The Voynich Ninja

MarcoP,

A very interesting comparison. I see in the VMs illustration that it is the bulbs extending downward that appear to have been touched with blue paint, as is clear with the Sun in celestial Aries. It's not the same animal, but is seems to be a very similar placement. And placement in VMs illustrations seems to be an under-appreciated factor.

What animal is it? That is open to various interpretations. But the other part of the process of interpretation is whether a particular animal belongs in the situation represented in the illustration. Are we looking at clouds and rain? Or something else? And what would that be? All the parts belong together and the explanation should encompass them all.

Ellie, the 'apothecary's skink' is a nice idea. Do we have a taxonomic description for that one?

(16-02-2016, 12:20 AM)EllieV Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Or maybe it was meant for Apothecary's skink - the sandfish lizzard that is included in Materia Medica)

The head looks like that of a hog (in the drawing you found - not so much in the VMS drawing), which fits Pliny's description of the chameleon. Was the Apothecary skink ever described as having a hog's head?

(16-02-2016, 04:06 AM)Diane Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Ellie, the 'apothecary's skink' is a nice idea. Do we have a taxonomic description for that one?

I have better - especially for you - Arabic source
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(16-02-2016, 05:37 PM)Oocephalus Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

(16-02-2016, 12:20 AM)EllieV Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Or maybe it was meant for Apothecary's skink - the sandfish lizzard that is included in Materia Medica)

The head looks like that of a hog (in the drawing you found - not so much in the VMS drawing), which fits Pliny's description of the chameleon. Was the Apothecary skink ever described as having a hog's head?

No, no. The chameleon comes from a printed book and on the same page there is a poem about chameleon - it is emblem book, 16th century.
I meant it as example how the intention of the artist often cannot be recognized - unless we have the text to support it.
The VMs creature looks like so many different things - I am afraid we'll have to wait for the text on this one.

The apothecary sink is different example. It is included in Meteria medica as aphrodisiac. You can still buy those dried lizards in the Middle East. Scincus officinalis is a lizard that moves in the sand of the Sahara like a fish swimming in water. this is why they call it sandfish and in some versions of Materia medica is drawn with fish tail - it doesn't have a fish tail in real life
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Quote:No, no. The chameleon comes from a printed book and on the same page there is a poem about chameleon - it is emblem book, 16th century.
I meant it as example how the intention of the artist often cannot be recognized - unless we have the text to support it.
The VMs creature looks like so many different things - I am afraid we'll have to wait for the text on this one.

Sorry for the misunderstanding - I thought you suggested the one you found could be a skink. Here are some other bizarre chameleons, from an undated edition of the Hortus sanitatis:
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Ellie,
Pity the source is so late. I'll have to look into its sources and antecedents if I can find time one of these days.

Still a very nice similarity at first glance, and I'm guessing it came from the same region as that critter I posited for this animal, too.

Cheers.

btw, Arabic isn't a language I'm especially familiar with; most of what I've learned came from having to read Jurdak's dictionary of astronomical terms.  Which reminds me - I must ask if any member is willing to translate the rest of the terms for my 'Theriac' page; the Islamic doctor who began to do so finds himself now unable to, due to 'pressure of work'.

If any fellow 'ninja' is curious about that manuscript, the set of images and captions for its theriac ingredients can be seen here.
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I'd really appreciate translation of those captions, which the original translator could not complete.

Following discussion on the Ladies with Rings thread, I thought it would be better to continue posting here about what else the creature might be.
Has it already been suggested that this could be a hedgehog?
The myth that hedgehogs carried grapes on their backs led to the convention of representing them like this:


British Library, Royal MS 2 B. vii, Folio 97v, England, c 1310-1320


Morgan Library, MS M.81, Folio 10v


Bodleian Library, MS. Laud Misc. 247, Folio 147v

I think the first image in particular, where the hedgehog is shown with a tail, could make a good candidate.

That's just awesome. Nothing beats the way people used to depict certain animals.

I'm not convinced about anything, but one thing seems clear: this creature has scales, and if the head is to the right, they are on backwards. So I'd say that either the head is to the left, or a parallel has to be found for a backward scale pattern.

Just for the record and as I have said before, I was and am of the opinion that the animal is an ordinary sheep or ram, the head has horns and the 'scales' are curls, you can see these curls on medieval  images of sheep again and again. Not to mention that the instrument the nymph above the animal is holding seems to be a spindle with a whorl and full of wool.