Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Weird things you find in medieval manuscripts.

Under the Sea.

This is supposed to be Jonah in the whale, from Rouen, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 185, fol. 130r (1280).

Supposed to be. What we have appears to be some dude in a diving helmet riding a fish like a kayak. Now, while what is supposed to be a halo for some reason wasn't painted gold, which was the usual standard for holy figures. And while Jonah was supposed to be inside the whale, here he is poking up through a blow-hole holding an empty scroll banderole. I'm sure that all of this is simple case of artistic license. 

Or, perhaps, it was something more sinister.....


No comments:

Post a Comment