[Edit KG: I moved these posts from the stars thread to this one]
Having just noticed this discussion it does rather make me tear my hair out. The idea that the author didn't just make up their own way of drawings stars, but must have been part of a long tradition of drawings seems like a big assumption. It is possible his/her way of drawing stars is part of a tradition, but it is also possible it is not. I think we have to be careful of assuming everything in the Voynich is part of a tradition or has a precedent and that there is no original material in the manuscript whatsoever. It is clear that the Voynich is an original manuscript for the time and yet it seems to be assumed that there is no original content in the manuscript.
It is perfectly reasonable to look for influences on the contents of the manuscript, but one needs to exert a significant degree of caution in some cases as it is possible that certain aspects of the manuscript are purely products of the author's creativity.
It is highly debatable as to whether the * symbols on the 9 rosette page represent stars. It is possible, but from what I have seen they are not drawn the same way as other stars in the manuscript and their distribution on the page does not seem to fit a pattern obviously consistent with what one would expect with stars.
Having just noticed this discussion it does rather make me tear my hair out. The idea that the author didn't just make up their own way of drawings stars, but must have been part of a long tradition of drawings seems like a big assumption. It is possible his/her way of drawing stars is part of a tradition, but it is also possible it is not. I think we have to be careful of assuming everything in the Voynich is part of a tradition or has a precedent and that there is no original material in the manuscript whatsoever. It is clear that the Voynich is an original manuscript for the time and yet it seems to be assumed that there is no original content in the manuscript.
It is perfectly reasonable to look for influences on the contents of the manuscript, but one needs to exert a significant degree of caution in some cases as it is possible that certain aspects of the manuscript are purely products of the author's creativity.
It is highly debatable as to whether the * symbols on the 9 rosette page represent stars. It is possible, but from what I have seen they are not drawn the same way as other stars in the manuscript and their distribution on the page does not seem to fit a pattern obviously consistent with what one would expect with stars.