09-12-2016, 09:49 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-12-2016, 09:51 PM by VViews.
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I agree that it is very tempting to see the fringes as water spilling from the rainbow.
However, if this is a rainbow, it does not mean that the reason for its presence in the Voynich really literally illustrates the mythological story of Iris: it might refer to other things medieval people were interested in regarding rainbows, such as optics (with Robert Grosseteste or Theodoric of Freiberg recreating the rainbow in the lab), or the rainbow's medieval interpretations, such as the virtues described in the Ovide Moralisé, or the symbolism of the phases of the alchemical process JKP mentioned.
Considering the presence of the nymph holding a tube next to it, and all the vapor action going on nearby, I'm personally more tempted to go with the optics/alchemical interpretations.
However, if this is a rainbow, it does not mean that the reason for its presence in the Voynich really literally illustrates the mythological story of Iris: it might refer to other things medieval people were interested in regarding rainbows, such as optics (with Robert Grosseteste or Theodoric of Freiberg recreating the rainbow in the lab), or the rainbow's medieval interpretations, such as the virtues described in the Ovide Moralisé, or the symbolism of the phases of the alchemical process JKP mentioned.
Considering the presence of the nymph holding a tube next to it, and all the vapor action going on nearby, I'm personally more tempted to go with the optics/alchemical interpretations.