11-01-2017, 09:26 AM
Just something to keep in mind (I spent a fair bit of time investigating medieval east/west trade before I knew about the Voynich manuscript)...
Most of the early trade, as far as I've discovered so far, was in items that were hard to get in the west. Certainly they would purchase things available in the west if they could get them cheaper in the east (e.g., some kinds of ceramics or fabrics), but plants can be found by walking in the woods and both Trientalis europaea and Paris quadrifolia have a wide distribution (and both are used for wound healing).
Things like cardamom, Indian spikenard, and many of the eastern nuts would be imported, but it seems unnecessary to climb far up into the mountains of Tibet to find the same plant that was available in people's back woods.
Most of the early trade, as far as I've discovered so far, was in items that were hard to get in the west. Certainly they would purchase things available in the west if they could get them cheaper in the east (e.g., some kinds of ceramics or fabrics), but plants can be found by walking in the woods and both Trientalis europaea and Paris quadrifolia have a wide distribution (and both are used for wound healing).
Things like cardamom, Indian spikenard, and many of the eastern nuts would be imported, but it seems unnecessary to climb far up into the mountains of Tibet to find the same plant that was available in people's back woods.