Transcription problem - f68v3 and Rosettes foldout

[Linda]

Here is a blog post from 10 years ago. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

My interpretation is that the water represents Asia, maybe the great expanse of ocean such as Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. The top right that corresponds to Europe should be self-explanatory. The top left is unclear as to what it represents (dessert??jungle??), but it corresponds to Africa. Sometimes different representative drawings are shown.

I can see that interpretation, but look at the text of Oresme in du ciel et du monde book 2 chapter 25, he states the habitable part of earth would be on the upper right, although you are right, he says it is the part where they reside, which would make it Europe as well.

---

These are the three elements earth, water and fire.

This was already discussed at some length in this forum.

In the Oresme diagram, earth is represented by a landscape (possibly with paradise in a corner).
The top left is fire.

I am not sure of this. The fire i see is the red outside the cloudband of air, which is consistent with its place in the spheres. I believe it is neither fire nor air in the keft top quarter, but a reference to the uninhabitable parts of earth.  Sacrobosco had said only one of the quarters of earth were habitable, the habitable part being in the north. It is a movement in thought from the earth sphere surrounded by the water sphere to a more complex understanding, involving whether the Antipodes could exist, how far the water was between Spain and India, whether it was nobler to be near the heavens, etc. Quire 13 to me is a travel of the ecumene by water, which pulls that all together into a realistic view.