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+--- Thread: Discussion of the Konstellations (/thread-1265.html)
Discussion of the Konstellations - Koen G - 08-12-2016
I have been studying Quire 13 for many months now, and have written quite a lot about it. I thought it would be a good idea to make a thread where I can share the results of my analyses. And hopefully discuss your comments, questions, criticisms or additional ideas.
I decided to do my own "Jackson sequence" and call these things Konstellations because my name starts with a K. There is a good reason to not call them "constellations" because they diverge from standard depictions in a relatively consistent way.
What?
A Konstellation is two things at once, a synthesis of:
- A scene in an Ovidian myth, part of a narrative sequence that spans one or two pages.
- A depiction of an Aratean constellation.
Why?
I don't know - we will only be sure when we can read the text. It is known that myth and constellations have had a symbiotic relationship since times immemorial, and they were often transmitted together. See for example the Aratea tradition and the works of popular authors like Ovid and Hyginus. We also know that quite a number of Roman authors, like Cicero, made (creative) translations of Aratus' poem. The translation of Greek astronomical works was seen as a rite of passage or a matter of prestige, and many of these works survived into the middel ages, where they were translated and/or adapted again. We also know that many works have been lost.
All I know is that likely the VM images emerged from this fertile soil which, during many centuries, inspired men to write about stars and myths. It is no wonder that many Hellenistic myths were catasterisms, myths explaining the origins of constellations.
Obviously, the Voynich is different than anything we know. Whether that is because we are witnessing the last survivor of a lost tradition or an individual's creative effort is beside the point here - both remain possible, given the right source texts.
Where?
Konstellations are only found in a subset of Quire 13 folios. This subset has been distinguished by a number of previous researchers: Claston, Pelling, VViews...
The folios are: 76(v), 77, 79, 80, 82, 83. The direction of the stories is almost always right to left (!). From this subset, I am not certain whether 77, 82 and 83 follow the exact same pattern, so I will not discuss them here. That leaves five folios as the subject of this thread: 76v, 79r, 79v, 80r, 80v. The arrangement of the bifolios allows for the option that these pages were once grouped, though this is not strictly a prerequisite.
Overview
These are the stories I have analyzed in depth so far:
- f79r Ceyx and Alcyone: Ceyx' ship is destroyed in a storm, Iris is sent to the realm of Sleep, Morpheus tells Alcyone the news that her husband is dead.
- f79v Scylla and Glaucus: Glaucus, a "merman", is in love with Scylla. He asks the witch Circe for a love potion. Circe is jealous and turns Scylla into a monster/rock instead.
- f80r Philomela (part 1)
- f76v Philomela (part 2)
- f80v Callisto
I am fairly certain (90%) about the following constellations so far. I do not include those with less certainty yet:
- f76v Ara, Engonasin (Hercules), Lyra, Cygnus, Equus. Scorpio's tail is hinted at above Ara.
- f79r Perseus, Aries, Auriga, Gemini, Libra, Ophiuchus. Also both Equinoxes are marked. Locations of in-between constellations are marked with dots but not depicted.
- f79v Argo Navis, Piscis Austrinus, Triangulum, Delphinus, Sagitta
- f80r Scorpio, Pisces, Virgo, Aquarius, Leo, Taurus
- f80v Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Draco, Bootes, Orion, Cetus, Lepus, Canis, Corvus-Hydra-Crater
The analysis of each Konstellation requires consulting primary sources. Those who collected myths, like Ovid and Hyginus, and those who described the constellations and their relative positions, like Aratus and Manilius. And many constellation manuscripts, like Aratus Latinus. These findings are not the result of free association, but of many hours of work. Fun, but work nonetheless.
The difficulty of communicating these findings is that - as is so often the case in Voynich studies - there is no complete visual parallel. I hope that by presenting the Konstellations in this thread, you will get an idea of the degree of consistency and the scope of this brilliant synthesis. With each discovery, my admiration for the person who made this has grown. It is like a dense poem, where each line says many things at once. Only, this is a poem of myths and constellation images.
Some of the earlier analyses on my blog have been made in the early stages, and they don't always reflect what I know now. For the time being, I would like to refer to my most recent posts, which analyze the constellation level of f79r in detail, and with a more mature understanding of the imagery.
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I will add individual examples to this thread in the next days, but for now this general introduction will do. I will of course gladly answer any questions or remarks already.
RE: Discussion of the Konstellations - Davidsch - 09-12-2016
About 33% of what you write is similar to my research. You are too much focused on Ovid: your view is blurred.
RE: Discussion of the Konstellations - Koen G - 09-12-2016
(09-12-2016, 12:14 PM)Davidsch Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.About 33% of what you write is similar to my research. You are too much focused on Ovid: your view is blurred.
That's a rather strong statement. Care to provide some examples?
Also, do you imply that I am plagiarizing you for 33%? Or rather that you agree for 33%? Which points exactly?
RE: Discussion of the Konstellations - Davidsch - 09-12-2016
Not really strong, just an observation. Plagiarizing? What do you mean.
Now i have a little bit more time. What i meant was that the Ovid focus you have, is dominating your view.
Perhaps you do not like me writing that. But I am only trying to help you with additional information.
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18 known as Ovid a Roman poet
If you look at for example Aristotle, recently mentioned here on the forum.
From 384 BC is of a much older period and still under huge interest during the 1400-1700 period.
The works of Ovid are a good basis but, as i wrote on the Aristotle thread as well,
by focusing only on two things: OVID + VMS, that will give an subjective view, but there is so much more.
If you look at the Italian view on the fact that the Rinascimento (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.)
you see that there was a time where one sought rehabilitation on the classical (Greec & Roman) mythical stories.
This revival of such interest manifested itself by several manuscript writings. (see the wiki article f.e.)
Although I only show you the Italian version and the changes there, this European cultural shift happened in many other countries in a similar way.
During the 1400-s if you study in Paris or Mainz and you live in Rome or in Canterbury: you touch all those flavors and styles.
RE: Discussion of the Konstellations - Koen G - 09-12-2016
I see what you mean now. Well, like I tried to explain in the first post of this thread, in the beginning - in the enthusiasm of finding new leads - I did overly focus on Ovid as an author.
But it is like you say, these authors have remained popular, especially in renaissance circles. I believe we are looking at the kind of material that was hugely popular in the Hellenistic period, later with the Romans, and all the way through the middle ages - and even still today in schools.
Since at the moment I don't know which specific version or adaptation of this material we are dealing with, my options are limited when it comes to primary texts. Hence, I consult those authors whose works have been best preserved throughout the centuries. Even from a strictly medieval viewpoint, these primary texts remain important since versions of them were copied by the dozens.
I might also add, before moving on to concrete examples, that being an author did not always mean what it means today. People like Ovid did add their own creativity, but they still relied heavily on the body of myths and other material that existed in their time, and the Greeks before them. We know that Ovid used a whole bunch of sources, though most of those are unknown or have been lost. For example, he made extensive use of a collection of myths about people changing into birds.
So what I'm saying is that this comes from the fertile pool of material that existed in antiquity and subsequent centuries. Ovid is just one exceptionally prominent witness of those myths.
RE: Discussion of the Konstellations - Koen G - 09-12-2016
Example #1
/Under reconstruction/
RE: Discussion of the Konstellations - Linda - 10-12-2016
(09-12-2016, 09:01 PM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Example #1: Virgo
Virgo is very often depicted holding some kind of vegetation: flowers or ears of corn. In the constellation, this attribute is called spica, and it goes back to the classical origins of the figure in female goddesses of the harvest like Demeter and Persephone.
or Hecate. again a virgin goddess, ruling over the skies, the earth, and the sea.
or perhaps the tripartite version, incorporating Demeter & Persephone, which would add agriculture and seasons,
and has also been linked with other triples such as the spinners of fate (hey we just talked about them), the
charities, the graces, etc.
along with other goddesses and their various incarnations, Artemis/Diana (the latter a triple herself), for instance,
adding animals and childbirth, while maintaining the virgin status.
perhaps thusly connecting to other triumvirates and trinities.
Also I believe this is actually the first nymph of the quire if the pages are reordered, perhaps she is ushering in the
history of everything? looking at some of the concepts I just mentioned, Genesis comes to mind.
RE: Discussion of the Konstellations - Koen G - 10-12-2016
Exactly, Linda. As you can see from the Eratosthenes quote I included, even the ancients themselves were already overwhelmed by the amount of options
All this is related to the concept of interpretatio graeca, which basically implies that polytheistic religions had a tendency to see the gods of other peoples as different versions of their own. That is why it was perfectly normal for the Egyptian Isis to become associated with young women from the Greco-Roman pantheon and so on.
I think you may be right about the Virgo figure being the focal point of the folio and perhaps even the significance of its placement.
RE: Discussion of the Konstellations - Koen G - 10-12-2016
A new day, a new Konstellation.
Example #2: Aquarius
Let's stick with the constellations of the Zodiac first, since those are the most familiar. The Aquarius figure is relatively straightforward.
First of all, in some traditions (Al Sufi) Aquarius just holds the stream of water in his hand, just like in the VM:
However, as usual, the base of the figure gives a hint about the constellation. So here is Aquarius' urn:
On the mythological layer, this nymph represents Philomela who decides to, literally and metaphorically, pick up the thread of her life story and weave it into a pattern. So we see a woman touching the line that comes from the other figures on the folio, and where she touches it, the pattern changes. Another beautiful synthesis.
RE: Discussion of the Konstellations - Linda - 10-12-2016
(10-12-2016, 12:19 PM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.On the mythological layer, this nymph represents Philomela who decides to, literally and metaphorically, pick up the thread of her life story and weave it into a pattern. So we see a woman touching the line that comes from the other figures on the folio, and where she touches it, the pattern changes. Another beautiful synthesis.
interesting that weaving has come up again, see rainbows thread.