The Voynich Ninja

Isn't Beit Alpha more in the sense of Siamese twins? Two males conjoined? They're sharing one tunic.

I think of it as somewhat similar to this one from Persia, which is Janus-like (although this one only has two arms and legs):

(24-09-2018, 01:56 PM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Beth Alpha Gemini are in line with a relatively common form which has parallels in eastern and western manuscripts alike.

It has little to do with the VM crossed arms, which stem from images of courtly love scenes. 

It will have to be investigated further if this pose has a specific significance or whether it evoled from the ring-exchanging image Marco posted earlier.

@JKP, don't bother that angle. 
According to Koen, the decision on what it represent, has already been made.

Davidsch, I agree with JKP that the Beth Alpha Gemini is related to the conjoined twins type, as is common in Arabic/eastern sources. Please do check that angle if you think it's worthwhile, I'd love to see the results of your investigation!

Anyway, I came across another woodcut which might be of interest to check if its sources can be backtracked. Warning: it's late (16th century) and the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. where I saw it is not the most reputable source. But I thought I'd share anyway since it's about the Decans. It seems to be related to the woodcut I posted earlier. The arms are not crossed, though they may have been at one point because:
* the man's right arm is ridiculously lengthened
* his left arm kind of disappears into the point where in the VM image he'd grab the woman's left hand

[attachment=2387]

Might we be able to connect this to earlier works?
It came only with the description "A sixteenth-century woodcut of the three decans of Pisces. Reproduced by permission of Fortean Picture Library." I haven't been able to find the source yet, some keyword searches at Fortean haven't brought up anything.

There are about three sets of German woodcut zodiacs from around the same time and place that are in this style. I'm going by memory (can't check right now), but I think they all have crayfish-Cancer and no-figure Libra (and some or all have human Sagittarius). One of them is in the British Library. Can't remember the others (after 500, they start to muddle together in one's mind). Later, if I can, I'll look them up.

The text above this woodcut "Tercia facies est Martis [etc]" is the same as in some illustrations of Gemini posted by Darren Worley at Stephen Bax's blog. If I find the location again, I'll add it to this comment.

- - -

Edit: it is in this post: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
and Darren's comment is from 30 November 2015. (Comment nr. is 164330).

The illustration is from the Astrolabium Planum.
Here's a link to the image:

Again, I'm going by memory, but I believe an earlier version of the woodcut was published, uncolored, in 1480 (Augsburg?) and there were additional colored versions, including the one from 1498 in the Morgan Library.

I still can't look them up (still working). I'm just popping by but will try to look later if I can (swamped right now).

As discussed by Darren You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., the illustration represents the third decan of Pisces. The text reads: "Tercia facies est martis: et est fornicationis et amplexa-tionis: magne delectationis cum mulieribus et diligendi quietes." (the third decan belongs to Mars: it is about fornication and embracing, great pleasure with women and choosing peace).

The work is also noteworthy because it features illustrations of the individual 360 degrees of the zodiac (paranatellonta): something we also find in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., the most known parallel for the VMS zodiac cycle. "Astrolabium Planum" also includes images of crossbowmen in an astrological context (this is the 8th degree of Aries).
[attachment=2391]

A beautiful but slightly later manuscript in German (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., 1491) has somehow different illustrations.

[attachment=2392]

As Darren wrote, the whole cycle is thought to derive from works by Pietro D'Abano. Other parallels could possibly be found in the frescoes at Palazzo della Ragione (aka Salone) in Padua.

The bizarre "girdle" in Darren's 1488 illustration is somehow comparable to images in the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. where Koen found what currently is the best parallel for the Gemini illustration.
[attachment=2393]

(25-09-2018, 07:42 PM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view....

Anyway, I came across another woodcut which might be of interest to check if its sources can be backtracked. Warning: it's late (16th century) and the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. where I saw it is not the most reputable source. But I thought I'd share anyway since it's about the Decans. It seems to be related to the woodcut I posted earlier. The arms are not crossed, though they may have been at one point because:
* the man's right arm is ridiculously lengthened
* his left arm kind of disappears into the point where in the VM image he'd grab the woman's left hand



Might we be able to connect this to earlier works?
It came only with the description "A sixteenth-century woodcut of the three decans of Pisces. Reproduced by permission of Fortean Picture Library." I haven't been able to find the source yet, some keyword searches at Fortean haven't brought up anything.

Also no crossed arms but the same motive with a hug. So there were different variants.

Heidelberger Schicksalsbuch, Cod. Pal.germ. 832, past 1491, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

Edit: MarcoP was a little bit faster

Thanks guys! I'll set this one aside for now then. By coincidence I came across an example of how conservative these woodcuts are. 

Left 1467, right 1506. I believe it must have gotten mirrored because they cut a new wood block based on a print.

[attachment=2395]


Spot the main difference!


Now to get back to the pair, I think the man's short statue is due to botched perspective. Courtly images of a pair facing each other regularly force some depth by making the man smaller, while the woman's dress trails further down. This example from:

Roman de la Rose
France, possibly Paris, ca. 1405
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

(26-09-2018, 09:23 PM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view....



Now to get back to the pair, I think the man's short statue is due to botched perspective. Courtly images of a pair facing each other regularly force some depth by making the man smaller, while the woman's dress trails further down. This example from:

I think there might be another reason. I've been trying to figure it out. I come across it over and over and sometimes the difference in stature is very marked.

It may be iconographical... if she is his love interest, that would connect her to Venus, and if it is "Venus" in the allegorical sense, then she would be given reasonably nice clothes and higher "status" which would be indicated by being taller and sometimes better dressed and sometimes older.

So that was one idea... the other is that quite a few of these stories (and guides to the young) are about young men courting older women or rather, young women being courted by even younger men and, once again, this would result in her being drawn bigger than him. The image seems rather strange to modern eyes, but marriages were arranged, and you had to marry off your older daughters first or they might not get married at all. Or, it may be an allusion to Venus as a representation of sex/love (the generic love interest).


So... I'm not certain about the reasons, but I've seen so many images of courting couples where the women is specifically drawn larger I finally realized there might be some social reason for it.