A match for the famous Armadillo?

[Jorge_Stolfi]

Then is the VMs cosmos [f68v3] the work of a genius or a fool?

You do mean f86v3, the four "sprouts" the two birds?

In general, I believe that every illustration owes a bit to both characters, the Scribe and the Author.  The Author made a sketch and/or verbal description of the drawing, and the Scribe fleshed that out, adding decorative elements from books provided by the Author.

In the case of f86v3, the Author must have specified that the figures was to have four "things" growing form the corners, and probably the two human figures ad two birds, and that three of the "things" would be blowing wind or spraying water towards the center.   The Scribe probably provided many of the details by copying from some illustration(s) from some book(s). 

By the way, that figure apparently was left incomplete, for unknown reasons. The circle in the center may have been supposed to be a T-O map, but perhaps the Scribe did not have the crib for that at hand.  Or maybe it was supposed to be something else, and the Scribe drew only a circle, which was assumed to be a T-O map by a BEEEP who added the "T".  See You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. for a discussion of BEEEP on the SE spout.

And someone may have used that page for a pen test.   The big fold-out probably was a loose sheet all by itself for many years after the book was written, before some later owner decided to bind whatever remained of it.  In that case, f86v3 would have been the back page of the fold-out when folded.  I can imagine someone looking around for some vellum for a pen test, before writing an important letter, and choosing the back of that "map"...

Al the best, --stolfi