21-04-2017, 08:46 AM
I tried to split off the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. discussion into a separate thread just for clarity.
Marco: what makes me believe that there is distance between the VM and the other examples is the fact that a number of crucial elements are different, which are common to the Italian herbals.
Now I haven't studied the Egerton MS in detail, but it is a fact that most herbals did not feature 100% new illustrations. Even if a herbal was a new creation, they'd still have to borrow material from sources. Or is it known that the Egerton MS author drew all plants from scratch? Wouldn't this be highly exceptional?
As I explained in detail in the other thread, these drawings feature oak twigs or small branches instead of full trees. Other trees in the Egerton group are generally of the "full tree with enlarged leaves and fruits" type. The Voynich, on the other hand, seems to feature more of these "twig with roots" type drawings, as I explained in my latest blog post.
Hence, my hypothesis would be that a number of Voynich illustrations were derived from a source that illustrated trees by one of their twigs, in order to present leaf shape and arrangement in a decent way. A similar source, or image derived thereof, may have been the base for the Egerton drawing.
Now it is a good remark that the leaves in all MSS are somewhat different. The BNF MS shows a decent oak leaf. In the VM the leaf edges are strangely bulbous, and in the Egerton they are strangely spiky, almost like pine cones.
So while the diagram you offer is not entirely impossible, I do favor Rene's more cautious note on his site:
In other words, some relation seems very likely but it may be through similar sources rather than through direct influence.
Marco: what makes me believe that there is distance between the VM and the other examples is the fact that a number of crucial elements are different, which are common to the Italian herbals.
- presence of leaves on the vine
- coloration of berries
- manner of attachment to the host
- presence of prominent roots
Now I haven't studied the Egerton MS in detail, but it is a fact that most herbals did not feature 100% new illustrations. Even if a herbal was a new creation, they'd still have to borrow material from sources. Or is it known that the Egerton MS author drew all plants from scratch? Wouldn't this be highly exceptional?
As I explained in detail in the other thread, these drawings feature oak twigs or small branches instead of full trees. Other trees in the Egerton group are generally of the "full tree with enlarged leaves and fruits" type. The Voynich, on the other hand, seems to feature more of these "twig with roots" type drawings, as I explained in my latest blog post.
Hence, my hypothesis would be that a number of Voynich illustrations were derived from a source that illustrated trees by one of their twigs, in order to present leaf shape and arrangement in a decent way. A similar source, or image derived thereof, may have been the base for the Egerton drawing.
Now it is a good remark that the leaves in all MSS are somewhat different. The BNF MS shows a decent oak leaf. In the VM the leaf edges are strangely bulbous, and in the Egerton they are strangely spiky, almost like pine cones.
So while the diagram you offer is not entirely impossible, I do favor Rene's more cautious note on his site:
Quote:While the Voynich MS illustration clearly isn't a copy of the Paris MS, it is also inconceivable that it was not in some way inspired by this or a similar illustration in another MS.
In other words, some relation seems very likely but it may be through similar sources rather than through direct influence.