The Voynich Ninja

With the recent attention for large plants mnemonics, I had a look at some of them again and saw something peculiar on You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. . 
First of all, in the top of the plant, we see that the flowers (?) or fruits and branches there are strangely symmetrical. This isn't unique in the MS, but there was a certain balanced quality to them that gave me pause.

I recognized immediately in the centre, rather unmistakably, the shape of the lyre. That's the easy part.
Now around this "lyre", are two hardly visible, remarkably thin and empty branches. They reminded me of two laurel branches, perhaps even positioned to evoke the shape of a laurel wreath together.
Finally, the two remaining branches form two horizontal, curved lines. They look like a composite bow (in relaxed position).



The lyre, laurel and bow are the main attributes of Apollo. In the beginning I thought the composite bow was a bit anachronistic, but apparently bows of that shape have even been found in Tutanchamun's tomb, and various forms of them were known all around the world and throughout the ages. So this should be compatible with a wide range of views on the manuscript as well.

Another symbol of Apollo was the raven, though I'm not sure if and how that is present in the plant. The berries that look like eyes? I'll pass on that one.

Apart from that, I have no idea which plant this could be. Might the brownish color of the leaves indicate that they are used in a dried condition? Laurel itself does not have serrated edges like that. All ideas and suggestions are welcome

(27-09-2016, 10:01 PM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.With the recent attention for large plants mnemonics, I had a look at some of them again and saw something peculiar on You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. . 
First of all, in the top of the plant, we see that the flowers (?) or fruits and branches there are strangely symmetrical. This isn't unique in the MS, but there was a certain balanced quality to them that gave me pause.

I recognized immediately in the centre, rather unmistakably, the shape of the lyre. That's the easy part.
Now around this "lyre", are two hardly visible, remarkably thin and empty branches. They reminded me of two laurel branches, perhaps even positioned to evoke the shape of a laurel wreath together.
Finally, the two remaining branches form two horizontal, curved lines. They look like a composite bow (in relaxed position).



The lyre, laurel and bow are the main attributes of Apollo. In the beginning I thought the composite bow was a bit anachronistic, but apparently bows of that shape have even been found in Tutanchamun's tomb, and various forms of them were known all around the world and throughout the ages. So this should be compatible with a wide range of views on the manuscript as well.

Another symbol of Apollo was the raven, though I'm not sure if and how that is present in the plant. The berries that look like eyes? I'll pass on that one.

Apart from that, I have no idea which plant this could be. Might the brownish color of the leaves indicate that they are used in a dried condition? Laurel itself does not have serrated edges like that. All ideas and suggestions are welcome

I've been wondering about this as well. It reminded me of a lyre bird (those extra "branches" could suggest feathers) but I couldn't reconcile that with the plant because lyre birds are from Australia, which was unknown to the west at that time and I'm not aware of any specific connection between lyre birds and plants that might show up in a manuscript.

It also occurred to me that the bare branches might not be mnemonic, that they might be naturalistic. There are a number of plants that retain the bare seed branches into the next year, after the berries/seeds have fallen and even after the next year's fruiting branches have grown.

I see what you mean JKP, this could certainly be the case.

Two more things I forgot to ask. Could the parts on top represent some kind of pods that are opening? Or just fruits on branches?

And secondly, if there is an allusion to the laurel, could the color of the leaves be meant for gold? Laurel wreaths have always been known in gold form, they were the original crowns.

(27-09-2016, 10:36 PM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I see what you mean JKP, this could certainly be the case.

Two more things I forgot to ask. Could the parts on top represent some kind of pods that are opening? Or just fruits on branches?

And secondly, if there is an allusion to the laurel, could the color of the leaves be meant for gold? Laurel wreaths have always been known in gold form, they were the original crowns.

Yes, good point about the laurel wreaths. They figure prominently in many cultures and medieval illustrations.

Here are a couple of  snaphshots of English laurel (Prunus laurocerasus), a Eurasian plant that has naturalized in western Europe and North America, that resembles Laurus in a number of ways and also has some commonalities with the VMS plant drawing.

You can see the fruits branching to either side, the old (brown) fruiting branch from the previous year, and a new growth fruiting branch that has had all the fruit picked off by birds (which might be another explanation for the "feathery" bare branches). It also has serrated leaves but they are slightly less pointed than the Mediterranean laurel.

   



The leaves do turn yellow in fall, but I don't think it's distinctive enough to account for the yellow coloring in the VMS plant, since many plants turn yellow. You may be right that there's another explanation for the yellow/brown coloring that might be mnemonic.

If the VMS plant is some species of laurel or a plant like this Prunus "laurel" that resembles true laurel (Mediterranean laurel), then the round fruits are probably berries.

JKP,  also think it's probably something laurel-like, though perhaps not true laurel. The main argument against that is the serrate leaf edges. Laurel leaves can have a bit of a waviness to their edge that makes them appear serrate, but that feels like a stretch.



It seems likely to me that it may be something that was used *like* laurel and may have been called "... laurel" locally. 

An argument in favor is that bay leaves (any aromatic leaf used for cooking) often turn brownish when dried, which is how they are often sold.

You're right about the leaf margins on Laurus being not typically serrate (it's more of a ruffled-leaf illusion of serration) and the VMS illustrator has gone to some trouble to show the leaves as serrate. The Prunus "laurel" is serrated enough that it feels like little teeth when you run your finger along the edge.

If the drawing is intended to show one of the laurel-like plants, then emphasizing the serrations could make it clear that it's specifically not Laurus, but then the brown coloration (which is typical of dried bay laurel) and the other possible conenctions don't seem as strong.


The plant also looks like a number of North American plants but I can't think of a reason why any of them would be depicted as brown. They're generally toxic and not used as food and only somewhat used for medicinal purposes.

One thing I haven't reconciled about this VMS plant is the opposite leaves. Most of the true laurels and laurel look-alikes have lightly alternate leaves.

I think there is a lot to say in favor of this being some laurel equivalent, but I have not found a convincing type with serrate leaves.

There is something to say in favor of Indian bay leaf. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
- It's got a lot of additional uses: culinary, medicinal, carpentry... 
- Its leaves are opposite.
- It turns brown when dried.
- Its berries are of a light color before ripening. (The exact positioning of the berries is almost certainly mnemonic)
- It is known as an equivalent of laurel.

The leaves are harvested by pruning the tree or cutting off the tips of twigs, which would make the VM drawing a very acceptable rendering of the market place product, assuming that the root is added (or even represents a larger branch).

The main argument against this ID is that the leaves are not serrate, but like in other types of bay leaves they can appear serrate when dried.

This coin also reminded me of the structure on this folio. Apparently it's some kind of form of Isis' headdress with ears of corn.