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What is unique or rare about the VM Zodiac signs? - Printable Version

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RE: What is unique or rare about the VM Zodiac signs? - -JKP- - 09-12-2017

Koen, now that I'm a little more awake than I was late (very late) last night, I remembered that it's Gemini that has the boot laces. Boot laces in zodiac imagery are rare to begin with, in Gemini probably very rare (especially considering that many Gemini figures are nude), but I'll check to be certain.


As for Diane requesting dates, most of the examples of zodiac imagery, except for historic mosaics and Egyptian sources are from the 10th century to about 1500 (usually about 1460). The one unusual example of a bowman in a handwritten manuscript from 1540 (and identified as such) is later than I usually sample, but probably is relevant because it clearly follows older traditions rather than the new printing-press traditions.

RE: What is unique or rare about the VM Zodiac signs? - -JKP- - 09-12-2017

As for the maneless lion with blue spots, there's nothing quite like it in zodiac imagery, only a few blue ones and none with spots. The Arabic ones are mostly harvest colors and often have a rider. So no direct parallels...

...but, for the record, I noted a panther painted blue with spots under the paint in an English bestiary from c. 1300 (Kongelige Bibliotek, Gl. kgl. S. 3466 8º). Note that the illustrator put spots or spotty fur tufts on almost everything... dragons, wolves, cats, cattle, etc. There's even a donkey with blue spots.

This is in the same manuscript that has a blue lion in the same pose as the VMS (which was brought to our attention by another poster, possibly Ellie V). It's a mirror image, but having the tail poke straight up from inside the legs, in conjunction with the lifted far paw, is not a common pose (you can find a green spotted cat, not mirrored, in Pal. Lat. 291 with the back legs reversed, c. 1425).
 

  [Image: timg740.jpg][Image: tn_Kongelige_Bibliotek,_Gl._kgl._S._3466...io_17v.jpg]  [Image: img770.jpg]  [Image: img761.jpg]


Pal. Lat. 291 (southern Germany) also has a zodiac wheel with many of the same attributes as the VMS (clothed Gemini, crayfish, leg-tail lion, no-hand scales, 2-legged archer, long-horned Taurus):

[Image: PalLat291Wheel.png]

Since the Pal. Lat. series has been scoured for zodiacs by many people other than myself, I'm assuming this specific wheel has been noted by others, as well, but it seems particularly relevant to this thread.

Note that it does not have the crossbow, lizard-Scorpio, or lyre-shaped horns. Not identical, but it is closer to the VMS than others (and one which suggests that maybe there was a common source for certain of these zodiac images). It also has rainbows on 116r (in rybg sequence, which is actually somewhat uncommon). It also has the "pocket-tail" chaperone in the month's labors.

RE: What is unique or rare about the VM Zodiac signs? - Koen G - 09-12-2017

Marco once posted a superb Leo parallel from a bestiary-like scene, but I'm unable to retrieve it at the moment. I remember that I found it superior to other parallels, though the style was still different.

Anyway, for the thread I'd add: 
Gemini unique: laced boots
Sagittarius unique: idle crossbowman (not aiming, shooting, reloading...)

Scorpio RARE: four mammalian legs.

I'd first have considered this unique, but both Marco (left) and JKP have posted an example before:
   

RE: What is unique or rare about the VM Zodiac signs? - -JKP- - 09-12-2017

This is not zodiac imagery, it's from the Aberdeen bestiary (c. 1200), but since blue spotted cats are uncommon, I thought it might be of interest.

The cat on the left is a tiger, the one on the right, a leopard (pardo):

         


Also, vis-vis the long-horned VMS bull, to give an idea of how people around 1200 in the British Isles depicted the Ibex, also from the bestiary, here is a dive-bombing Ibex with claws on the front and hoofs on the back, with straight horns. I'm assuming it's drawn this way because they are likening it to a mountain goat, an animal with which they are more familiar:

   

RE: What is unique or rare about the VM Zodiac signs? - MarcoP - 09-12-2017

Hi Koen,
here are a few general considerations.

* I don't know how deep we want to go into "who first said what" (that's always tricky) but we could mention the site of Stephen Bax, when referencing contributions that were originally discussed there (e.g. the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. you found in BAV Reg Lat.1324, the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. in BNF NAL 3191, the standing Scorpio in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. pointed out by Ellie). I am sure that Stephen doesn't care, yet I think it would be nice to remember that he encouraged a lot of research in this field. We will unavoidably be partly duplicating work done there.

* I will repeat myself: joining different features together blurs things. If, in a corpus of 100 zodiacs, two independent features each occur 15 times each, we can expect them to occur together only 2 times and a single occurrence, or no occurrence, would not be a surprise. If they truly are independent (i.e. if there is no evidence that they tend to appear together) they should be discussed independently and the rarity of their co-occurrence should be regarded as normal. E.g. an increase in the number of symbols of the signs is observed in a very limited number of sources: it is not a frequent phenomenon. Cancer as a crayfish is rarer than Cancer as crab, but it is not uncommon. There is no evidence that the increased number of symbols is correlated with Cancer being illustrated as a crayfish or a crab. All the cases in which signs are reduplicated in an arbitrary way are of potential relevance (but I agree that cases in which the signs are systematically reduplicated, like NAL 3191, are different, while still interesting). Similarly, blue lions and spotted lions are both rare. It's normal that their co-occurrence is exceptional. Independently discussing and researching blue lions and spotted lions is more likely to produce meaningful results (finding enough examples of both, this search could also prove that the two are correlated, after all).

* Dresses are not likely to be strongly related with the specific illustrations and should probably be discussed separately in a "Voynich costumes" thread. Costumes were adjusted according to fashion. They are of course extremely informative, but the fact that Sagittarius wears baggy leaves and the male Gemini doesn't could well be irrelevant.

* You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. by Olga Koseleff Gordon (1963) is available online. It is a short paper: 12 pages, 3 of which are illustrations. I think it is the single most relevant paper I have found, since it discusses two European examples, not too far in time. Some of the unusual features are also present in the VMS. It is also interesting to see the level of detail appropriate for discussion in an academic work.

* "You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.: Occupations of the Months and Signs of the Zodiac in the Index of Christian Art" by Colum Hourihane (2007) can be read on google books (but with no access to the illustrations). The descriptions of the single signs can be helpful in understanding what is relevant / irrelevant and what is common / uncommon.


Some notes on the specific signs:

Aries
On the forum, the similarity  of two Aries animals with goats rather than rams has been mentioned several times. It is not a unique feature, yet it is interesting and some seem to consider it particularly important: it is certainly worth mentioning.  A similar example is discussed by  Koseleff Gordon in the paper mentioned above (Aries in Morgan M.700, England, ca. 1325-1330, is illustrated by "two kids"). Other goat-like Aries can be seen on You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..
The fact that the Voynich Aries animals look like goats was discussed in 2004 by You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. Richards seems to attribute the idea to Dana Scott. I think that this important observation can be credited to these three people, until we find traces of earlier discussions.

For Aries and Taurus, one should also note that the month (or zodiac sign) appears to have been split into two pages, each including 15 nymphs (while each of the other zodiac signs has 29-30 nymphs). In both cases, the animal in one of the medallions is lighter than the other.

Gemini
Male-Male / Male-Female and Dressed / Undressed Gemini seem to be one of those couples of features whose rarity depends on combination (i.e. all the four combinations are possible). The Male-Male combination (dressed or undressed) corresponds to the classical brothers Castor and Pollux. Naked Male-Female Gemini are particularly reminiscent of Adam and Eve, as noted by Hourihane, Dressed Male-Female Gemini are comparable with the amorous "labours" illustrating Spring months.
Examples of dressed Male-Female Gemini can be seen on You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.:
MS Ludwig XII 8 (Germany, 1464 ca)
ONB cod. 1842 Brevier (Poland, 1400-1427)
Getty Ms. 34 (Bologna, 1389 and 1404)
Lund Astronomical Clock, (Sweden, c1380 or 1424) [reported by Darren Worley]
Pal. Germ 148 (Bavaria, 1430-50) [reported by Ellie Velinska]
(this list is not exhaustive)

Cancer
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. has made some interesting comments about the double-double-Cancer in BNF NAL 3191. His idea is that the consistent reduplication of signs in the manuscript could correspond to the diurnal / nocturnal aspects of the signs. The fact that the reduplication is not constant is still puzzling (e.g.  there are 4 symbols -crayfish- for Cancer, three lions for Leo, two maidens for Virgo). But the night-and-day idea seems to explain some details in the Paris ms, including the red/black crayfish. It is interesting that the same colour pattern appears in the VMS. See also the light/dark Aries and Taurus.

Scorpio
Reptilian Scorpio illustrations are rather limited in their geographic location. The only Italian example I am aware of is a mosaic (1165 ca) in the Norman Otranto cathedral. I have never seen Italian examples closer in time to the VMS nor in Italian manuscripts.

Sagittarius
A well know fact is that a Sagittarius with crossbow is extremely rare. More: it is completely unknown before 1400 ca and outside German-speaking regions.
The fully-human Sagittarius is rather rare per se (at least in earlier sources).

(09-12-2017, 03:26 AM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Is this the only "idle" Sagittarius? All others I've seen are aiming. The hallmark of the Sagittarius appears to be his intention to shoot, while this one is just blissfully smiling, bow half pointed down.

Astronomically, considering the shape of the Sagittarius constellation from which the zodiac sign derives, the arms and arrow should be more or less orthogonal to the body of the archer: the "correct" Ptolemaic illustration is a shooting figure. We can say that shooting is indeed his hallmark.
The "idle" Sagittarius can be seen as one of the "genre scenes" discussed by You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.: a departure from constellation images that makes the illustration closer to the "labours of the months" that often appeared together with the zodiac signs.

Examples of this typology were posted on the site of Stephen Bax (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.).
[Image: 164161.jpg]

In 2000, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (who also collected and translated Stolot's statement) noticed that the Voynich Sagittarius looked like a "jovial hunter" in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. While I believe his idea cannot be "proved", it does explain the change in character of the zodiac sign: it was imbued with the benign character of its ruling planet (Jupiter).

Most of the Jovial Sagittarius examples appear in the context of planetary illustrations. In Darren's 1475 example, the identification of the sign with  the planet is particularly clear.
Another jovial Sagittarius (in a completely different pose) appears in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (1475).

[PS: for Sagittarius with crossbow, see also the files attached here. In the meantime, a discussion with Rene and JKP pointed out that ONB  cod. 1842 is somehow later than I thought, but still 1427 or before]

RE: What is unique or rare about the VM Zodiac signs? - Koen G - 09-12-2017

Marco, thanks for this wealth of information. I will try to integrate them into the topic when I have more time.

Some questions: 
  • Do I understand it correctly that the idle crossbowman is a type that's only attested in later documents than the VM? In that case it seems worth adding this to the notes for Sagittarius. 
  • I agree with your objection that we shouldn't combine too many variables into one, but I don't think combining two features is exaggerated. Male+female and clothed/nude are two of the most important Gemini properties. If you combine them, you divide the entire set of Geminis into four major groups. If it then turns out, like JKP reports, that the VM's group is the rarest (or the most common, or...) this information seems valuable. 
  • About 'who said what', this information can be added as we go along. I've just been adding the names of the person who reported the trait or who found the parallel, to my best knowledge. Generally I don't want to spend too much time on this since managing the contents of the thread already takes a chunk out of my spare time. I've already asked a handful of people whether they want to help out with this thread and any similar ones but so far there has only been understandable hesitation Smile
  • The Aries looking goatlike: would you consider this "rare" or just notable?


RE: What is unique or rare about the VM Zodiac signs? - MarcoP - 09-12-2017

(09-12-2017, 07:47 PM)Koen Gh. Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Koen Gh. Wrote:
Marco, thanks for this wealth of information. I will try to integrate them into the topic when I have more time.

Some questions:
Do I understand it correctly that the idle crossbowman is a type that's only attested in later documents than the VM? In that case it seems worth adding this to the notes for Sagittarius.


This "idle" feature is something I have never searched for specifically. At the moment, the closest I can think of is the Soisson Sagittarius (an image mentioned by Diane several times).

Quote:I agree with your objection that we shouldn't combine too many variables into one, but I don't think combining two features is exaggerated. Male+female and clothed/nude are two of the most important Gemini properties. If you combine them, you divide the entire set of Geminis into four major groups. If it then turns out, like JKP reports, that the VM's group is the rarest (or the most common, or...) this information seems valuable.

If these things are not actually counted (with numbers and references) how can we know?

Quote:About 'who said what', this information can be added as we go along. I've just been adding the names of the person who reported the trait or who found the parallel, to my best knowledge. Generally I don't want to spend too much time on this since managing the contents of the thread already takes a chunk out of my spare time. I've already asked a handful of people whether they want to help out with this thread and any similar ones but so far there has only been understandable hesitation Smile


Yes, it's a lot of (boring) work. I would appreciate if you wrote somewhere visible that most of the things I contribute were originally posted on the site of Stephen Bax.

Quote:The Aries looking goatlike: would you consider this "rare" or just notable?

"rare" in what context? Christian zodiacs of the XIV and XV Century? World art history of all times? I would say "rare" (in medieval European times), but how meaningful is my feeling?
In particular, I think that Aries is typically represented in such a way that its horns mimic the astrological symbol of the zodiac sign (not parallel, as in the VMS and Morgan M.700). This is easier to check than goat-like / ram-like. I will try to do some counting when I have time. Maybe we should collect a set of these boolean yes/no features, so they can be counted in a batch, going through only once a fixed set of zodiac cycles (then we can say, this occurs x% of the time, in that corpus)?

RE: What is unique or rare about the VM Zodiac signs? - -JKP- - 09-12-2017

Out of 500+ zodiac series (the reason I don't give the exact number, which is around 520, is because I am always searching for more, and because a few of the cycles are incomplete, some of the manuscripts are missing pages and others have been defaced, with some of the zodiac symbols cut out):

Typical or common:
Pisces facing in opposite directions: 95%
Pisces with a line coming from the mouth: 83%

Uncommon or unusual:
Pisces with distinctively long noses: 8%
Blue Pisces: 12% (most are shades of gray or brown/buff)
Pisces with the line outside the fish instead of between them, unique to the VMS, as far as I know except for one where the line is between but also extends a short way beyond the mouth to the outside (not really like the VMS) and a few in the Aratus tradition where the line is an S-shape, both inside and outside the fish (e.g., eCodices Cod. 88 Aratus and Leiden VLQ 79).
Pisces with a star attached to the line, unique to the VMS, as far as I know.




Some addendums:

Addition to the sharp-tongue lion. I just noticed the tongue on Egerton 848 is also pretty sharp.

The Leo in Ms. Lat. 7028 has the tail through the leg, sticking straight up, and a front paw raised. Also spots along the back.


Germ.Fol.244 Taurus has long curved horns (reverse lyre-shaped).

RE: What is unique or rare about the VM Zodiac signs? - davidjackson - 09-12-2017

Back to the crossbow.
Some years ago I pointed out that liber 
Chronicarium shows what is not only a rare printed crossbow man -as opposed to the many illustrations depicted elsewhere- but also showed him as crawling.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
The point, of course, is that this is part of the centro European tradition, not that it had anything obvious to do with the VM.

RE: What is unique or rare about the VM Zodiac signs? - Koen G - 09-12-2017

Marco: I'm copying in the links to Stephen's blog etc you provided, it should be more polished soon.

JKP: do you happen to know which French manuscript the "standing Scorpio" came from?