e-journal

Medieval iconography of watermelons in Mediterranean Europe

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† Background and Aims:
The watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Cucurbitaceae), is an important fruit vegetable in the warmer regions of the world. Watermelons were illustrated in Mediterranean Antiquity, but not as frequently as some other cucurbits. Little is known concerning the watermelons of Mediterranean Europe during medieval times. With the objective of obtaining an improved understanding of watermelon history and diversity in this region, medieval drawings purportedly of watermelons were collected, examined and compared for originality, detail and accuracy.

† Findings:
The oldest manuscript found that contains an accurate, informative image of watermelon is the Tractatus de herbis, British Library ms. Egerton 747, whichwas produced in southern Italy, around the year 1300. Adozenmore original illustrationswere found, most of them fromItaly, produced during the ensuing two centuries that can be positively identified as watermelon. In most herbal-type manuscripts, the foliage is depicted realistically, the plants shown as having long internodes, alternate leaves with pinnatifid leaf laminae, and the fruits are small, round and striped. The manuscript that contains the most detailed and accurate image of watermelon is the Carrara Herbal, British Library ms. Egerton 2020. In the agriculture-based manuscripts, the foliage, if depicted, is not accurate, but variation in the size, shape and coloration of the fruits is evident. Both red-flesh and white-flesh watermelons are illustrated, corresponding to the typical sweet dessertwatermelons so common today and the insipid citronwatermelons, respectively. The variation in watermelon fruit size, shape and coloration depicted in the illustrations indicates that at least six cultivars ofwatermelon are represented, three of which probably had red, sweet flesh and three of
which appear to have been citrons. Evidently, citronwatermelonswere morecommonin Mediterranean Europe in the
past than they are today.

Key words: Art history, Citrullus lanatus, Cucurbitaceae, cucurbit crops, crop diversity, crop history, domestication, plant iconography, watermelon.

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Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

Annals of Botany

No. Panggil

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Penerbit

Oxford : Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company., 2013

Deskripsi Fisik

Annals of Botany 112: 867–879, 2013

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

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Klasifikasi

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Tipe Isi

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Tipe Media

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Tipe Pembawa

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Edisi

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Subjek

EKOLOGI TANAMAN

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

agus

Versi lain/terkait

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