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Is the VMS homogeneous or a composite work? - Printable Version

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Is the VMS homogeneous or a composite work? - bi3mw - 21-07-2021

It is not clear to me whether the VMS is a work that contains a coherent overall theme from the first to the last page and must therefore be considered homogeneous, or whether it is a matter of self-contained, separate chapters (sections) that were copied from different templates (from different authors). In the latter case the chapters (sections) would have nothing to do with each other. What do you think ?

There are, of course, recurring representations of certain illustrations, e.g. the naked nymphs, across sections, but that could also just be the interpretation of the illustrator of the VMS, suggesting a homogeneity that is not thematically present at all.


RE: Is the VMS homogeneous or a composite work? - Helmut Winkler - 21-07-2021

I think one of the few things obvious in Beinecke 408 is the fact that different sections have diffferent content and that the ms. is not homogeneous, the problem are the questions that  arisie from that fact, for example if glyphs and words have the same meaning in all parts of the ms.


RE: Is the VMS homogeneous or a composite work? - Pythagoras - 21-07-2021

its not clear to me whether the bible is a homogenous or composite work.
but the evidence seems to be it had multiple authors.
the style of depiction of the nymphs and plants are very homogeneous imo.
so if there was a template go by, whered it go? lost to the sands of time? burnt in the library of alexandria. sigh.
and it seems there is some style in common in the text,
so when was it all compiled together?


RE: Is the VMS homogeneous or a composite work? - byatan - 21-07-2021

This is really a philosophical question, might not actually be meaningful. I would consider it a homogenous work in the sense that it's one book, but composite in the sense that the illustrations appear to be in a few diverse classes.


RE: Is the VMS homogeneous or a composite work? - R. Sale - 21-07-2021

If the entire VMs text were just laid out, word after word after word, what would we know? That it varies in certain details. But what of it's over all theme? We know nothing. We might make presumptions according to the illustrations. We can't read the language, but we can try to read the illustrations.

Would a 'book of knowledge', like an personal encyclopedia have an over all theme? Suppose each of the section is paraphrased from a different source. Each section would be heterogeneous while the *all encompassing* purpose of the text would be the homogeneous expansion of knowledge.

It is my view that this is the mask of the VMs. That is what it appears to be, until one examines it more closely, in light of relevant historical events, where the relevance of history and tradition is determined by experience and knowledge of the author. Given the level of subtlety and sophistication, of disguise and deception, and trickery and obfuscation in the illustrations, not to mention the current inability to read a single word, it really isn't possible to make any expansive, thematic evaluation.


RE: Is the VMS homogeneous or a composite work? - bi3mw - 21-07-2021

(21-07-2021, 06:00 PM)R. Sale Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Would a 'book of knowledge', like an personal encyclopedia have an over all theme? Suppose each of the section is paraphrased from a different source. Each section would be heterogeneous while the *all encompassing* purpose of the text would be the homogeneous expansion of knowledge.
It is indeed a question how broadly one wants to define the term "homogeneity". The "expansion of knowledge" would already be too broad for me. It should be something more concrete, like an encyclopedia about a certain topic, e.g. animals, to fulfill the criteria.


RE: Is the VMS homogeneous or a composite work? - Emma May Smith - 21-07-2021

Medieval works were much more prone to being 'composite' than modern works. They may have drawn together multiple sources, expanded a single source with new material, edited down a longer source, been a free translation, or even had multiple different authors over generations. Now, that's a slightly different answer than whether they had a single 'theme', but I suppose the short answer is that we shouldn't count on the document being as coherent as we modern folk expect.


RE: Is the VMS homogeneous or a composite work? - R. Sale - 21-07-2021

I understand how by choosing everything, the effect is to have chosen nothing. There were bestiaries and there were early encyclopedic texts. However it is not through the written word that we could arrive at such an interpretation for the VMs, it is only through the illustrations.

The VMs was created to appear as if it were a book of knowledge, but it could only be from a tradition that is exotic and unreal. It's apparent cultural background is an intentional fiction. It is a cover for a disguised version of reality. Multiple investigations from the cosmos and the mermaid, to the golden fleece, etc., all point to a time in history that agrees quite nicely with the parchment C-14 dates.

And then there is the matter of historical tradition in the church. Red hats and blue stripes, clear as a bell to those who know the Fieschi insignia in the origin of ecclesiastical tradition. White Aries is a tour-de-force of subtle trickery and sophistication in its construction and clearly shows a duality of interpretation. This is where historical reality has been hidden. And it is an interesting choice because religious tradition might be expected to persist far into the future, and because the example available also conforms to the Deuteronomic requirement of pairs or better. At the same time, for those unfamiliar, there is nothing.

So perhaps we could call the construction of a complete and over-arching deception as being a sort of an over all thematic motivation. It's 'Jeopardy' for the early 1400s. Whose cosmos is this? What have they done to it? Who has replaced the generic mermaid? Is that supposed to look like a sheep? Does the discovery of historical connections reveal something further?


RE: Is the VMS homogeneous or a composite work? - Pythagoras - 22-07-2021

Quote:At the same time, for those unfamiliar, there is nothing.

i disagree there is nothing for those unaccustomed to the times.
there are sirens in the shadows, even within the text, they just arent easy to see.

but i think the golden fleece story is interesting for the placement.
but tbh i think the example i suggested looks more golden and fleecey.


RE: Is the VMS homogeneous or a composite work? - RenegadeHealer - 22-07-2021

Our modern distinction between a monolithic work and a compilation is anachronistic and unhelpful, when applied to premodern long-form works of literature. This issue comes up front and center when literary historians ask, “What is the world’s oldest surviving novel?” I’ve seen both Journey to the West and the Tale of Genji given as answers to this. But both of these books were written and published one chapter at a time, as serial adventure and celebrity gossip works, respectively. Neither show evidence of having been conceived or planned the way a modern novel typically is.