Re: VMs: WM, Hieronymus Bosch and Edward Kelley

["Rafal T. Prinke" <rafalp@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Mariusz,

> the photos of it available on the Internet was the parallel between all
> these naked women and huge (by comparison) flowers with the similar themes
> in Hieronymus Bosch's triptych "The Garden of Earthly Delights". I am not
> suggesting that Bosch drew the WM's pictures, they are stylistically quite
> different, but there may be a link between the two works. After all, nobody
> has yet discovered the meaning of "The Garden", just like nobody has
> discovered the meaning of WM...

I don't think there is any close paralel - but there is a theory
that Bosch was a member (or sympathizer) of the sect of Brethren
of the Free Spirit, which was apparently "orgiastic". It is
interesting in this context that they were active in the Netherlands
and Northern Germany - ie. where the recent identification
places the origins of the VMS. Even more interestingly, 
they later "became the Picards of Bohemia, who took possession 
of an island in the river Nezarka, and gave themselves up to a 
shameful communism. Ziska, the Bussite leader, nearly exterminated 
the sect in 1421" (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01135b.htm).
This is all wild hypothesis, of course, as anything connected
with the VMS.

> As concerns the Kelley theory, which has been brought to the fore again in
> the January 25, 2004, article in The Guardian (see
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,1130832,00.html ),  I
> wonder if anybody tried to compare WM with other known works by Edward
> Kelley (if there are any)?

Yes - but there is no foundation at all for the theory. The only
arguments for it are that Kelley was in Bohemia and that he is known
to have invented (?) the Enochian languages (as there were two, in
fact).

> I also wonder how Rudolph II viewed this work? The fact that it ended up in
> the hands of the imperial gardens supervisor may indicate that it was
> consider a herbal or a gardening book.

We cannot be certain that Rudolf actually owned it. This is much later
information and might be suspect. And, obviously, we do not know
anything
at all about his opinion (if any) on it.

The herbal part of the VMS *is* a herbal - there can be no doubt
about it. But whether it is a real or fantastic herbal, is another
story.

The basic problem with the VMS is that there is no single point
of certain historical paralel - and thus everyone reads into
it various theories which are closest to them. That's how
the Dee/Kelley theory started, the Cathars, the Ukrainian chronicle,
a selection of early cryptographers, alchemical herbals,
etc., etc. It is really like the Rorschach test!

Best regards,

Rafal
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