25-09-2026, 06:56 PM
Perhaps we have miscommunicated. In Post #6, I linked to the mermaid illustration in Harley 334, but you have yet to acknowledge its existence. Together with the Lauber illustrations, they establish how a mermaid was seen from the perspective of that time. 15th C 2nd Qtr. The mermaid is a monster, a strange creature, a half-seductive fish. They functioned in the realms of monsters and fish. They did not have Disney personalities. They were generic entities, rather than individual identities.
As Koen mentioned in Post #7, I believe it was JKP who brough the Melusine mythology to the Ninja discussion some years back. The depiction of thighs sets the VMs illustration apart from other mermaid illustrations.
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From the general mythology, follow the version that goes to Luxembourg. Bonne of Luxembourg was the mother of the Valois generation that coincides with the VMs parchment dating. The version of Melusine in the Luxembourg myth was much more mermaid-like than the Lusignan version of the dragon lady. Nevertheless, Jean, Duke of Berry. had a number of connections to the Lusignan version. While the Burgundian line commemorated Melusine as late as the Feast of the Pheasant (1454).
Melusine was neither Christian nor Classical, but a native or 'pagan' entity, that was more suppressed. If the interpretation is valid, it shows the VMs artist had a deeper historical perspective that would have been best obtained through life experience.
As Koen mentioned in Post #7, I believe it was JKP who brough the Melusine mythology to the Ninja discussion some years back. The depiction of thighs sets the VMs illustration apart from other mermaid illustrations.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
From the general mythology, follow the version that goes to Luxembourg. Bonne of Luxembourg was the mother of the Valois generation that coincides with the VMs parchment dating. The version of Melusine in the Luxembourg myth was much more mermaid-like than the Lusignan version of the dragon lady. Nevertheless, Jean, Duke of Berry. had a number of connections to the Lusignan version. While the Burgundian line commemorated Melusine as late as the Feast of the Pheasant (1454).
Melusine was neither Christian nor Classical, but a native or 'pagan' entity, that was more suppressed. If the interpretation is valid, it shows the VMs artist had a deeper historical perspective that would have been best obtained through life experience.