showing all the other sources where salt was playing it’s part in a prima tria without being labeled as such.