08-01-2018, 05:46 AM
Don't worry, we are discussing ideas, not each other 
It might come across as harsh sometimes, but what we want is to eventually understand the manuscript, which means we have to be able to discuss everything objectively.
There's a rule which states that the burden of proof lies with the one who proposes the solution. I could say the manuscript was clearly written by a group of traveling Norwegian peasants, and there's nothing you could say to prove me wrong. It would be up to me to provide evidence for such a claim.
There are a number of ways you could investigate your hypothesis, basically by asking some research questions:
- How did medieval people think about the senses? What was the dominant theory?
- Do any examples exist of medieval illustrations of the senses, and what did those look like?
- Were they aware of the parts of the inner ear, and their importance, as you suggest?
- How did they draw a spice bazaar before 1450?
- Was a hell mouth ever associated with taste instead of eternal damnation? My guess would be that such an association is completely impossible, but if you find a text which states that hell really loves the taste of sinners, you'd strengthen your point.
My first theory was, much like yours, based entirely on my own impression. I thought that some of the bathing ladies folios symbolized processes for producing certain substances. I had looked up the chemical processes and was able to match those to the drawings quite well. But then I started to consult the literature, and it soon appeared that these methods were not known yet at the time the manuscript was made. So I dropped the hypohesis and moved on to something else.
It might come across as harsh sometimes, but what we want is to eventually understand the manuscript, which means we have to be able to discuss everything objectively. There's a rule which states that the burden of proof lies with the one who proposes the solution. I could say the manuscript was clearly written by a group of traveling Norwegian peasants, and there's nothing you could say to prove me wrong. It would be up to me to provide evidence for such a claim.
There are a number of ways you could investigate your hypothesis, basically by asking some research questions:
- How did medieval people think about the senses? What was the dominant theory?
- Do any examples exist of medieval illustrations of the senses, and what did those look like?
- Were they aware of the parts of the inner ear, and their importance, as you suggest?
- How did they draw a spice bazaar before 1450?
- Was a hell mouth ever associated with taste instead of eternal damnation? My guess would be that such an association is completely impossible, but if you find a text which states that hell really loves the taste of sinners, you'd strengthen your point.
My first theory was, much like yours, based entirely on my own impression. I thought that some of the bathing ladies folios symbolized processes for producing certain substances. I had looked up the chemical processes and was able to match those to the drawings quite well. But then I started to consult the literature, and it soon appeared that these methods were not known yet at the time the manuscript was made. So I dropped the hypohesis and moved on to something else.
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