f13r - banana?

[MarcoP]

Thank you all for the interesting discussion. It seems clear that the various Latin manuscripts are related. The text in BNF Lat 6823 (Manfredus de Monte Imperiali) describes Musa as having "leaves similar to those of elecampane [enula], but longer and larger; [it has] long and thick stems on which it makes fruits that look like cucumbers". The effect is very similar to what we observed when discussing Trinity MS.O.2.48; the text was apparently written by someone who had seen a banana palm tree and tried to describe it making reference to plants that were common in Europe. While I don't see why choosing elecampane in particular, cucumber makes perfect sense as a parallel for the shape and size of banana. The illustrator who started this tradition (possibly in Lat 6823) had no idea of what a banana palm tree looks like, he could only follow the text: the result is an elecampane with cucumber-like fruits.

I don't know if VMS You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. was meant to represent banana, but it certainly doesn't belong to the same tradition as the Latin manuscripts. If it was meant to represent banana, it appears to have been produced by someone who had seen the plant or a good illustration of it.