The Voynich Ninja

If it turned out to be the area you pictured in Post #60 or some of the earlier ones that included the Black Sea, I would not be surprised.

This was a highly active trading area at the time and, before other routes were discovered in the late 1400s and 1500s and humanity started forging west. It was where a high proportion of the land and water travelers passed to get to the east and down the coast of Africa (and for many of the easterners to enter Europe).

It was not only highly important to traders... quite a number of the more adventurous European scholars spent time in this region as well (usually about 2 to 5 years), carrying out research (scouting missions) on behalf of kings (usually gathering information that would help enrich the king, and bringing back treasures and "curiosities" that were not part of the regular trade).

Plus, the Ottoman Empire was on the rise, making the southern Black Sea and the region around it (routes that bridged east and west) of political concern to the powers in Europe.

Did the image even show? It isn't showing for me now. 

I had a thought in the meantime that again the angling of the cross staff says to rotate the map. So two things are denoted by it, sizing and direction.



So the cross staff is held at a 45 degree angle, turn the map to lift Gurjarat to be on top, and now the other features portrayed all in line as on the page. 

Yes there were people trading and exploring for a long time before and after as well. Im not sure if the manuscript is showing this, it seems more just to show the physical geography here, especially in that there are relatively few nymphs shown, which i generally see as standing for the civilizations of the areas. But the whole page is set aside from the rest, due to the depictions of the animals. The pangolin or ram does not seem to be in the same category due to its depiction in the clouds, rather than the water.

I came across another geography related anecdote that might apply to this image



From wiki

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[font=-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont,]The 3rd century Roman writer You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. reports:
Anaximander of Miletus considered that from warmed up water and earth emerged either fish or entirely fishlike animals. Inside these animals, men took form and embryos were held prisoners until puberty; only then, after these animals burst open, could men and women come out, now able to feed themselves.You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.[/font]

[font=-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont,]Anaximander put forward the idea that humans had to spend part of this transition inside the mouths of big fish to protect themselves from the Earth's climate until they could come out in open air and lose their scales.You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. He thought that, considering humans' extended infancy, we could not have survived in the primeval world in the same manner we do presently.[/font]

[font=-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont,]Both You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. and You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (later Greek geographers) claim that, according to the geographer You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., Anaximander was the first to publish a map of the world. The map probably inspired the Greek historian You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. to draw a more accurate version. Strabo viewed both as the first geographers after You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..[/font]

 You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. also mentions Anaximander's theory that humans were born inside fish, feeding like sharks, and that when they could defend themselves, they were thrown ashore to live on dry land.[/font]

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This last part seems to correlate with the drawing.

Possibly related is the pose of the nymph with the hand in the water spray with sediment, this would be the Wadi Batin river system, now dry.



If she is being shown as one of Anaximander's early human beings thrown ashore from her fishy incubator, it is meaningful that she would be in contact with water on that land, and that this particular river is thought by some to have been Pishon, one of the four rivers of Paradise.

Here you can see the nymph in the landscape approximately where she is drawn on the vms waterbody, see the pink figure on the northeast side of the sea.



Here is the hand and water spray in the landscape analogous to that which is drawn. Note that this is not only the dry river bed but a lava field as well. This is the combination that is said to have created life.



So here we have two references to at least two creation myths of the past, telling a non mythological story about the world, and including yet another waterway, albeit mainly dry. 

Note also it is the shore of the lava that is drawn, not the current shore of the sea, which is at the level of the fish mouth. The fish itself can be looked upon as the rift in the sea bottom, which is also a tectonic feature. 

You can see how it joins the shore right there, likely caused by the river system emptying into the sea at that point, just above where the arrow points to the Red Sea.



In terms of human evolution, this is very analogous to current hypotheses of migration patterns, this can be seen to represent the first crossing from Africa to Asia.

Linda, that's a very interesting quote, not one I've seen before.

The idea of something bursting forth not only relates to birth (which might fit some of the themes of the manuscript) but might explain why the fish has such a strange mouth, something I've been scratching my head over for a long time.

Thanks, it was new to me too, but i consider it a strong possibility since so many other geographers mention him as being the first

The mouth is shaped round like the other drawings of sheltered ports or river deltas within the quire, and there is a natural lagoon at that site.

Here is the one i consider as standing in the Danube delta, i think the fish face resembles this same style of imagery, a twofer of sorts...


Here is the lagoon in the Red Sea that i think the fish mouth indicates

I wonder whether it's relevant that the pond creatures each have a distinctly different color: green, blue, yellow and red - or at least what passes for these colors in the VM palette.

[attachment=3008]

(10-06-2019, 06:22 PM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I wonder whether it's relevant that the pond creatures each have a distinctly different color: green, blue, yellow and red - or at least what passes for these colors in the VM palette.

It would seem to be significant, perhaps related to cold and hot, wet and dry? Ie there are coldblooded animals found both in desert and water, and furry creatures as well to be found in diverse habitats.

Also, i think it is important to remember that the yellow one's head is green, and it is not just showing through from the other side,  or mixing with the water, there is a swath of light green paint which follows the shape of the head, it is purposefully so. 

I had previously thought these to stand for islands or volcanoes, but currently I am thinking it could be an attempt at explaining evolution, a land animal becoming a sea animal...a whale? Maybe it's dolphin? A sea lion? Maybe it is there to show us how to think like a medieval person, and explains some of the drawings like kylion stargazers, rock lobsters and hermit crabs.



In terms of my own interpretation this fits well with the Anaximander fish on the same page,  and this seems a possible illustration  William of Conches and the mixing of the elements. The Red Sea and there are whales and dolphins.

I've been meaning to point out that there is a picture on You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. of Morgan G74
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I take this to mean that there was a literal pond containing creatures such as frogs, turtles, snakes and waterfowl in front of the baths at Pozzuoli.

Since nobody seems to have mentioned this specifically it seems good to note in passing as a possible inspiration for the general setting of  f79v.

Yes, the Morgan image has water critters, which is interesting from a context point of view.

Other places they are seen is in Biblical stories (creation), and bestiaries that describe water critters in a general way. Often a mermaid is included (I'm not saying the VMS figure is a mermaid, but the traditional pics often include a mermaid or sometimes a siren).

What the VMs version shows is that the four companion creatures have now developed legs.

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