I grabbed an image that is very typical for the classical style of drawings common to astronomical and ecclesiastical documents leading up to the middle ages:
There's a certain way they are stylized, with the flowing robes, decorative lines with dots, and certain way of using outlines, that was very common at the time. Many of the Aratea manuscripts illustrate this style.
The other style that was common was the "celtic knot" theme with interwoven animals, dragons, flowers, etc.
Even though some of the VMS clothing accessories and a few of the decorative patterns (e.g., patterns with dots inside or with the squared tickmarks) are evocative of classical themes, the VMS does not seem very dependent on these two common iconographic styles in the way things are drawn or arranged. The only indication of "Celtic knot" influence is in the way the vine winds around and through the bark on the oak-like tree in the big-plants section and this may be coincidental since many vines, like Hedera helix, insert their rootlike tendrils into the bark of the tree.
So, once again, the subject matter appears to go back quite far, in some instances, but the way it is presented appears to be mostly late 14th c and 15th c (albeit in an individualistic way).
There's a certain way they are stylized, with the flowing robes, decorative lines with dots, and certain way of using outlines, that was very common at the time. Many of the Aratea manuscripts illustrate this style.
The other style that was common was the "celtic knot" theme with interwoven animals, dragons, flowers, etc.
Even though some of the VMS clothing accessories and a few of the decorative patterns (e.g., patterns with dots inside or with the squared tickmarks) are evocative of classical themes, the VMS does not seem very dependent on these two common iconographic styles in the way things are drawn or arranged. The only indication of "Celtic knot" influence is in the way the vine winds around and through the bark on the oak-like tree in the big-plants section and this may be coincidental since many vines, like Hedera helix, insert their rootlike tendrils into the bark of the tree.
So, once again, the subject matter appears to go back quite far, in some instances, but the way it is presented appears to be mostly late 14th c and 15th c (albeit in an individualistic way).