Six onion-roof towers supporting heavens

[Aga Tentakulus]

Interesting!  It seems that the cartographer had onion domes on all the buildings of the Muslim world and Asia, and conical roofs on all the European ones.  Which would be consistent with the claims that the Russians, in the 13th century or earlier, copied their onion domes from Persia and/or Asian countries and/or the Mongols.

This brings us back to Timbuktu.
As can be seen on the map from 1830, there were no round domes.
How could there be? Such structures cannot be built from clay.
The Catalan World Atlas map was drawn from a purely European perspective using information provided by the Moors.

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[Jorge_Stolfi]

This brings us back to Timbuktu.  As can be seen on the map from 1830, there were no round domes. How could there be? Such structures cannot be built from clay.
The Catalan World Atlas map was drawn from a purely European perspective using information provided by the Moors.

Sure.  And not all churches/mosques outside Europe had onion domes.

But the point is that, in the mind of the cartographer and his readers, onion domes were a Muslim/Asian/Orthodox thing.  Including Russia (check the map). 

And that notion cannot have sprung in his mind from nowhere...

All the best, --stolfi

[Aga Tentakulus]

As I have already written, the onion dome was created because the weight of snow had to be taken into account. The others are spheres with a mast on top, often slightly tapered for structural reasons.
The Pantheon, Hagia Sophia, and then the whole world.
Think of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic architecture.

[Stefan Wirtz_2]

Why on earth would we expect consistent scales? 

I am quite sure that the draftsman of VMS did not care much for natural scales, but much more for scales of meaning and importance. Like many others of his period.

So there is no solid evidence for the „pillars“ being real roofs, towers or just some vessels which symbolize anything important, like maybe the stuff they contain or some union they represent, as for example trade, family, Clan or tribal items, tokens or whatsoever.
The now  emerging Jerusalem guessing about peripheral „onion towers“ skips totally their absolute central positioning, while „the town“ is surrounded by lots of small towers…

By the way, I see a „warning level 30%“ for me here, but not any further information? 
What on earth was that for? Joining the discussions again?

[bi3mw]

The now  emerging Jerusalem guessing about peripheral „onion towers“ skips totally their absolute central positioning, while „the town“ is surrounded by lots of small towers…

I don't understand that; the location of the towers in ROS is central, and if they are supposed to symbolize the temples/mosques of Jerusalem, for example, then everything is fine, isn't it? What do you mean by peripheral “onion towers”?

[Aga Tentakulus]

I am slowly getting the feeling that one should consider it more of a fashion trend than a copy of a real place. Similar to the fashion trend of battlements.
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[Antonio García Jiménez]

I believe that one cannot understand what those objects are without taking into account the rest of the Voynich imagery.

[Jorge_Stolfi]

As I have already written, the onion dome was created because the weight of snow had to be taken into account.

No dispute of that, but what difference does it make?

Again, note that the German/Austrian onion domes may have evolved for the same reason, but still they are quite different from the Russian ones.  The former are generally smaller and no wider than the tower, whereas the latter are usually quite a bit larger and wider than the tower.

All the best, --stolfi

[bi3mw]

In the late Middle Ages, the Mamluks ruled Jerusalem. The map shown by @Nablator in post #36 most likely depicts a Mamluk minaret (left), which Sebald Rieter would have seen in 1479. However, the onion domes are probably just his interpretation from a European perspective. 

Here are two examples of Mamluk architecture in Jerusalem:

A Minaret
   

Domed public fountain (sabil) for travelers, pilgrims, and city residents.
   

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( Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study )

[Stefan Wirtz_2]

I don't understand that; the location of the towers in ROS is central, and if they are supposed to symbolize the temples/mosques of Jerusalem, for example, then everything is fine, isn't it? What do you mean by peripheral “onion towers”?

Those towers in the red circles appear to be more part of the town walls than being anyhow in a center of it:



This map is said to be rather realistic.

The 2 towers in blue circles are parts of important temples and could be understand somehow as "central";
but in total, there are 4 really onion-like buildings, and several domes which cannot be mistaken for "onions" anyhow.

Apart from that, VMS roundel shows rather weird understanding of "towers", the most-right is the strangest.
Town walls, buildings or streets are not shown (symbolized or realistic) at all, only an outer ring of tower-like tips could be recognized as that - far away from the center.