29-08-2017, 12:13 AM
Marco, it was a good idea to bring that manuscript into this thread.
What I noticed about it, that I mentioned in the other thread, is that the plants are easier to ID than a lot of plants (without looking at the labels).
Then, after going through a few more, I noticed that many of the plants have been inked and pressed onto the page (and sometimes painted over). If you zoom in on Element 44, you can see the individual vein patterns from the actual leaf, which explains why they are more naturalistic than in most herbals.
Looking further, I noticed that Lunaria is drawn as in other alchemical herbals (it's not a pressed plant).
That's rather useful! It helps distinguish real plants from those that are either mythical, or which medieval illustrators themselves didn't know how to ID.
It's not a perfect dichotomy, I notice that some plants (real ones) that are too big to fit on a page (like those that grow 4 or 5 feet tall) have not been inked and pressed, they have been drawn, but it MIGHT help sort out which plants they knew as real plants and which ones were passed down as mythical ones.
What I noticed about it, that I mentioned in the other thread, is that the plants are easier to ID than a lot of plants (without looking at the labels).
Then, after going through a few more, I noticed that many of the plants have been inked and pressed onto the page (and sometimes painted over). If you zoom in on Element 44, you can see the individual vein patterns from the actual leaf, which explains why they are more naturalistic than in most herbals.
Looking further, I noticed that Lunaria is drawn as in other alchemical herbals (it's not a pressed plant).
That's rather useful! It helps distinguish real plants from those that are either mythical, or which medieval illustrators themselves didn't know how to ID.
It's not a perfect dichotomy, I notice that some plants (real ones) that are too big to fit on a page (like those that grow 4 or 5 feet tall) have not been inked and pressed, they have been drawn, but it MIGHT help sort out which plants they knew as real plants and which ones were passed down as mythical ones.