RE: Merpersons
david > 21-01-2016, 09:48 PM
I personally believe that we are seeing a spiritual duality in the Hunterian Psalter, that of the human essence coming out of the beast (the fish). So what are we seeing in the VM?
I have here a lovely little book, Sea Monsters on medieval and renaissance maps, in which we see two very distinct types of illustrations. Namely, those which are copied from an earlier illustration (and they tend to be copied in all essences); and those drawn up from a textual description, which tend to be wild and imaginative.
Earlier descriptions (pre 14th century) of mermaids (almost always female) tend to have an exaggerated line around their midriff showing the separation between the human and the animal, usually just above the genitals - the belly-button is always prominent in these images (as it shows the human nature of the beast).
When we don't get the belly-button, the image is usually of a fantastical beast that has no human nature whatsoever, which makes sense. Often the animal comes with horns, or ponderous breasts, or something "animalistic".
The two concepts are different in medieval minds. The first is that of a person with a soul, who obeys God; the second is that of a wild animal. They are, in short, depicting very different things.
Now, there are no belly-buttons in the VM images, but we do clearly see that the human beings have legs, and we see the shape of the human body. Therefore, the imagery clearly depicts a human soul within the image, not a mythical hybrid monster.
So, what we are observing in the VM, at least in the cases above, is that of a human soul within the beast.
The question is: are we looking at the depiction of a human escaping from a fish (AKA Jonah and the whale, etc) or of a beast with an essential human soul obedient to the divine will which is being separated?
Now, if the Vm depicts a fish with eyes, then it's the former. If it doesn't, then it could be the latter - and that's a strong European medieval Christian image.