Speaking of the cure being worse than the disease, You are not allowed to view links.
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Login to view. mentioned earlier in the thread is a cure involving a billy goat's liver. I being it up because I think the handwriting looks similar because it's the same hand. I also see similarities in facial structure on the corpse¿ with the yellow spot and the woman on 116v.
It leaves me wondering if the two glyphs on 116v were alone on the pages before the goat cure was added or if it were all added to a blank page. Similarly, if I get rid of the marginalia on 66r the Voynichese still looks like it belongs on the page so maybe that text has nothing to do with the marginalia.
About death and honey.
I read not long ago about a curious custom, by which an aged person volunteered (or so it is said) to end his days by being fed nothing but honey. After some time it suffused the body, and the person began to sweat honey even while starving to death. Then the body was immersed in honey to effectively mummify it, and after some period of time (there will surely be something about this online), the honey-cured flesh was sold as medicine.
Probably somewhere in the east Asian region, I'd guess.
(08-02-2016, 02:58 PM)Diane Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.About death and honey.
I read not long ago about a curious custom, by which an aged person volunteered (or so it is said) to end his days by being fed nothing but honey. After some time it suffused the body, and the person began to sweat honey even while starving to death. Then the body was immersed in honey to effectively mummify it, and after some period of time (there will surely be something about this online), the honey-cured flesh was sold as medicine.
Probably somewhere in the east Asian region, I'd guess.
Nah.
The myth of the "mellified man" was created in 16th century China; they said it was an Arabic custom. It was all just a legend, a hoax, sensationalism, BS, whatever you prefer to call it, it was not a real custom.
Mummy extract (
mummia)
was sold, in many places, throughout the Middle ages and until about the 19th century.
Nothing to do with honey though.
I'm glad that the 'mellified man' is a myth.
About 'mummia' (sometimes as mumia in the texts), it is interesting that until surprisingly late, traders didn't distinguish between bitumen and mummy-derived material.
I think 'mumia-mining' could be a reference in f.86v, though I'm chiefly basing that on the general theme of the manuscript's parts (i.e trade routes and goods), and the shape given the pyramid. That's the vaguely human-shaped thing which some have thought might be volcano, though it is placed in Egypt, a bit back from the harbour.
"y den mus DEP" sounds very solid to me, very nice David !
This is the first full sentence that actually makes sense to me regarding to the marginalia.
Arguments such as year, place, period, letter type consistency with other parts in the MS are NOT valid arguments.
Anyone can see this handwriting is different from the rest of that page.
And who says the handwriting must be the same as any other folio ? Many times, I even saw inconsistent letterring within the same word in other ms.
(05-02-2016, 06:43 AM)crezac Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Speaking of the cure being worse than the disease, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. mentioned earlier in the thread is a cure involving a billy goat's liver.
I don't think that You are not allowed to view links.
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(26-02-2016, 05:10 PM)Anton Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (05-02-2016, 06:43 AM)crezac Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Speaking of the cure being worse than the disease, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. mentioned earlier in the thread is a cure involving a billy goat's liver.
I don't think that You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. deals with goat's liver. You may wish to look through my You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. on the subject.
I agree with Anton, I don't think it's goat's liver either and have also written my thoughts on that (which I don't need to repeat here).
There are several possible interpretations not only of the meaning of the word, but the letters from which it is constructed. The goat liver was a perfectly good suggestion to make in the process of examining it (brainstorming ideas is always good), but it doesn't seem to fit well with the other information on the page.
[font=Arial, Helvetica, San-serif]Frisian word incorporated into English: [/font][font=Arial, Helvetica, San-serif]miel[/font][font=Arial, Helvetica, San-serif] (meal)[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, San-serif]den mud miel - (the mud meal)[/font]
(25-06-2017, 02:14 PM)Searcher Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view....But, first of all, could the word "musmel" be applied to inedible porridge-like substance for external treatment (compress, poultice, etc.)? Although it's not too clear, but one can see a yellow spot on the belly or on the right body side of the figure, in the place, where his/her right hand is.
Yes. Flour, as an ingredient (in porridge and other mixtures), was used both externally for a poultice and internally to soothe the stomach. Honey was used in much the same way. Both are commonly found in herbal remedies.
It's hard to know how to interpret the yellow. It might mean honey, but it might also mean, "The stuff in this pot is supposed to go here in/on the belly." Also, müsmehl was not white, it was a grainy off-white, they had a different name for fine white pastry flour, so the yellow color in the VMS's limited palette could mean grain or it could mean honey.
I don't think there's any way to know for certain if it's one of those two choices (or something else), especially since both honey and grain were cooked and stirred in pots.
How common were "mel" forms exactly in German? Which region and period? I would agree that a reading as honey in Latin or a related is plausible, but German seems far fetched. There are many other languages that use "mel" forms far more frequently.