R. Sale > 11-07-2019, 11:37 PM
The identity of the creature of VMs You are not allowed to view links.
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The sources is here; "The Apocalypse of S. Jean" 1313, Belgium
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There has been a lot of speculation regarding the identity of the critter in VMs f80v: armadillo, pangolin, sheep, catoblepas, some other type of mythcal beast. All suggestions have been based on the appearance of the illustration, based on the tentative identification of the animal on its own. However, the creature is only one part of a more complex representation. The critter is only the first part. Below it is an undulating line. And below that are a number of short vertical lines.
The identification is based on structure, with appearance being a secondary factor. The illustration from BNF 13096 shows a lamb in a vesica piscis, framed by a cloud-band, indicating it's divine nature. Below the vesica piscis there are a number of red markings indicating drops of blood, which is surely the blood of the lamb.
The critter in the VMs has some similarities to a sheep. It has been compared with the example found in the Order of the Golden Fleece. The so called wobbly line fits the heraldic definition of a nebuly / gewolkt line because the crests and troughs are bulbous. The etymological derivation of the descriptive term (nebuly / gewolkt) is from the Latin / German word for cloud, and thus maintains the same interpretation as the cloud-band / Wolkenband. The markings under the VMs illustration are done in ink and thus appear to be something falling from the cloudy line, but the lack of color prevents an absolute identification (intentional ambiguity).
Nevertheless, is clearly appears (IMO) to be the same structure in both illustrations, the same three parts in the same ideological relationship. The VMs critter is part of a representation of "The Blood of the Lamb" based on the correspondence between the respective structures of the two illustrations.