20-05-2018, 11:28 AM
What a fantastic article! Thanks for the link.
This quote stood out to me:
[Albertus] first established that in general leaves were formed from an ill-digested mixture of a watery vapor and a dry earthy excrement which was exuded or exhaled from pores in the stem, propelled by a certain generative, formative power within the plant.
– From Reeds, 1980, p.352
If we look at the tube at the top of page f77r, the 4th outlet looks like it could be this "dry earthy excrement" being "exhaled from pores in the stem", or at least showing that it is something travelling within the plant stems.
I'm very happy to have found my own thoughts reflected in this beautifully researched article. It's really interesting to read about the medieval view of how plants function, something I couldn't find much on when I looked. The likening of water and nutrients travelling through plants to the steam rising from bath vats is also an interesting similarity when considering the VM.
I've got lots to be thinking about!
Not quite sure how to attach an image to this thread (it's not online). I've been working on a design for a Voynich-inspired repeat pattern for fabric. I've dissected and rearranged parts of the VM illustrations into a plant-like structure which illustrates this theory (not finished yet, but I'd like to share).
And thanks for the info Marco!
This quote stood out to me:
[Albertus] first established that in general leaves were formed from an ill-digested mixture of a watery vapor and a dry earthy excrement which was exuded or exhaled from pores in the stem, propelled by a certain generative, formative power within the plant.
– From Reeds, 1980, p.352
If we look at the tube at the top of page f77r, the 4th outlet looks like it could be this "dry earthy excrement" being "exhaled from pores in the stem", or at least showing that it is something travelling within the plant stems.
I'm very happy to have found my own thoughts reflected in this beautifully researched article. It's really interesting to read about the medieval view of how plants function, something I couldn't find much on when I looked. The likening of water and nutrients travelling through plants to the steam rising from bath vats is also an interesting similarity when considering the VM.
I've got lots to be thinking about!
Not quite sure how to attach an image to this thread (it's not online). I've been working on a design for a Voynich-inspired repeat pattern for fabric. I've dissected and rearranged parts of the VM illustrations into a plant-like structure which illustrates this theory (not finished yet, but I'd like to share).
And thanks for the info Marco!