The Voynich Ninja

The merlons in the second link look like (relatively) modern alterations, don't they?

Edit: I am uncertain about the first castle as well, it changed owners several times including ca. 1500. At some point it seems that the walls and merlons were covered in something, but who knows when this happened...

(17-11-2021, 12:39 PM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.The merlons in the second link look like (relatively) modern alterations, don't they?

Although this is obviously non-conclusive, the tower on the coat of arms for the Serravalle castle has flat top merlons.  We have seen heraldry with swallowtails in other examples.

I don't know if anyone posted this, but the Castelgrande Bellinzona somehow tickles my mind in regards of swallowtail merlons. In the VM, you can see only one tower and that's because the other tower (Torre Nero/ Black Tower) was build later.

Sadly, the castle was rebuilt/destroyed along with the Murata walls surrounding the whole valley.

It's included, but apparently I had misspelled it "Bellizona" in the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. so that's corrected now.

One shouldn't overlook the other swallow tail merlons on the page.

Rene Zandbergen pointed out to me You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. In the notes at the bottom, the page I linked mentions three copies of the map. A 1320 copy is available on the same site: there, most merlons have no swallow-tails, with a few exceptions including a building labelled "milicie/militie", maybe the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. that at one time was a ghibelline headquarters.

I had never seen these before, these are very nice examples. I would even guess that as far as the "swallowtail merlon distribution" goes, this is one of the better matches for the rosettes foldout. That is, walls with swallowtail battlements surround a wide area that contains buildings. Of course in the VM the surrounding walls are rather limited in comparison.

Translated, the site you linked says this about the MSS: "The map of Rome by Fra Paolino da Venezia, friar minor, was included in his Compendium also known as Chronologia Magna completed in 1320. This map is found in 3 manuscripts by Fra Paolino from the first half of the 14th century: l. Venice, Marciana Library, ms. lat. Zan. 399 (1610), fol. 98 (at the end of the ms.); 2. Paris, National Library, Parisin. lat. 4939, fol. 27 (incomplete: there is only the enclosure of the walls, the interior of the city is left blank); 3. Vatican City, Vatican Library, Cod. Vat. Lat. 1960, fol. 270v (at the end of the ms.)."

About the BNF copy, it was apparently made in Naples, see this extensive entry at the BNF site: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

I've been flicking through it and most of the illustrations appear to be biblical in nature. Its merlons appear "regular", until you reach the final section. There is this city labelled Antiochia:

[attachment=6028]

And on the next page, Jerusalem, also entirely surrounded with swallowtails: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Its map of Rome is unfortunately incomplete and only contains regular merlons.


In the Vatican MS, swallowtail merlons are used similarly, see for example here: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

There is also an image I don't quite understand here: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

[attachment=6029]

Oh I get it, it's a chess board!

I haven't found out yet if the other two MSS were also produced in Naples.

(17-11-2021, 07:40 PM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.It's included, but apparently I had misspelled it "Bellizona" in the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. so that's corrected now.

Is not misspelled, it's just the old name.
[attachment=6031]

(10-11-2021, 01:48 AM)MichelleL11 Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

(09-11-2021, 10:21 PM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.With a date of "early 14th century", this could be our earliest manuscript. I haven't read anything about where it was actually made though.

Original German

RIEDMANN J,  Ein heraldisches Zeugnis aus der  frϋhen Habsburgerzeit in Oberitalien?  Eine Annäherung  – aber keine sichere Losung,  in  “Semper ad fontes” Festschrift für Christian Lackner zum 60. Geburtstag,  Wien 2020, p. 233-245 [Sul cod. 74]
Google Translate
RIEDMANN J, A heraldic testimony from the early Habsburg era in Northern Italy? An approximation - but not a safe solution, in “Semper ad fontes” Festschrift for Christian Lackner on his 60th birthday, Vienna 2020, p. 233-245 [Sul cod. 74]

This is what Riedmann had to say:

There is no dedication or indication of past owners in the text or binding of BSV Cod. 74.  It was obtained by the BSV when the full book collection of Count Alfonso Alvarotti was bought from his estate in 1720, the year of his death.  This collection is the foundation of the BSV's medieval manuscript collection.  Alvarotti was born in Ferrarra and died in Padua.  I did a bit of research as to where it was known he got his books, but nothing made sense for Cod. 74.

Cod. 74 is, based on handwriting and art historian analysis, believed to have been produced in Venice in 1310.  This is based on work done by Prof. Giordana Canova Mariani, the head of Department of History of Visual Art and Music at the University of Padua -- if anyone wants the full cite, let me know and I can provide.  She is an expert at medieval manuscript illustrations and specializes in the Veneto area.

Mariani found a manuscript by Marino Sanuto (sometimes Sanudo; sometimes adds Torsello, also called "The Elder" to distinguish from a later Marino Sanuto, see You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.) titled Conditiones terrae sancta that is located in the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice that she believes is in the same hand as Cod. 74.  This manuscript does not seem to be digitized, so I haven't seen it but I found that library's search function challenging so it might be there.  It is also about the Crusades, specifically documentation about how a new Crusade should be mounted.  More is known about the Sanuto manuscript's history -- and that is how Mariani was able to get the possible/probable date and location for Cod. 74.

Like the maps provided by Marco through Rene, Sanuto utilized swallowtail merlons on Holy Land city walls in his maps.  This one is from MS Tanner 190 You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. in the Bodleian (date 1321-1324) and is of the city of Acre.  This manuscript is another set of Crusade propaganda (Secreta fideluim Crucis). The swallowtails were not always copied (see screenshots below).  Note that it is believed that these maps were probably made by a Genoese map maker working in Venice, Pietro Vesconte (see You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.) but Sanuto wasn't much for credits.

[attachment=6034][attachment=6037][attachment=6035]

This was an interesting bit of work -- but now I really am not going farther on this -- unless something pops up while I'm looking at other things.  I am not sure how applicable these Holy Land swallowtails are to the VM, but I guess that depends on how you're interpreting the rosettes.  If it weren't for the pretty clear visual parallels (e.g. swallowtails on surrounding city wall and the "pointedness") in my opinion I don't think this would be as interesting.  But I do observe that it is entirely possible that this set of early 1300 use of swallowtails in the Holy Land portrayals is completely separate from other possible reasons for the use of swallowtail merlons (e.g. Ghibelline vs. Guelph merlons or merely lots of swallowtails nearby where the VM was created) much discussed previously.  We don't know why they were used in the VM.

Thanks Michelle, that's some solid research! The thread and map have been updated. This really cements Venice in second place after the Milan region and followed by Naples.

I do wonder why they drew "eastern" cities with swallowtail merlons. The association does not appear to be with Jerusalem per se, since for example they also show up on "Babilonia", which is the metaphorical antithesis of Jerusalem. The reason for this association may be of interest, since the VM was written well after the heyday of the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict.

Either way, we are now left with a paradoxical situation where, from the Italian perspective, the swallowtail merlon can signify both domestic and (apparently more generalized) foreign areas.