f18v...Dioscorides...something about those leaves

[Koen G]

I'm thinking along the same lines, Bernd. There's a thin line between "potentially relevant" and "potentially fooling myself", and nobody knows where this line is. We can't run some python script to double check the results.

Still, with these similarities, I could not simply gloss over them. If we draw attention to them, they may or may not come in handy later, when we find another piece of the puzzle.

One of the things I'm struggling with is the diversity of apparent sources. The Zodiac images seem to have come from a line that originated in France and passed through Alsace and Germany. But Greek materials often entered through southern Italy. The Balneis is also south Italian. Swallowtail merlons were drawn in manuscripts produced in the Veneto and around Milan, but also in Naples.

Many of our best parallels for layout come from Greek manuscripts. Full page plants with added text. The Paris Nicander and similar Theriaca mss are probably the closest we have to the small plants. There's VViews post about the Marginal Psalters. And let's not forget about the Helios miniature which even gets a page on Rene's site. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

There are also stylistic elements in some of the plant drawings which might point to a Greek substratum.

I still don't understand any of this and I don't think there is enough evidence to absolutely insist on anything. But enough to remain aware of this context.