The Voynich Ninja

The three nymphs on the left form a similar group to the three at the bottom. I have no idea of what they might be doing, though.

(20-04-2018, 06:22 PM)MarcoP Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.The three nymphs on the left form a similar group to the three at the bottom. I have no idea of what they might be doing, though.

Yes, I think they may represent different "scenes" or "steps". Though it's not clear at all if and how they can be divided.
I've studied other manuscripts where scenes are presented simultaneously without borders, and there the most effective way of telling whether a character is repeated is by their robes. That's quite the problem in Q13

One way of going about it is to assume that the paired nymphs represent different scenes in a story, or different steps in a physical therapy (to follow VViews line of thinking). 
If they are wrestling, it would be natural to see the idle nymph as a referee - but she's missing for one of the pairs so this is problematic.

There's something strange though: a clear pen line in the water; what could it be?
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(20-04-2018, 07:27 PM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.There's something strange though: a clear pen line in the water; what could it be?

Absolutely no idea.

Anyway, the pcholshedy pool in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. is matched by a slower polshy choreography in the other side of the bifolio (f75r). Here we have a couple, a triplet and an out-of-scale, possibly more prominent, giant nymph.
In all these three triplets, the nymph at the back seems to be grasping the forearm of the nymph at the center, who is touching/holding the nymph at the front with her other arm.

Well spotted, Marco, they do seem related. 
So it's like the third nymph is holding one of them back, or trying to separate them. I hadn't noticed this consistency.

The whole setup reminds me of the story of Hylas and the nymphs, though this would require one of them to be a man.

Quote: There's something strange though: a clear pen line in the water; what could it be?

That'll be the volleyball

On a different note, notice the hairstyles. We have short and long hair. In the first image above, long hair predominate. In the second, long hair are submissive.

And what about this couple in f80v?

(25-04-2018, 08:40 AM)MarcoP Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.And what about this couple in f80v?

Maybe the nymph on the left is angry because the other one loosens her hair ?

I think of a hairstyle like this:



ca 1335-1340 Tuscany, Italy

In pre-modern times (and indeed still in some modern cultures), disheveled hair had certain connotations like sexuality, promiscuity... Also mourning, a state of utter despair. It's a detail that's much more telling than female nudity for example.

The Milanese Tacuinum Sanitatis You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. of the Liège University (1370 ca) has an illustration with three "interlocked" bathing women. VMS You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. bottom could represent a similar scene: the two nymphs at the side helping the one at the center exit the pool. But other VMS triplets seem to represent something different.

There are certainly parallels between Balneis images and the Q13 "pool pages", but a number of strange differences as well. I really wonder what happened here..