RE: The myth of Melusine
R. Sale > 07-12-2020, 10:05 PM
It's an interesting comparison, and given the range of variation for these various 'iconic' versions of Melusine, and the relevant range of her employment as a mythical ancestress, then there is clearly a strong potential for this interpretation. And there is always the possibility of multiple interpretations.
Is Melusine represented only in illustrations where she is named as Melusine in the text? In that case, what is happening here? The first Lauber illustration (#0364) is from a chapter: 'Von den merwundern' or <'monstris marinis'>, sea monsters, with the cute and modest mermaid being given the eagle-eye by some bird with a fish's tail.
The second Lauber illustration (#0390) is from a chapter: 'Von den vischen'. "From the vish" if you can believe GoogleTrans. Then again, they might be vish. I don't see a fish among them. And here again the modest, little, doll-faced mermaid. This is painting in a very different style.
However, she is not there by herself. Taken together with the pond illustrations from Harley 334 and the VMs, this is subject better designated as "a mermaid and her companions". Better than calling it a reference to Melusine, at least presuming Melusine always bathed alone and in private.
That being said, there is still no reason not to tie the two together. Yet the representation of Melusine, particularly in the Luxembourg version, which creates the Valois era, is the one that is most frequently represented more like a typical mermaid. So there is a problematic situation, if it is thought that one needs to be distinguished from the other, rather than being both at the same time.
What distinguishes the potential identification of Melusine in the VMs is the companion animal that represents an ambiguous Golden Fleece. While neither interpretation can be considered indisputable, there is only a limited historical perspective in which both have come together. If that information is represented in the VMs, then the creator of the VMs illustrations must have known and chosen that information. The matter of interpretation then is left to the reader and has left the reader in difficulty.
The presence of a second identification of a potential Golden Fleece (f80v) completes the pairing required in the VMs, (hidden in a myth read backwards), while the image itself, despite its origins, has a clear connection to the state of Burgundy concurrent with the date range of the C-14 tests. The dating of La Sainte Hostie de Dijon (1433) is the same and the location is the 'capitol' of Burgundy. . . though events may be known far and wide over time. Though there may be variations of time and place for VMs creation, the content relies on connections to historical information - and in the VMs some images are paired. The provenance of that information helps to define the historical space as presented.