VViews: I agree that the pose in itself is relevant, and can perhaps be considered in isolation from the object in question. I came to a similar conclusion in my overview of handheld objects (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.)
Still, if one were to argue that the cross is indeed the cross of the Christ, I would find it highly problematic that a manuscript would allow it to be held in the same, very remarkable way as a device for cleaning the colon.
That said, here is my view about the figure and the problematic aspects:
Still, if one were to argue that the cross is indeed the cross of the Christ, I would find it highly problematic that a manuscript would allow it to be held in the same, very remarkable way as a device for cleaning the colon.
That said, here is my view about the figure and the problematic aspects:
- The figure represents Ursa Minor
- The Thing is supposed to evoke both the image of a spindle (see this thread) and a navigator's device (see Diane's posts).
- The navigator's device is obvious: Ursa minor has been a favorite for navigators since before Aratus' time (he calls her Cynosura):
"Now the one men call by name Cynosura and other Helice. It is by Helice that the Achaeans on the sea divine which way to steer their ships, but in the other the Phoenicians put their trust when they cross the sea. But Helice, appearing large at earliest night, is bright and easy to mark; but the other is small, yet better for sailors: for in a smaller orbit wheel all her stars. By her guidance, then, the men of Sidon steer the straightest course."
- Aratus' quote above also explains the images of the spindle. Today, the tail of Cynosura is very near the pole (Polaris). This was different in other ages as the pole shifts very slowly through time, but even in a source as old as Aratus it was already seen as very close to the pole, much closer than Ursa Major.
- If the image of a torch is meant, the explanation of a guiding light in the darkness is obvious.
Virgil, Georgics 1. 137 ff: "The mariner grouped and named the stars, Pleiades and Hyades and Lycaon's daughter, the radiant Bear."
- The pose of the figure's upper body evokes the shape of Ursa Minor (though to be proper, she'd have to be standing on her head). In that case, the very tip of the thing coincides with Polaris. This is why I find the "spindle" part appealing, because it would place the tip of the spindle so very close to the celestial pole, around which the heavens themselves revolve.
- The base upon which she stands evokes the "high heavens", the very centre of the northern celestial pole. The cloud bands are self explanatory. So is the evocation of frost on the bottom of the base, since the north pole was very often described as frozen and stormy. Phrases like "the frozen pole" are found in many classical works.