(01-03-2016, 12:45 PM)Davidsch wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.rene i agree with you: saying it isn't this or that because it resembles more this and that doesn't help.
Also, it is my opinion after much study, that discussion what herbal looks like which herbal is somewhat useless.
Hello David, I don't think that Rene wrote anything like that.
In my opinion, comparing the Voynich illustrations with other herbals is very useful. Until we manage to read the text, we can never be certain of any identification, but we can often define a limited number of reasonable candidates. And the only possible way to decide which candidates are reasonable is by comparing them, evalutating which one is more resemblant.
For instance, let us consider the cicaro herb you mentioned (ms University of Pennsylvania You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.) and one of the Water Lily images posted by Rene Zandbergen and Ellie Velinska (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.):
* Flower: both manuscripts bear some similarity, but none of the two is perfect. In particular, the prominent pistil is missing and the petals are not frilled (I refer to JKP's detailed comment above). Egerton seems better because the flowers have fewer petals, as in the Voynich ms. Let's say, roughly:
60% Upenn, 40% Egerton
* Leaves: Upenn is completely different, Egerton very similar:
20% Upenn, 80% Egerton
* Roots: Same as the leaves
20% Upenn, 80% Egerton
Upenn average: 33.3%
Egerton average: 66.6%
Of course, you can disagree with my analysis and its results (and the numbers are here only to make clear that these things are indeed comparable). You could tell us in detail which features of the Cicaro illustration are better than the Egerton's manuscript.
In my opinion, this is a simple and meaningful way to proceed.
Incidentally, it also gives us a possibility to find an answer to your question:
from which MS did the write[r] copy the drawings ?
For instance, see You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. Again, it is unlikely that we will ever be able to identify a single source, but likely there is a herbal tradition that can provide closer parallels than the others.