Ah yes, I remember the messages when the term 'crypro-heraldry' was coined. I didn't follow up the links at the time, but now I can see the creatures are very obvious, including an eye on the snake. Regarding f90v1, the roots definitely look lion-like and could represent the lion of Cicco Simonetta (albeit mirrored):
http://www.fondazioneterzomillennio.it/articoli/cicco.htm
and the plant itself is similar to the plant on the image 1/3 way down this page:
http://www.storiadimilano.it/Personaggi/Milanesi%20illustri/CiccoSimonetta.htm
No doubt you found those before.
I'll keep my eyes peeled for any other possible crypto-heraldry...
Cheers,
Jon.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nick Pelling [mailto:incoming@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: 29 June 2004 14:48
> To: vms-list@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: VMs: f34 (was: Important)
> Importance: Low
>
>
> Hi Jon,
>
> At 14:01 29/06/2004 +0100, Jon Grove wrote:
> >Secondly (and this may just be a product of my sick mind),
> the roots on
> >f34v look like two ...errr... stallions? Some kind of animal anyway,
> >decidedly male, with intertwined 'parts' and their heads
> together, the
> >flower sprouting from their necks. Does this fit in with any
> kind of myth
> >or legend that anyone's aware of? I couldn't find anything
> on Google, but
> >wasn't quite sure what keywords to use!
>
> Dana Scott and I have mentioned crypto-heraldry before, in
> particular f43v
> (Visconti snake) and f46v (Novara eagle), which are both on the same
> bifolio. Curiously, f46v also has a hole integral to its design -
> coincidence? I also think f90v1's roots represent Cicco
> Simonetta's coat of
> arms (whatever Rene thinks). :-)
>
> As for f34... however sick your mind actually is :-o, you may
> have spotted
> another pair of crypto-heraldic pictures here, well done! :-)
> The roots on
> f34v is (from the "claws" on its rear foot) possibly a lion
> or tiger, while
> f34v seems (as you suggest) to represent two facing horses
> (or perhaps lions?)
>
> If you want to search for this, I'd suggest looking at
> Italian Quattrocento
> heraldry with lions / tigers / horses, especially (I'd add)
> for families
> with known connections to Milan. :-)
>
> Dana, do you still have a record of the heraldry sites we
> were searching
> for this kind of thing?
>
> Cheers, .....Nick Pelling.....
>
>
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