The Voynich Ninja

I came across the following image by coincidence:



A 9th century flabellum (liturgical fan) from Tournus (Burgundy). These objects were (and are still) common, in a variety of materials, but this one is exceptional because it is so old, yet made of a relatively fragile material. For some colour pictures see here You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

The handle and box are made of ivory, and the fan is consists of a long strip of parchment folded into pleats. The box is decorated with scenes from Virgil's Eclogues (explanation see You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.), which are to be taken in the traditional way of foreshadowing Christ. When the box is opened, it reveals the fan with Christian images, just as Virgil revealed Christ in prophecy. It was likely displayed on the altar, and signs of wear indicate intensive use.

Anyway, I wonder if a folded circular object like this may have inspired certain VM circles. You don't only get the alternating shading, but also the typical shape of the edge.

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I think it's quite possible.

I don't know if this subject has a previous dedicated thread, but I think it's a good idea to have one. There have been some flabellums posted previously. Maybe we could find them and link to them from this thread.


There's a flabellum here, but in the context of the IHS sun flower, not the cosmo pages.

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But I know there have been others, but they must have used a word other than "flabellum" because they're not showing up in search.

Yeah as per usual I did a quick search but only some botanical names you used came up. Are there more examples that fold like this one?