The Voynich Ninja

In art history, some authors apply the term “zodiac” to any set of images illustrating the zodiac signs. This really seems to depend on personal preference, nothing terribly relevant. This usage is reflected in less strict definitions of the word, like 1.1 in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. “A representation of the signs of the zodiac or of a similar astrological system.”

In my opinion, as long as we agree that the medallions illustrate the zodiac signs, calling this set of drawings “a zodiac” or “a zodiac cycle” or “zodiacal illustrations” etc. doesn’t make any substantial difference. Whatever your preferred term, it applies to the series of the medallions independently of the content of the text. But of course the text could one day provide a better name for the whole section: e.g. we could discover that the section is about subject XY and we will say that “the XY section includes a zodiac / a zodiac cycle / zodiacal illustrations”.

Below I quote a few examples in which zodiacal cycles with different layouts are called “zodiacs”.


You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. by Olga Koseleff Gordon [these two “zodiacs” are typical manuscript calendars, spanning several pages, with each month illustrated by a zodiac sign and “labours of the month”]
p.249 “In Queen Mary’s Psalter the zodiacal signs have been enriched and changed into a second occupational cycle, with many human and animal figures, and trees. The guiding principle in this zodiac goes beyond simple heraldic duplication...”
p.252 [Discussing Morgan ms M 700] “What induced the miniaturist to depart from the traditional iconography sequence, particularly in the zodiac?”


The Jews in Medieval Normandy: A Social and Intellectual History by Norman Golb [discussing a Jewish manuscript containing a several pages long prayer (piyyut for dew) decorated by zodiacal medallions]
p.482 “Scorpio as depicted in the zodiac of the Great Mahazor” [of Amsterdam, ms B.166]


Astronomical Knowledge Transmission Through Illustrated Aratea Manuscripts by Marion Dolan
p.82 “The lack of zodiacal imagery in the Early Christian art and architecture is in direct contrast to the Middle Ages when the zodiac readily appeared in tympanum sculptures, stained glass windows, tapestries and of course, illuminated manuscripts”.


You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., Helene E. Roberts ed.
p.962 “The zodiac of Notre Dame of Paris”, “the zodiac of Merton College in Oxford”


Transformations of Time and Temporality in Medieval and Renaissance Art By Simona Cohen
p.88 “The Earliest Monumental Zodiacs – The earliest extant sculptural cycle still in situ is located at the monastery of the Sagra di San Michele in the Val di Susa. It is generally assigned to the second decade of the twelfth century. The zodiacs at Vezelay and Autun in Burgundy were probably sculpted just a few years later”.

Here's a good visual illustration of the zodiac (the band of constellations associated with the ecliptic) from a 13th-century perspective (Canon Misc 161). The cycle runs between Gemini and Cancer on the left and Sagittarius and Capricorn on the right:

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The fifteen tick marks in the center (facing both directions), combined with those on the outer edge, would symbolically add up to the 30 degrees associated with each section into which this band has been divided (I'm not certain that this is what was intended, but there are 15 tick marks pointing each way and it would be difficult, at this scale, to fit all 30 in one line).



If the VMS illustrator were consulting astronomical treatises rather than astrological or occult, and stretching the series out into a band, there is less traditional imperative to begin the series with Aries, as can be seen from this example. There is a vertical line through the pole after which Aries follows, but this could be indicated in a number of ways, either visual or textual.

Also, if the illustrator were consulting astronomical treatises, rather than calendars, then the 30 divisions for each of the symbols would more likely be degrees than days.

JKP,

these are the signs of the zodiac, not the constellations. They all have equal size, and they start with Aries at the vernal equinox, i.e. one of the two the points where the (inclined) ecliptic crosses the equator.

Intetesting, JKP. But doesn't the way the goatsheep are drawn correspond more to month emblem imagery?

(07-12-2017, 07:44 AM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Intetesting, JKP. But doesn't the way the goatsheep are drawn correspond more to month emblem imagery?

Do you mean with the baskets? Or do you mean their shapes?

Most calendar imagery illustrates what you're supposed to do in a specific month (sow seeds, harvest, rest in winter, etc.).

I mean when the animals are standing on terrain and eating they are usually taken from non-astronomical sources, if I recall correctly.

(07-12-2017, 09:06 AM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I mean when the animals are standing on terrain and eating they are usually taken from non-astronomical sources, if I recall correctly.

I did a search on slightly more than 500 zodiac-series in my files to see what percentage are standing on terrain. I didn't filter for eating because I haven't keyed it to find all the feasting critters yet. Please keep in mind that I may not have added keywords to all the series (it's ongoing research and constantly being updated), but I've probably keyed at least 90%, so it should yield reasonably good data...


There were 95, so that's about 20%.

When I narrow the search for those that have terrain and are round (many of the French ones are rectangular), there are 23 (with the caveat that having a circle around them doesn't necessarily make them more similar to the VMS than ones that don't).


Of the 23 with both circles and terrain, the earliest was a Hebrew manuscript said to be from the early 11th century that is monochromatic (a drawing rather than a painting). The latest is from Nuremberg, mid-16th century (I don't usually collect ones this late but it's hand-drawn in traditional style and the archer has legs).

In between, we have:

• Notre Dame stained glass with terrain and trees (west windows), also the Cathedral of Lausanne (south window). Both are 13th century.
  
• Then Italy (c. 1326), England (slight suggestion of terrain and there are trees) c. 1332.
  
• France and England, both c. 1380.
  
• Prague c. 1405, France, c. 1410.
  
• Germany and Switzerland c. 1425.
  
• France three, Germany two, and Netherlands one from the mid-1400s.
  
• Flanders, Germany, and Italy c. 1470, Germany c. 1480.
  
• There is one from c. 1480 Bavaria that has a crossbowman (it's on the map in my Sagittarius blog).
  

Arabic zodiac symbols are often free-standing and not usually bounded by circles. Sometimes they have sky behind them and sometimes flowers at the base or trees at the sidex, but it's not common to find terrain under their feet.

Hebrew symbols are often bounded by circles, but not always circles and terrain together.


Animals nibbling are quite common in marginalia in calendars and Bibles, but not common in zodiac series. I'm referring to the ones that are not directly related to the subject matter on the page. Most of them are purely decorative, often part of the floral motifs.

Examples of zodiac symbols that are nibbling:

One that might be of special interest is on the Basilica de San Isidoro, Leon, south façade, c. 11th century (although some of the symbols look like they might have been restored).

It's a carving. The long-tailed Aries ram has his head up with his nose in a bunch of plants. It's a somewhat crude carving, so it's hard to know if we're supposed to assume it is nibbling or if the plant is an embellishment, but the other symbols don't have the plant. Cancer is more crablike than crayfishlike. Scorpius resembles a frog.

This was originally a Pagan temple, then a monastery, then rededicated to St. Isidore.
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What might be even more interesting is that the north portal of Chartres may have been inspired by the Leon Basilica, because it has the ram standing on hind legs nibbling the tree—it looks like a more expertly carved interpretation of the Leon ram. Also interesting is that it has a crayfish Cancer and lizard or tarask Scorpius. Capricorn is the ancient goat-fish.
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The Gorleston Psalter has Aries nibbling and bumpy terrain. Scorpius is a dragon or fancy-headed lizard. Also unusual is the smily-faced Leo (VMS critters are rarely fierce and even the fierce ones don't have claws). It's c. 1320. It has a number of things in common with the VMS.

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Hebrew manuscript Add 224113 has just a suggestion of terrain, but Aries is nibbling (Taurus and Capricorn have trees). C. 1322.

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Book of hours for Bonne of Luxembourg has Aries nibbling and Taurus is paired. Cancer is a crayfish but Sagittarius is a centaur and Gemini hiding behind a shield (a different branch of the traditions). c. 1347.

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Hausbuch MD 2 Tübinger - both Aries and Taurus are nibbling. Cancer is a crayfish, Virgo is sitting, Sagitarrius has legs (but it's a satyr, another tradition).

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Graz MS.286 - both Aries and Taurus are nibbling, Cancer is a crayfish, Sagittarius has legs, Gemini twins are embracing. The manuscript was compiled over a number of centuries, this part may have been added in the early 1400s. Notice the fish have long snouts.

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Latin 1156B Book hours, use of Rome, c. 1450 - Aries and capricorn are nibbling, Cancer is a crayfish, Gemini twins are embracing, Taurus has a long neck.

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Codex Pal. Germ 298 c. mid-1400s - Taurus is nibbling, it has grassy terrain, Cancer is a crayfish.

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It's amazing how it takes only minutes to give away years of research.