Under the Big Tent

[MarcoP]

Interesting thread. I had never considered tents because the poles' relative thickness makes them look like pillars. And the perspective seems off. But the way you  color them makes sense. I certainly agree that the circular one looks like a tent seen from above.

The perspective is far from perfect. I believe that Ellie's interpretation is supported by the similar (but clearer) perspective in the central rosette.

Off the top of my head, I associate tents in medieval art with two things in particular, i.e. certain Old Testament scenes, and war. But there's certainly more, it's not something I've studied in detail.

It's true that many of the illustrations of tents appear in Old Testament manuscripts. I see that the vulgate often refers to tents (tentoria) and canopies (tabernacula), but I don't know why. Possibly, it is again about war, or maybe the Jews were portrayed as nomadic people.
In addition to war and the Old Testament, another theme appears to be nobility / kingship, in particular for baldachins, but I believe for pavilions too (image from Bern, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.). Again, it is not always easy to exclude that war is involved. The peaceful usage of tents in a market is illustrated in the "classical" You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..


I see the tents in the Voynich manuscript as allegorical, but maybe literal illustrations can still be helpful in trying to understand something of the intended meaning.