19-06-2026, 04:29 PM
The idea that the author painted the plants blue because he had an excess of blue paint seems to me a very poor explanation that ignores the medieval mentality.
It seems much more plausible that the blue color in the flowers has a strongly symbolic component and that the author used it to relate the plants to the sky. In fact, the codex can be characterized as a herbal accompanied by astronomical or astrological sections, which reinforces the symbolism of the color blue. On folio f68v, in the middle of a circular diagram full of stars, we see in the center the corolla of a flower with blue petals.
I've seen that you've started a thread about a possible anatomical interpretation of Quire 13, where there would be all kinds of human organs. This interpretation is a widespread error. And it's not a minor error, but a major one that demonstrates a lack of understanding of medieval iconographic representation.
It seems much more plausible that the blue color in the flowers has a strongly symbolic component and that the author used it to relate the plants to the sky. In fact, the codex can be characterized as a herbal accompanied by astronomical or astrological sections, which reinforces the symbolism of the color blue. On folio f68v, in the middle of a circular diagram full of stars, we see in the center the corolla of a flower with blue petals.
I've seen that you've started a thread about a possible anatomical interpretation of Quire 13, where there would be all kinds of human organs. This interpretation is a widespread error. And it's not a minor error, but a major one that demonstrates a lack of understanding of medieval iconographic representation.