The Voynich Ninja

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I have studied the coat of arms book where Marco has posted.
It seems to me that it is mainly about family coats of arms.
As I saw it, they are families from northern Italy, southern Switzerland and southern Austria. Possibly there are also some from the south of France.
I found one from the south of Switzerland, in such a remote area that you can only find it if you get lost.
An example: The family coat of arms of the Brochis family. The old and the new coat of arms.
Another link for different new coats of arms.

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Translated with You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (free version)

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Just had to laugh!
Maybe this family has something to do with the VM.

It says; "Marry my daughters, puh-lease!"

More swallowtail merlons in Raber: Another gold wall with a red background, but on a bend sinister. And an interesting black tower on a gold field.
Both on Raber: p 852-853

I saw the three Graces again in Marco's library posting. There is really a lot of architectural structure brought into this set of heraldic insignias. So much so that there can be seen one major (two tower) structural type along with several minor types and including a small number that are apparently unique. And among this whole group there is a fair percentage where the merlons can clearly be seen to be swallowtail - rather than square. So heraldic examples have gone from zero to double digits in a few days.

Given the range of heraldic options, the choice of Ghibelline merlons makes a clear reference to historical circumstances at the time and place of the insignia's origination. The matter of Ghibelline merlons is primarily an "Italian" situation and it is most reflected in the Italian heraldry, apparently more so than in German heraldry and much more so than in French or English etc. heraldry.

By the time of the 15th Century, the perception of this heraldic statement and architectural reality to the various persons living at that time would depend on the individual situation to the extent that there would be those well acquainted with both varieties of merlon variation. And in a situation where one is positive, the other might be seen as negative and stuck in a corner.

Swallowtail merlons, just like the scallop-shell cloud band in the central rosette, provide a particular indication of what the VMs artist knows. Finding these merlons in the VMs brings a sort of geographical and historical "light of interest" to these areas. It would be wrong to say 'focus' - despite the specifics, the range of possibilities is so diverse. Nevertheless, in any VMs scenario, swallowtail merlons must be included. But does that inclusion necessitate that they are somehow favored? What if the swallowtail merlons in the VMs represent the 'opposition'? What if the VMs artist was on the 'papal' side? Who would be better able to employ the hidden references to the heraldic history of the cardinal's red galero than another member of the church who was familiar with the relevant traditions?

I transferred the merlon images to a shareable map and created a curated thread for the list. I haven't had time yet to check the heraldic examples (and some of them are a bit confusing time/place-wise). Please let me know everything I should add

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It may be worth noting separately that I added a 12th century example: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

As Marco points out You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., swallowtail merlons are present in the Trinity herbal. However, I don't know where to place it on the map. Further down the thread, Rene expresses his scepsis about the providence of "Germany", and either way this would be way too broad.

Also, does anyone remember the MS where swallowtail merlons were used in various siege situations? I can't find it anymore.

(14-09-2021, 08:23 AM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.As Marco points out You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., swallowtail merlons are present in the Trinity herbal. However, I don't know where to place it on the map. Further down the thread, Rene expresses his scepsis about the providence of "Germany", and either way this would be way too broad.

Hi Koen,
I feel confident that the Trinity Herbal is from Southern Italy, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. Anyway, we cannot link it with any specific location.

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The Avio fresco is in the Casa delle Guardie or Stanza delle Guardie. The dating You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (1350-60) seems to me more plausible than XII Century.
Note 159 in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. gives the same dates.

The tournament scene seems to me to be comparable with other XIV Century illustrations (e.g. Codex Manesse). It could be that the poor artistic quality of the Avio frescoes contributes to make them look archaic.

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You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. you can see the fresco in context:
left wall: tournament; centre wall: archers; right wall: castle.

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Another Milanese sample is You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (1380 ca).

The heraldic devices I attached You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. date to the XIV century. The manuscript (München, Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Geheimes Hausarchiv, Bände 3) is from Tirol; it is about St. Christoph am Arlberg, but maybe it is more likely that the ms was written in a nearby town?

More sources with swallow-tail merlons illustrations are mentioned here:

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Thanks, Marco! I updated the thread. 

For the heraldic devices I just marked St. Christoph am Arlberg since that seemed okay in this context.
If I understood correctly, none of the Hebrew manuscripts can be assigned to anything more specific than a country. Either way, it is important to keep in mind the matter of "traveling images" in tandem with the question of the core region of the form.

(14-09-2021, 10:09 AM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Thanks, Marco! I updated the thread. 

For the heraldic devices I just marked St. Christoph am Arlberg since that seemed okay in this context.
If I understood correctly, none of the Hebrew manuscripts can be assigned to anything more specific than a country.

Thank you, Koen!

It seems that the Sarajevo Haggadah can be reliably assigned to Barcelona or at least to Aragon.

From You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., MUHBA, Museu d'Historia de Barcelona:

Quote:Heraldic emblems help to determine the origin of some Haggadot. The presence of the coat of arms with four red pallets on a golden background, the device of the monarchs of the House of Barcelona, places the origin of the Sister, Sarajevo, Kaufmann and Barcelona Haggadot within the Crown’s lands.

From the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.:

Quote:Based on stylistic analysis of the illuminations and miniatures contained in its pages, it was determined that the book was made in mediaeval Spain, in the former kingdom of Aragon, most likely in Barcelona, around 1350. It may have been a present for the wedding of members of two prominent families, Shoshan and Elazar, because their coats of arms – a shield with a rosette/rose (shoshan in Hebrew) and a wing (elazar in Hebrew) – are featured on the page showing the coat of arms of the city of Barcelona.

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(Image of the whole page on the museum's site)

The frescoes on Runkelstein are also documented.
Between 1388-1390, and some until 1410.
Image too large, therefore link
Castelronda 2016  8/14
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