Historical lacunae
R. Sale > 17-03-2019, 12:36 AM
The matter of the nebuly lines is an explicit example of something that comes from the historical past, but which is not commonly known in the current era. And yet things of this sort were commonly known by educated persons from the time of the VMs parchment dates – and beyond. Nebuly lines are clearly used in the VMs, but there has been a long period of investigation where they were not recognized as such. This failure to recognize something that was known in the past results in an imperceptible, but not insignificant gap, a lacuna in relevant, historical knowledge. The test for these informational gaps is simple. Name it and claim it. The nebuly lines are another example of things that sit in plain sight but are, or have been until recently, ‘undiscovered.’ And this illustrates the importance of being able to interpret these elements from the perspective that is relevant to the proper time. When certain line patterns have traditional names that were in use at the time of the VMs parchment dates, then is it too much to suggest that something important might be missing if none of the present or previous investigations were in possession of the proper, traditional name. It is simply impossible to fully understand the function of the nebuly line without knowing the name. And it turns out that knowing the name is useful in better understanding for other areas of the VMs as well.
So here is a problem with certain aspects of historical investigations. If ‘name it and claim it’ is one investigational option. Then ‘not name it and <whatever>’ is the other. Obviously, without the name, any attempted research is stuck with the second option of potential investigation and relegated to a set of inferior possibilities. Either the unknown line is a strange leaf margin, or these are nebuly lines disguised as leaf margins. Having the traditional name makes a significant difference in developing the proper interpretation, which is of particular importance in the VMs cosmos. The naming of the nebuly line opens up the investigation of the nebuly line, a totally new (at the time) pathway. And this led to the investigation of ye olde wolkenband, which is significant because they are etymologically connected.
The recovery of historical information, in the form of traditional names, opens up old perspectives of interpretation and new lines of investigation, previously missing. The recovery of historical information, as in the naming of the nebuly lines, is only the first part of VMs investigation. The second part involves the discovery of how this traditional information has been hidden in the VMs illustrations. Nebuly lines used as leaf margins, in this example. The visual alterations in the cosmic comparison show a much greater level of complexity. Cloud bands were placed in the rosettes. Patterns corresponding to armorial heraldry are found in the tub illustrations in the outer ring of Pisces. A paly, a chevrony, a semy of roundels, a papelonny, and others. Red and white galeros of ecclesiastical heraldry are worn by some of the figures on White Aries.
The recovery of traditional names, the filling of historical gaps, can open new perspectives of interpretation that must either enhance or supersede those investigations that existed previously. The creator of the VMs took what was traditional at that time, then made some efforts to disguise those representations in the cosmos, the zodiac, the rosettes and so on. Past VMs researchers have long taken certain investigative pathways without benefit of these recent recoveries. The recoveries include; naming the nebuly line, making the cosmic comparison, examining the structure of cloud bands, recognizing the ephemeral nature of text banners, knowing the ordinaries, sub-ordinaries, and tinctures of heraldry, and knowing the armorial connection to the origins of a tradition in the ecclesiastical heraldry of the Roman Catholic Church that continues from the 13th century to this day. VMs investigation without benefit of these recovered facts has produced a series of fanciful misapprehensions.
These recoveries, by filling in this missing information which has been validated by tradition, then reveal previously unknown gateways that open up alternative paths of investigation, pathways where a better knowledge of tradition would have led somewhat sooner, and ones that will provide new perspectives on VMs content. These interpretations need to be evaluated by discovering their purpose. Why is it that things in the VMs seem to be hidden? Why is that each part of the VMs cosmos seems to have been drawn in a way which presents the same cosmic structure as BNF Fr. 565 fol. 23, but has been given an appearance that seems to intentionally have sought out an artistic representation with the greatest visual diversity? The purpose of alteration is disguise. The purpose of disguise is deception. And that is the nature of the VMs. There is ambiguity and obfuscation in the illustrations. But the disguise has reached its perfection when the element being hidden cannot be named or recognized by those who examine the VMs pages. And that applies to examples from nebuly lines to the papelonny tincture. Neither can the name of some image be used in heraldic canting when that traditional name is lacking. So, what significance should be attributed to VMs investigations formed before these gaps in historical information were filled in? The ones so far. What use is the result of a solution set that does not include basic information of potential significance? What happens when the recovery of historical names, the restoration of historical lacunae, creates an altered interpretation of the VMs creator’s purpose and reveals what has been hidden by intent and all but erased by circumstance?