The Voynich Ninja

This was introduced by VViews? on another thread (in the context of Venus in the zodiac-figures section), but is probably worth a thread of its own (maybe the other posts could be repeated here).

Here is Mary with her feet on the moon (BSB Cgm 598) and one on the right about planetary influence of Jupiter:

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Mary standing on the moon with emanating sun's rays was probably a common motif. Here is another example (miniature in gradual). However, the moon is shown rotated differently than in the Book of the Holy Trinity.

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The Morgan Library & Museum, Nuremberg, 1507-1510, MS M.905 II, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

Yes I discussed this on my blog here, although I didn't mention Venus but the Voynich Virgo and the Woman Standing on the Moon:
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As I explained there, the Mary on the Moon iconography comes from the Woman of the Apocalypse imagery by way of a few others.
As I explained there, in my opinion, the Voynich Virgo is standing on a crescent and the closest parallels to the Voynich Virgo are these Apocalypse-inspired images. These sometimes  include a two-arm reach pose similar to the Voynich Virgo, which is due to the Woman reaching for her child in the full scene.

A couple more illustrations and some chatter.

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There's something about the image from MS M.46 fol.85v. 

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Once again the VMs artist seems to present a combined illustration.

Note: Just in case it needs to be mentioned, Flanders (Ghent) was part of the Duchy of Burgundy at that time (c. 1420).

R. Sale, i agree that keeps coming up, and so do other things in art around 1420. When i read about Van Eyck, i noted he had travelled extensively also. Notice that almost all Eves after 1420 look like his with the enhanced belly and small breasts. 


Here is another page with some more examples.

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Those are interesting and clearly there are a variety of elements, like wings, that may be relevant to the story, but are they relevant to the VMs? Other mythical personas sometimes have similar representations, winged Sophia might influence some recent examples. As the investigation of Melusine shows, it really helps when their names are provided.

VMs investigations have a lot of wild theories and also some serious efforts. The wild theories shoot off in different directions, like fireworks. The serious efforts sink to the bottom, like panning for gold (so they say). So when the results of several independent investigations start to indicate a common direction, then it is time to keep the eyes open.

Serious efforts provide examples; examples have provenance. This information tends to coalesce into two different sets. First are the manuscripts produced in Paris for the Valois Duke, Jean de Berry, (d. 1416). The second focus is Dijon (1430-1435), capitol of Burgundy, and this also includes the library of Philip the Good, the Valois Duke of Burgundy (r. 1419-1467)

The artist of the VMs is clearly looking like someone familiar with the ideas and evets of this era (1400-1450). The best and most probable way to gain that knowledge would be to have lived at that time. The texts of the Berry library survive his death, while the events of the Burgundy court still occur within the dates of the C-14 time line.

If the VMs Sagittarius can forgo the traditional centaur with a bow and arrow, and substitute a human archer with a crossbow, then adding a subtle bit of the Virgin Mary to the astrological illustration of Virgo is no problem - for the artist.

VMs Virgo is another piece of the VMs puzzle. And if given the 'Ghent' interpretation, it drops right into place.

Have you ever seen a mermaid wearing a hat? Here's one. MS M.453 fol. 175r

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After seeing the nimbus on the madonna in MS M.46 fol. 85v from this investigation of VMs Virgo, the hat looks strangely similar.

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The madonna representation's provenance is c. 1420, Belgium, probably Ghent.

The mermaid's provenance is c. 1425-1430, Paris. 

The chronology is close. Flanders was a part of the Burgundian state. Paris was occupied (1420-1435) by the Anglo-Burgundian forces in the Hundred Years' War.

Could this mermaid be a subtle reference to Melusine? The Luxembourg (Valois, Burgundian) version of Melusine was a mermaid. Blue is the right color.

(29-12-2020, 05:25 PM)bi3mw Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.However, the moon is shown rotated differently than in the Book of the Holy Trinity.

The Spanish word for "cuckold" is "to be on the horns" (cornudo or le pone los cuernos). That image makes me think of poor Joseph....

Another image:

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Or two

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