The Voynich Ninja

A few more:
1. Castel Montani di Sopra is incorrectly labeled as Burg Untermontani. The correct pairs are Castel Montani di Sopra/Burg Obermontani and Castel Montani di Sotto/Burg Untermontani.
Burg Obermontani was erected by Graf Albert III. von Tirol in 1228 and passed into the hands of the Montanis in 1299. The House of Montani was a side branch of the House of Montalban, who had been in the service of the Grafen since the mid-12th century (in fact, it's probably just the name of the Montalbans who settled in the Vinschgau). It remained theirs until the lineage ended in the 17th century.
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Burg Untermontani was built for the House of Montalban sometime in the 13th century. It was inherited by the Montanis and sold in 1355. 
Both of them have swallowtail merlons. 
2. Schloss Braunsberg was built by the House of Braunsberg, another family of Dienstmannen of the Graf von Tirol, who held it until the 15th century. According to legend, the lady of the castle, Jutta von der Burg, jumped into the valley below in 1393, after being accused of infidelity. In 1510, a substantial section of the castle also fell into the valley.

3. Castel Varco/Laimburg was repaired at the end of the 14th century, only to be abandoned another century later. 

4. Torre Vanga, Trento, built in the 12th century and constinuously expaned until the 15th. 

5. Fresco of Burg Stenico in the Castello del Buonconsiglio, Trento, dating to around 1400. 

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Fresco with swallowtail merlons in the Church of the Holy Spirit, Sterzing, painted around 1415 by Hans von Bruneck (active 1390-1450). The same artist made the previously mentioned frescoes on the walls of the Novacella Abbey cloister. 

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Thanks, Pierre! Those are some great additions.

Buonconsiglio was already on the map, the rest has been added/fixed.

Was the Abbazia di Santi Nazzaro e Celso added to the map?
And is it the only religious building with Swallow-tail merlons on the map?

(02-06-2026, 02:09 AM)Pierre Dumont Himself Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Fresco with swallowtail merlons in the Church of the Holy Spirit, Sterzing, painted around 1415 by Hans von Bruneck (active 1390-1450). The same artist made the previously mentioned frescoes on the walls of the Novacella Abbey cloister. 

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(02-06-2026, 02:09 PM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Thanks, Pierre! Those are some great additions.

Buonconsiglio was already on the map, the rest has been added/fixed.

Yes, but not the Burg Stenico, which is depicted.

Here is one desciption of the mural:

Quote:The monthly sequence (Monatsfolge) begins on the northern end of the eastern wall, that is, on the section of the wall that a person entering from the castle via the parapet walkway (Wehrgang) would see to his right. It then continues in a clockwise direction. The January and February murals display architetcural motifs; in “January” there is a detailed depiction of the episcopal Burg Stenico. Here, the contrast between the snowy environs of the castle and the castle garden (Burggarten) is emphasized, the latter being painted green so that it may be clearly distinguished. Another recognizable detail is the clear break between the old residential quarters of the castle on the left, and the radiant white new quarters with cross-windows (Kreuzstockfenster) on the right, which were erected by Georg von Liechtenstein, whose flag flutters over the small outer ward (Vorburg) tower. [Diane E.] Booton was able to connect the figure knocking on the castle gate with depictions of Janus in calendars, where the door is opened to those who knock at the beginning of the year. This transient motif, accompanying the turn of the year (Jahreswechsel), can also be found on the January miniature of the “Très Riches Heures”, where a chamberlain (Kämmerer), with the words “Approche, approche” inscribed in gold, guides the guests towards the hearth, where some are already warming their hands. 

Harald Wolter-von dem Knesebeck - Die Wandmalereien des Adlerturms der bischöflichen Burg von Trento/Trient als Beispiel für den Umgang mit Zentrum und Peripherie in auf einen (königlichen) Gast bezogenen bzw. beziehbaren Wandmalereien [The Wall Paintings of the Eagle Tower of the Bishop’s Castle in Trento as an Example of the Handling of Center and Periphery in Wall Painttings related or relatable to a (Royal) Guest], translation mine. Georg (III.) von Liechtenstein was the Bishop of Trento between 1391 and 1407. He is the one who commissioned the murals in the Adlerturm/Eagle Tower. Accordinng to the article, he was a well-connected person who desired to raise the profile of his bishopric, which ultimately brought him into conflict with Frederick IV of the Tyrolean Habsburgs and the local population who bore the financial burden of his ambitions. In the author's view, he is primarily responsible for the introduction of international "impulses" to local artistic production.

You can see close-ups of the mural here:
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(02-06-2026, 04:14 PM)Mark Knowles Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Was the Abbazia di Santi Nazzaro e Celso added to the map?
And is it the only religious building with Swallow-tail merlons on the map?

Yes, it's already up there. It was completely rebuilt between 1427 and 1469, so it overlaps somewhat with the radiocarbon dates for the MS.
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I managed to count another four, not including episcopal palaces. Can you not see the map?

Two manuscripts with swallowtail merlons that I don't think are on the map yet:
BL Royal 6 E IX - Carmina regia (Prato's address to Robert of Anjou). Tuscany (Pacino di Buonaguida), c. 1335–1340; a minority view (Tomei) argues Naples. BL viewer's still down from the cyber-attack, so image here You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

BNF Latin 9333 — Tacuinum sanitatis. Rhineland (Germany), c. 1445–1451 - a German copy of the Italian ÖNB Cod. Ser. n. 2644, so the merlons are derivative and it's post-1450; worth a caveat.
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I found them here - the other Manuscripts are on the list You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

Has anyone ever seen swallowtail merlons that have something in the middle?

Loggia di Romolo e Remo in the Palazzo Trinci, 1411-1412.

(04-06-2026, 02:55 PM)Pierre Dumont Himself Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Has anyone ever seen swallowtail merlons that have something in the middle?

Real merlons have a military purpose,namely protect soldiers on the walls from arrows and stones of the enemy below.  I suppose that the notch in the swallowtail variant was meant to support a firearm or crossbow. No?

The "triple tail" merlons in that image are obviously inspired by the military ones, but are purely decorative.  Behind them is a slanting tile roof, with no space for soldiers to stand on.

All the best, --stolfi