The Voynich Ninja

In the other thread when discussing the "musdel" page we noted that the person depicted there is placed at an angle (somewhere between 45 and 90 degrees clock- or counterclockwise) typical to represent dead persons in contemporary manuscripts. Hence, s/he is possibly meant to be dead. In addition, Koen provided a keen observation that whenever dead persons are depicted at such angles in contemporary literature, they tend to be depicted with their eyes closed.

Consider the picture in the middle of f82r. The person to the right is depicted at an angle suggesting his/her death. Moreover, s/he lies upon what quite proclaims itself to be a bier, although a somewhat allegorical one.

Furthermore, while the person's right eye is definitely closed (as we would expect it to be), the left eye suggests a pupil, although probably not as marked as pupils of persons alive depicted elsewhere in the VMS.

Hence I thought that the eye may be opening or closing, and, respectively, the person to the right may be intended to represent the process of dying or, alternatively, the resurrection. This is corroborated with something allegorical depicted to the left, containing curious imagery of a star and, further leftwards, of yet another, more complicated, star (?), tied with a "thread". This system is emanated - or, alternatively, received - by some "apparatus" "operated" by another person ("operator"). The "system" may represent the soul leaving the body or returning therein, while the operator, in the case of resurrection, may represent a person producing the miracle. Whether it is death or resurrection - depends on the direction the "soul" is travelling. It is difficult to say if it's leftwards or rightwards.

I tried to locate a suitable story of resurrection in the Bible, but while there are many there, neither looks like "resurrection at a distance". However, there are apocryphal sources as well, I did not check them. Or it may be not Biblical at all.

Hi Anton, quite the coincidence, I've considered making a thread about this figure (or group) as well recently. While I have strong opinions about many folios in Q13A, I'm still rather puzzled about this one.

For starter's I'll focus on the dead figure in isolation. I say dead with some confidence because I agree that this is by far the most likely reading. 
There is something really weird about the face if you compare it to other nymphs. The jaw line is more defined and behaves differently. In the image below, I've put it next to the three nymphs closest to her.

[attachment=1516]

Another thing is of course the eyes. They do appear closed, but there's more going on. One of the other nymphs also appears to have her eyes closed, yet those look different. 
When I first saw this face, it reminded me of a scene from Game of Thrones (sorry) where fake eyes had been placed on those of the deceased. 
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This lead me to the next logical step: might the face actually be some kind of death mask? I know these were used in antiquity and from the Renaissance on, but I'm less informed about the situation in the middle ages. Of course there were funerary effigies.

A final remark is that a pattern is present under the green paint. This is reminiscent of a funeral shroud or some kind of wrapping, as would have been common in many periods in history.

Edit: I should probably say funerary mask or something similar since death masks are casts made of a deceased's face while I'm more thinking along the lines of a sculpted likeness placed on top of the body.

By the way, the "apparatus" may be interpreted as a Christian cross.

I agree that the figure on the right appears to be dead. The entire illustration (as all of Quire 13) is substantially unparalleled, so very difficult to explain.

Parallels exist for several of the isolated elements, yet it's difficult to put them together in a coherent interpretation.

• I am sure I have posted this before, but I can't find it now. Greek manuscripts illustrate You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. that were an early type of thermal weapon. Some of the illustrations are comparable with the “apparatus” on the left and its "operator". On the basis of these parallels, I find it difficult to think of the two stars moving from right to left.
  
  
• You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.  posted an illustration of “thunder” that is quite similar to the complex “star” at the center.
  
  
• You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. describes illustrations from several copies of the Pseudo-Apuleius in which “the patient lies on a palliasse which floats incongruously in mid-air”
  

Hmm... thanks Marco, that Ellie's finding is very interesting! I also find her suggestion of light(ning) vs sound very valuable.

So, the whole plot may be thus:

The person on the right is lightning-struck, and thus dead.  S/he has been killed by the lightning (the star nearby). The thunder "lags behind" the lightning. This would never be the case when the lightning strikes right at you, but that may be a philosophical "supplement" to illustrate the general principle that light in general (or lightning in particular) travels faster - maybe to stress it out that if you hear the thunder then you are safe (until the next strike, haha).

The operator and the apparatus would then be some mythological or mystical producers of the lightning.

Thunder/lightning is indeed possible since the star is really similar. The device does look like it might be modeled on some war machine as well, so who knows...

One problem I see with the scenario where the dead person is struck by lightning is that this is really a person in "peaceful repose". That is, the body had been tightly wrapped and placed onto a bier. So it's closer to a funeral than an accident scene 

Because of that, I'd lean toward an interpretation that involves something which happens after the person dies, like resurrection or the projection of some spirit form.

Quote:One problem I see with the scenario where the dead person is struck by lightning is that this is really a person in "peaceful repose".

Medieval European sources tend to represent dying persons blissfully tranquil, even if they're being dismembered alive.

The pseudo-Paracelsus You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. says that tempests proceed from four capital winds (p. 77), that the original of tempests is the appearance of spirits (p. 78), that thunder follows every flash of lightning (not bad!), and, especilly interesting, that tempests can be driven away by certain plants, such as Mugwort, St. John's wort, Perewinkle, Celandine, Rue or Devil's bit. And also by Coral, Azoth and certain signs drawn (p. 80).

I'd better rely on the lightning rod, but if we can locate matching between some vords in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. and some vords in the folios depicting those plants, that would be a good start.

The four-legged apparatus could well stand for the mix of four winds, and there is the spirit appearing from behind.

I agree that "four winds" would be a good explanation for the tubes.

I'll just add that the elaborate "star" could also be a floral motif. I've seen several examples but unfortunately I didn't record them. This is one I was able to retrieve:

[attachment=1522]


From:
'Book of Fixed Stars' (Kitāb suwar al-kawākib al-ṯābita)
by ‛Abd al-Rahman ibn ‛Umar al-Ṣūfī,
dated 1009-10 (Bodleian Library, Oxford, manuscript Marsh 144)
Page 165 - Andromeda

orol dair does not bring anything immediately.

orol occurs 15 times, and in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. it is used as a lablel for a small plant. dair occurs 106 times, and does not seem to be used as a label anywhere.

sOK, what I would suggest is to have a closer look at this paragraph and to look:

• which vords are used as labels;
  
• which vords are used in botanical and pharma sections.
  

okain is once mentioned in the vicinity of a jar.


... and if the hypothesis is valid, the the word "wind(s)" should be encoded somewhere in the paragraph and should be matched in astro or in the Rosettes.