02-01-2025, 07:33 AM
I think the manuscript was for private use, a template for making readable copies of things one could sell instead, while keeping the information secret from those who might want to take it from them in order to do the same. I think the nymphs are there for a reason, not for simple embellishment. Seems to me they could have done a better job of making them enticing if that was what they were going for, but I guess I am not the intended audience.
The nymphs have poses that don't seem natural, I think that incorporates meaning, and that they are reminders of things to write when making a copy to sell. Perhaps they sold paper copies of herbals from the plant pages, personal calendars from the zodiac, possibly some form of story hidden in amongst the other things? An atlas perhaps.
You wouldn't want such a template to be too pretty, people might want to steal it just because of perceived value, so i think some of the sloppiness might be purposeful to prevent that idea from occurring. If you were trying to hide it from someone and they caught you, you could blame it on the naked ladies you didn't want them to see you looking at. Might be an icebreaker for getting to see things you might not have had access to otherwise. Who knows.
It would be sad if the text ended up being mostly filler. I hope it means something, and hope it was meant to be read easily if one had the knowledge, rather than sitting with a key and figuring out letters one by one to write down, that would seem like too much work to have to do to get a copy from it. Maybe you can't read it right off the page, but can quickly write what you see in such a way as it reveals itself immediately through whatever method is employed.
The nymphs have poses that don't seem natural, I think that incorporates meaning, and that they are reminders of things to write when making a copy to sell. Perhaps they sold paper copies of herbals from the plant pages, personal calendars from the zodiac, possibly some form of story hidden in amongst the other things? An atlas perhaps.
You wouldn't want such a template to be too pretty, people might want to steal it just because of perceived value, so i think some of the sloppiness might be purposeful to prevent that idea from occurring. If you were trying to hide it from someone and they caught you, you could blame it on the naked ladies you didn't want them to see you looking at. Might be an icebreaker for getting to see things you might not have had access to otherwise. Who knows.
It would be sad if the text ended up being mostly filler. I hope it means something, and hope it was meant to be read easily if one had the knowledge, rather than sitting with a key and figuring out letters one by one to write down, that would seem like too much work to have to do to get a copy from it. Maybe you can't read it right off the page, but can quickly write what you see in such a way as it reveals itself immediately through whatever method is employed.