One thing that has slightly annoyed me is the lack of attention or failure to observe many of the specific and deliberate details on the page.

One particular example is the numerous buildings. If one looks carefully one can notice that even many of the very small buildings are drawn in very specific and deliberate ways. Now it might be argued these buildings do not correspond to any specific geographical locations and even if that is the case I think it worth asking why the drawings of these buildings are so specific and not generic. Are the drawings of the buildings influenced by or copied from buildings that the author was familiar with or were they made up purely out of the author's imagination and why did the author not believe that general drawings of buildings would suffice. I should add that these specifics become very clear when one looks at the scan of the page, though zooming in on the drawings certainly can help to make the details particularly clear.

I would argue that not only is this page the largest page it is also the most detailed, though one often needs to look carefully to spot the specifics, something I think very few people do. There are certainly parts of the page that lack detail, such as the top left rosette, but there are also other parts that are rich in specific detail. I think when one notices the specific details it is worth asking why the author chose to draw this or that think one way when it would have been easier to draw it another way. Also I think one should ask whether it is more likely that those very specific details were drawn from pure imagination or memory or possibly a mixture of both.

An example of specific detail that could easily be missed is the wall on the causeway between the bottom left rosette and the bottom centre rosette. There is a section below this wall that has deliberately been drawn to create a gap between it and the blue wavy area and this gap is illustrated in a specific way. Why do this when you could just continue the drawing of the wall normally?

I must confess it is this kind of specificity that we find in the drawing of buildings and walls that I feel supports the idea that these drawings are intended to represent actual buildings rather than generic illustrations.

Another example of the kind of specific detail we see on the page is that the centre of each side rosette is illustrated in a very specific and distinct way, though some might argue there is a little similarity between the centre of the top centre and centre left rosettes.

I feel a theory that either brushes over or ignores or simply has not observed these kinds of specific details can easily be lacking.

There are many specifics. Even the kind of architecture is very specific (saddleback tower, for example, which was the signal that it's a portal to a city in medieval times in certain areas, there's a thread on this).

But I have also seen medieval and Renaissance cosmological drawings with very realistic architecture that wasn't intended to be literal.

This the example I was referring to on the bottom left causeway:

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(02-10-2019, 01:06 AM)-JKP- Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.There are many specifics. Even the kind of architecture is very specific (saddleback tower, for example, which was the signal that it's a portal to a city in medieval times in certain areas, there's a thread on this).

But I have also seen medieval and Renaissance cosmological drawings with very realistic architecture that wasn't intended to be literal.

Where is the thread on "saddleback tower"?

(02-10-2019, 01:06 AM)-JKP- Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.There are many specifics. Even the kind of architecture is very specific (saddleback tower, for example, which was the signal that it's a portal to a city in medieval times in certain areas, there's a thread on this).

But I have also seen medieval and Renaissance cosmological drawings with very realistic architecture that wasn't intended to be literal.

If I understand the towers that you are referring to I have independently concluded that they are medieval city gates.

This is reminiscent of a South German style city gate.(Ignore the smudge in the drawing)

I am also inclined to the view that this also a city gate:

Two more examples of specific and deliberate details are the following:

(02-10-2019, 02:12 PM)Mark Knowles Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I am also inclined to the view that this also a city gate:

Yes, if there is a saddleback with the double globes or with double flags and a large door, then it is usually a city gate (at least that was true then). Later as cities spread beyond their original medieval walls, the saddleback and flags or globes became more widespread and were not always associated with the gates.

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Here's one of the threads on saddleback roofs:

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