4 hours ago
short version: the plants aren't actually named in the text.
Assume that local plant names changed from one town to the next, which was a real danger for apothecaries trying not to mix up herbs.
The idea: this is built as a practical two-part workshop manual to get around that exact problem. The drawings do all the heavy lifting to show you which plant you're looking at, while the text is just a stripped-down guild shorthand that skips names completely and only tells you how to prepare, dry, or mix the ingredients.
That might explain some of the issues on the pages, like why the labels next to the pharmaceutical jars don't match the unique opening words on the full plant pages, and instead (possibly) repeat common preparation words. It also might explain why the star labels in the Zodiac rings use words commonly found elsewhere, while the actual calendar months had to be written out in normal European letters.
Just throwing this out there as an idea for those who are far more knowledgeable than me. I am not a researcher or versed in heavy analysis etc.
Assume that local plant names changed from one town to the next, which was a real danger for apothecaries trying not to mix up herbs.
The idea: this is built as a practical two-part workshop manual to get around that exact problem. The drawings do all the heavy lifting to show you which plant you're looking at, while the text is just a stripped-down guild shorthand that skips names completely and only tells you how to prepare, dry, or mix the ingredients.
That might explain some of the issues on the pages, like why the labels next to the pharmaceutical jars don't match the unique opening words on the full plant pages, and instead (possibly) repeat common preparation words. It also might explain why the star labels in the Zodiac rings use words commonly found elsewhere, while the actual calendar months had to be written out in normal European letters.
Just throwing this out there as an idea for those who are far more knowledgeable than me. I am not a researcher or versed in heavy analysis etc.