Not surprisingly, I dare say, I'm going to disagree <with comments prior to @oshfdk>. First of all, in Ms. Velinska's original posting, there was also an illustration of a cosmic diagram from Harley 334, which has certain similarities to the BNF Fr. 565 cosmos.
The thing about these cosmic diagrams is their simplified structure. While not unique, the structure clearly differs from the standard poly-concentric models commonly used at the time. While several later examples do exist, I believe BNF and Harley are the only good examk>ples before 1450. There is BNF Fr. 1082, but it is somewhat iffy.
In the investigation following the original discovery, Mr. Pelling searched for cosmic diagrams in other Oresme texts but found none. A similar search in various de Metz texts reveals various illustrations that follow the poly-concentric model.
Some interesting information can be found in the reported provenance of the two texts. BNF Fr. 565 was produced in Paris c. 1410 for the Duke of Berry (d. 1416), then went to his daughter, Marie (d. 1434), who, after her third marriage, was Duchess of Auvergne. Harley 334 was produced in Paris in the second quarter of the 15th C. The common factors here are the location and relative dates of production, nothing to do with the authors (since both were deceased) but instead with the structural model used by the artists.
Forty-three is an unusual number to match accidentally. I've been told there is some sort of lunar cycle. The undulations are not ambiguous in BNF, only in the VMs, where sometimes they are partial, and one must assume that no others are obscured where the curved spokes cross over the nebuly line. It's another example of visual trickery where the VMs artist has maximized the differences in visual appearance, yet maintains identity by matching structure, number, position, and color - all of which are objective.
The thing about these cosmic diagrams is their simplified structure. While not unique, the structure clearly differs from the standard poly-concentric models commonly used at the time. While several later examples do exist, I believe BNF and Harley are the only good examk>ples before 1450. There is BNF Fr. 1082, but it is somewhat iffy.
In the investigation following the original discovery, Mr. Pelling searched for cosmic diagrams in other Oresme texts but found none. A similar search in various de Metz texts reveals various illustrations that follow the poly-concentric model.
Some interesting information can be found in the reported provenance of the two texts. BNF Fr. 565 was produced in Paris c. 1410 for the Duke of Berry (d. 1416), then went to his daughter, Marie (d. 1434), who, after her third marriage, was Duchess of Auvergne. Harley 334 was produced in Paris in the second quarter of the 15th C. The common factors here are the location and relative dates of production, nothing to do with the authors (since both were deceased) but instead with the structural model used by the artists.
Forty-three is an unusual number to match accidentally. I've been told there is some sort of lunar cycle. The undulations are not ambiguous in BNF, only in the VMs, where sometimes they are partial, and one must assume that no others are obscured where the curved spokes cross over the nebuly line. It's another example of visual trickery where the VMs artist has maximized the differences in visual appearance, yet maintains identity by matching structure, number, position, and color - all of which are objective.