The Voynich Ninja
Is the archer a "foreigner"? - Printable Version

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Is the archer a "foreigner"? - Koen G - 11-06-2018

I was researching a blog post about the crossbowman during the last few weeks (as you may have guessed) but it became too chaotic and the avenues too diverse, so I thought I'd just post this bit as a thread.

In comparing the VM crossbowman to other human Sagittarii, we noticed a few differences. The crossbow is one thing, and another is his pointy beard. Seemingly without a moustache, though this is hard to tell since the VM isn't too keen on facial hair - which makes it all the more remarkable.

Now if you look at the other Sagittarius crossbowmen in particular, you'll see that non of them have a beard (at least that we can see). And indeed this is the rule for human Sagittarii and many medieval archers and crossbowmen in general.

However, while researching a related aspect, I started noticing a pattern in images of the martyrdom of saint Sebastian. According to folklore, Sebastian was punished by being tied to a tree (or pillar,..) and shot at by "Mauritanian archers". Mauritania is In Northern Africa, comparable to the modern Maghreb. I have not yet been able to find out when and how exactly the Mauritanian archers part entered the story, but it makes some sense since indeed around the time of Sebastian's life, archers in the Roman army were often Mauritanians.

Now I'm not sure if Mauritania in itself is of any importance; what we see in a large portion of Sebastian imagery is that at least one of the archers is made to look "foreign", whether that be Southern or Eastern. Some examples:

   

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  2. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (North Italy?)
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  4. 15thC German
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Some versions of this (very common) scene have all bearded archers, some have none, others have one or two guys with the typical pointy beard. My point is that it's relatively easy to find archers with the VM crossbowman's facial hair style here, and it appears to be connected to the "foreignness" of the figure. Additionally, these foreign figures are more likely to be marked by a large hat unlike the other Sagttarii, who either wear no hat or a "robin hood" type. Note the headgear of the bottom right image.

And that's how far I got. So basically, is it possible that the VM Crossbowman is marked as a foreigner/Southerner from a European perspective?

RE: Is the archer a "foreigner"? - Paris - 12-06-2018

We have similar crossbowmen in Europe.

1) In France we have the "Livre de chasse" = hunting book written in 1387 by Gaston Phebus, count of Foix (South West of France).
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2) We have also British crossbowmen who are similar to those of VMS.
The title of the book : "les vigiles de la mort de Charles VII" = the guards of the death of Charles VII (king of France during the first half of the fifteenth century), written in 1483.
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RE: Is the archer a "foreigner"? - Koen G - 12-06-2018

Paris: I am specifically talking about the pointed beard, which is missing from other Sagittarius illustrations. In other bowman images, it appears to mark the figure as a foreigner. 

It's basically a question about art history. If you draw a man, you might choose to give him a beard or not based on your personal taste. But before modernity, such things usually meant something. Facial hair just like clothing denotes types of characters.


I made a thread about Livre de Chasse not so long ago: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. . As I showed there, it also featured some pointy-bearded archers:
[Image: attachment.php?aid=2156]

Since Phébus lived at the border with Spain and he supervised the manufacture of all source manuscripts himself, it is possible that these bearded crossbowmen came from the south as well.

RE: Is the archer a "foreigner"? - davidjackson - 12-06-2018

Taking this from a different angle, it's generally claimed that the 15th century fashion was for clean shaven faces, or light facial hair, after a "peak beard" fashion was hit in the late 14th century. The illustrator may simple have been drawing the familiar.

RE: Is the archer a "foreigner"? - MarcoP - 12-06-2018

Of course, everything is possible, but I am not convinced the Voynch Sagittarius has a beard and I am much less convinced that a beard meant "foreigner" in the early XV Century. This is clearly a cultural phenomenon, strictly correlated with the fashion and customs of a time and place. For instance, see the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..

But it is not impossible that the Voynich Sagittarius was meant to have a blonde beard. I believe that, if it is not a peculiar chin, it is a beard with two points, like the examples from Tacuinum Sanitatis BNF NAL 1673, Lombardy, 1390-1400.

   

Beards from a time closer to the VMS: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., France, 1400-1425.

   

Years ago, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. clearly stated that the costume is typical of XV Century Europe.
   

RE: Is the archer a "foreigner"? - -JKP- - 12-06-2018

Some brief notes on the archer's proportions:

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Hats and tunics similar to the VMS:

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I was looking especially for tunics with wide sleeves and narrow wrists (which are in the minority) and for the long rounded pouchy looking hats. Note there is an updated map (thumbnail) at the very bottom where I added another tunic. The figure from the Trento manuscript has a blond goatee (side view, so I don't know if it's a one-point or two-point beard).

RE: Is the archer a "foreigner"? - Koen G - 12-06-2018

Marco: I don't think any hair should be considered blonde just because it's not colored. They would often just indicate the outline, and the VM is especially guilty of that. The examples you provide can only be read as blond because they have been painted.

I do see how you can read it as a small forked beard. Reminds me of this fellow in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., c. 1405 French.

   

[Image: K90032-13a.jpg]

RE: Is the archer a "foreigner"? - nablator - 25-06-2018

From Varsovie Jagiellonian University Library, Ms. Krakow 793, dated 1458-1459, these illustrations follow the Latin Picatrix, they are found pages 391 and 392 of the PDF: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

RE: Is the archer a "foreigner"? - Koen G - 25-06-2018

Well spotted Nablator, I forgot about that figure, although it's been discussed before (see JKP's post here: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. )

Now the Picatrix is known for its multicultural background (Spanish-Jewish), which comes close to the question I was asking in this thread. 

Maybe my definition of "southerner" should include Spain and southern France. The duke who oversaw the illustrations of the Livre de Chasse lived near the French-Spanish border. The image from Egerton 2709 I posted above depicts an expedition in service of Castile (led by French knights). 

As Marco suggests, the etymology of Lombardy might be relevant as well, though the connection to beards appears to be a folk etymology, see You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Either way, we'd need to know if any connection existed between beards and Lombardy in the Middle Ages. If the article I linked above is to be relied upon, the word had an entirely different meaning back then.

RE: Is the archer a "foreigner"? - MarcoP - 26-06-2018

These Krakow Picatrix illustrations represent the decans. The crossbow appears to have been introduced in the Latin translation. For instance, the text corresponding to p.387 (f194r) appears at p.76 of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..

Et ascendit in tercia facie Geminorum vir lorica indutus, habens balistam et sagittas et pharetram. ...

Et ascendit in prima facie Cancri vir habens digitos et caput tortuosos et obliquos; et eius corpus est simile corpori equi; et pedes albos habens et supra eius corpus folia ficuum. ...

Et ascendit in secunda facie Cancri mulier formosa vultu, et in eius capite myrti viridis coronam habens. et in eius manu perticam arboris que dicitur nenufar ....

Et ascendit in tercia facie Cancri celhafe, et in eius manu colubrum. et ante se cathenas aureas habens. ...

"In the third face (i.e. decan) of Gemini, a man dressed in a coat of mail, with a crossbow, arrows and quiver...

In the first face of Cancer, a man with twisted fingers and head; his body is like that of a horse. His feet are white and, upon his body, there are fig leaves....

In the second face of Cancer, a woman with a beautiful face, upon her head a crown of green mirth and in her hand a branch of the tree called lotus...

In the third face of Cancer, a celhafe with a snake in his had and golden chains in front of him"


Translation from the Arabic by Hashem Atallah:

[Gemini]
The image of a man wearing a shield and carrying a bow and an arrow in its case emerges in its third phase. ....

[Cancer]
Consider the image of a man with curved face and fingers that looks like a horse. He has white feet and tree leaves are attached to his body. ...

There is also the image of a beautiful woman longing for pleasure and singing, wearing a wreath made of green basil on her head and holding a rod of nenuphar  in her hand  ...

The image of a man holding a snake in his hand, having a foot similar to the foot of a turtle, and possessing golden jewelry appears in the third phase of Cancer.