R. Sale > 13-11-2020, 09:03 PM
Thanks for the Basel image (just above), it is an interesting interpretation. I'm not sure what all the other extraneous images of the general 'mermaid' type are supposed to suggest. Should we include any Christian images, etc.?
The real comparison is with Harley 334 f 57. From Paris, 2nd quarter of the 1400s. It has a similar form with companion animals / fish. And they are not chowing down on a corpse. 'Cute' little things. What are they? Wolves, alligators, whatever? The relevance of Harley 334 with the VMs is enhanced by the results of the 'Cosmic Comparison'. BNF Fr. 565 originates in Paris in the 1st quarter of the 1400s.
There are many interpretations for the classical half-female, half-something images and one of them is the story of Melusine. And within this story, there are multiple variations, like many other mythologies. The Valois maternal origins through Luxembourg maintained a version of this mythology. A primary example of this would be the work of Jean d'Arras.
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And, since he died in 1394, his works need to be placed somewhat earlier, and reproduced afterward. I don't see that this particular work has survived, but later copies perhaps. So we don't yet know how this earlier replica of Melusine was depicted for sure. However there is that representation in
Tres riches heuers where she flies over the castle of Lusignan and she is all dragon.
If there is one lesson to be taken from the Cosmic Comparison investigation into cloud bands and
cosmic boundaries, it is that every artist, [every major source of image production,] does things in their own way. So all the illustrations of Melusine are individualistic, depending on the time, place and version of the myth's interpretation. Faithfully copied, nearly identical representations are the last thing to be expected. Otherwise, she'd be stuck as a flying dragon.
The provenance backstory here is the connection with the French duke, Jean de Berry, for three of these texts, plus the later connection of the fourth (Harley 334) to Paris as well. This tends to indicate a slightly later time, more in line with another significant 'Valois' event which was the institution of the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece (1430). This is another proposed comparison with VMs f80v.
None of these comparisons is perfect, without a doubt, clearly determined and unambiguous. They are clumsy, cartoonish and sometimes clearly designed to be ambiguous (White Aries). None will stand on its own. Combined and supplemented, however, they will stand together.
The Valois state of Burgundy was the light of the north throughout much of the 1400s. There was significant connection between Paris and Dijon. Events have the potential to occur in a single lifetime and may even match the dating for the latter part of the C-14 results. There is every reason to consider that the creation of the VMs took place in that environment and incorporated those elements into the VMs, potentially with a purpose that remains to be seen.