R. Sale > 24-02-2019, 01:20 AM
There are several aspects of the cloud band investigation that may benefit from further examination and discussion. The illustrations from Post #2 are a good place to start. And the two images in the first line are the cosmic representations that were the original basis (E. Velinska, 2014) of the cosmic comparison and the cloud band investigation as they relate to the VMs. The first image is VMs You are not allowed to view links.
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Login to view. and the second is BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23.
BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23 is from a copy of “Le livre du ciel et du monde” by Nicole Oresme. According to the text it is supposed to be based on Oresme’s translation of a description of the cosmos by Aristotle. There is a second cosmic illustration (BNF Fr 565, fol. 69), in the same source, and it is one that shows the more typical geocentric cosmos, with the concentric spheres of the medieval planets, but the perspective of the illustration is unusual in that it seems to be arranged in a view that looks up to the heavens, rather than standard Ptolemaic perspective of looking down at a diagram or map.
Nicole Oresme presented the original copy of “Le livre du ciel et du monde” to Charles V, king of France in 1377. Charles died in 1380. Oresme died in 1382. According to investigations by Nick Pelling, there are six known copies of this book, of which BNF Fr. 565 is one. BNF Fr. 565 was apparently published about 1410, which is almost 30 years after Oresme. A second copy of the book is BNF Fr. 1082, which is also found in the Post #2 examples on line 3. This may be the original version. As far as any other cosmic illustrations from the remaining versions of “Le livre du ciel et du monde” are concerned, they would certainly add further evidence to this investigation.
But first, going back to the picture on the second line <citation needed>, it is easy to see a strong similarity of artistic style with the previous example, BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23. The most significant difference between them is the outer boundary. BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23 has the elaborate, scallop-shell patterned, cloud band, while this illustration appears to have nothing, or almost nothing. If the examples of heraldic lines are considered in the investigation of cloud bands, it can be seen that nebuly lines and sometimes wavy lines are used to represent clouds, while indented and rayonny lines were used to represent fire. This illustration can be seen as an example of a cloud band based on a plain line. Sort of falls flat, doesn’t it? In comparison to all the other, far more elaborate design and color variations.
Such as the illustration on line 3, BNF Fr. 1082, which is the simplified cosmic representation from the other version of “Le livre du ciel et du monde.” And since both illustrations come from different versions of the same book, it might be possible that these two illustrations are corresponding images. But look closely at the comparison between BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23 and BNF Fr. 1082. The first clearly has an inverted T-O, pictorial representation of earth at the center. The second is somewhat similar, or it might only be horizontally bisected. The division between the two buildings is clearly off to the left. Be that as it may, the next comparison shows a complete and total difference. BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23 has an area of scattered stars. BNF Fr 1082 has no stars at all. And the third comparison between the cloud bands shows a profound difference in technique. Yet, despite these differences, they still might be representations of the same thing.
Now there is the illustration on line 4. This is clearly a highly detailed and very similar copy of BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23. It’s got everything, right down to the fleur-de-lis wallpaper and the chair, almost perfectly. This shows how a copy should be made. The only problem with Santarem’s copy is that it is from the 1840’s and unlikely to be relevant to the VMs investigation.
So, going back to the original comparison between BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23 and VMs f68v, consider the similarities between the two Images. Both use the inverted T-O division to illustrate the earth. Both appear to have stars that go all the way around the earth. And while both representations have cosmic boundaries that appear to be quite distinctive, there are a few subtle connections and similarities. The wobbly line enclosing the central parts of the VMs illustration is not a nameless, meandering line. It is a nebuly line. And there is a clear etymological connection between the terms ‘nebuly’ and ‘cloudy.’ And for those who took the time to count them, there are 43 undulations showing in both VMs You are not allowed to view links.
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Login to view. and in BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23. Beyond that, the VMs cosmos is the enclosed in a large circle that is connected to the nebuly line by eight curved spokes. Both the circle and the spokes are composed of bands with a single line of apparent written text. Meanwhile, BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23 has nothing to correspond with this huge structure.
Now consider the differences between the corresponding parts of these two representations. In BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23, etc., the areas of the earth are given a pictorial, artistic representation, while only in the VMs cosmos, there appear to be labels and a few lines of written text. In BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23 the stars are scattered about, while in the VMs they almost seem to form a single line. In BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23 there is an elegant, scallop-shell cloud band, while the VMs looks significantly different.
What is going on with these differences? What does it mean for VMs investigation? In the first instance of earthly representation, the basic inverted T-O structure stays the same, but the visual appearance is totally altered by the change from pictorial representation to a written / literal description. This is not a failure to make an adequate copy. Ostensibly the VMs illustration is providing the same information, but it does this using a different methodology. This is code shifting. The same message is provided by a different means. And what differs, most emphatically, is the visual appearance.
In the comparison of the starry skies, which is the second area, BNF Fr. 565 fol.23 has strong similarities, in the way the stars are represented and the way in which the sky is colored, with certain illustrations in the books of Christine de Pizan. Golden stars scattered on an azure field. The same area on VMs You are not allowed to view links.
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Login to view. is entirely different; the sky is appropriately somewhat blackened, but the round ‘stars’ appear to almost encircle the earth like beads on a string. What is happening here? This is based on a ‘play on words’ that works in Latin and French. In Latin there are two words, ‘circumdare’ and ‘cingere’, and both equate with either ‘surround’ and ‘encircle.’ In French ‘entourer’ conveys both meanings. Yet obviously, as this comparison illustrates, there are significant visual differences, despite the general structural similarity, such as it is. ‘Encircled’ is ‘surrounded’, but ‘surrounded’ is not necessarily ‘encircled.’ The ‘play on words’ is a trick, an intentional joke. Yet the similarity here is far greater than the similarity with BNF Fr. 1082 which is presumed to be equivalent with BNF Fr. 565 fol 23.
In the third area, the cosmic boundary has already been mentioned. The etymological connection and the 43 undulations make the VMs nebuly line into the minimalist version of the elaborate, scallop-shell pattern found in BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23. By itself this is a significant visual difference, but one which has no structural effect. The real problem is what to do with the great wheel and curved spokes of the VMs cosmos where BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23 has nothing. This is the part where Newbold went wrong, taking them at face value and interpreting that appearance as Andromeda to fit the ‘Bacon’ agenda.
The real answer is simple, just do what a person at the time of the VMs parchment dates would have done. Take a look at how text banners were used at that time in various contemporary illustrations. It is difficult to find examples where text banners represent actual objects that were physically present in the event represented in the illustration. Instead, they are imposed; they are ephemeral; they are not real. That is the contemporary, medieval interpretation that should be applied to the text banners of the VMs cosmos. They can be compared to nothing in BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23 because they are nothing. And yet these banners exist in the VMs representation.
This structure of text banners was drawn in the VMs cosmos, but text banners do not represent real objects. Text banners do not exist. They provide a significant contribution to the visual differences in the cosmic comparison, but they are not there. They have no effect on the comparative structure. They are pure fabrication. They are simply there to create visual diversity and negatively influence the evaluation of visual similarity. And this has been the case in each of the three previous comparisons of corresponding parts. The structure is similar, but the visual appearance is always different. At each level a trick has been used to create visual difference and disguise the actual similarity of structure. This is the secret that creates the enigmatic nature of the VMs. Looking at the VMs cosmos, we do not see the tricks that were used. These are tricks we do not know and do not expect to find. There is code shifting, a play on words, 43 undulations and pure fabrication. A comparison based on the similarity of visual appearance cannot succeed. The attempt to see the VMs cosmos for what it is will fail. Only the attempt to know it for what it is might succeed. What the cosmic comparison has shown is that there is a sophisticated level of trickery used to disguise the potential replication of this bit of established, historical information, BNF Fr. 565fol.23. It is the use of text banners that proves that the trickery in the VMs is intentional. The prospect of intentional trickery might provide a new perspective, a cosmic perspective, to the investigation of the next portion of the VMs, which is a sequence of apparent zodiac medallions, starting with Pisces. Look out for tricks.