The Rosettes Page - March 2024

[Mark Knowles]

I think if someone thinks the page represents a medieval fruit market then the theory had much more weight if they can flesh out that theory and explain the specific details in the context of that theory. What does each rosette represent in the medieval fruit market? What does each causeway represent in the medieval fruit market? Why was each rosette or causeway drawn the way that it was? What is the purpose of the page as a whole?

I think it is easy to come up with an explanation for the page which does not address the specific details. "It represents the cosmo", "It's a medieval board game". I think a theory is only worthwhile when it provides an explanation for most of the details. The challenge is, I think, in explaining the details and there are numerous small details.

Take as one example, of very many, the swallow-tail battlements along the causeway from the bottom left rosette to the bottom centre rosette. Below part of this wall there is a section shaded in as though illustrating a slope. Why did the author draw this? I would say as it corresponds to a geographical feature. I am not sure if anyone else has even noticed this or attempted to explain it. And the same applies to so many other details.