Alchemical Symbolism in the VMS

[Jorge_Stolfi]

One thing that has really aroused my curiosity: I wonder about those cut off roots and whether finding them in an ms is a flag that we’re dealing with spagyric medicine (synonymous with alchemy). This is where each of the three parts of the plant- root, stem, flower-are reduced to ashes separately-operated on before being recombined to bring out their potency. Even when the root is not a cut-off, the VMS botanical system seems to really insist on this separation of root, stem, flower.

My explanation for those "cut-off" roots (that may overlap with spagyric theory) is that 

(1) Some details of the Herbal drawings are copied from the Pharma pages, with the rest of the plant being either copied from other European herbals (including the "Alchemical Herbals") or invented outright by the Author or the Scribe.

(2) The Pharma pages were copied from some "pharmaceutical" book that did not depict the medicinal plants as seen in nature (as is generally the case in the European herbal tradition), but how it would be obtained from vegetable sellers, apothecaries and traders, either fresh or dried.  That is, only the active parts of each plant (leaves, fruits, roots, according to the case) would be depicted.  In the case of roots, the useless root branches would often be cut away, and long roots would be chopped into manageable pieces.  The top of the root may have been kept, with a stub of the stem, or may be cut away too.  And on those cut surfaces the original source may have shown the internal structure, such as a thick rind, a central pith, rings of veins...

I am guessing that most European herbals -- including the "alchemical herbals" -- apparently were composed under the assumption or pretension that the many or most readers would collect the plants themselves from the field; either for use on their patients, or on themselves.  Hence the "naturalistic" drawing of full plants as seen in nature, with whole roots.  

Makes sense?

All the best, --jorge