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A turtle-shelled dragon

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• A turtle-shelled dragon

  Dracaena > 12-07-2026, 05:18 PM

  The small "dragon" at the root of the plant on folio 25v is often dismissed as a doodle. Other investigators have noticed the shell of the the animal on f25v, which lead to speculations of it being an armadillo or a pangolin. However, is there an actual turtle-shelled dragon in european medieval tradition? Indeed, there is. This could be a depiction of the Tarasque, the famous (female) monster of Saint Martha associated with Tarascon in Provence.

     

  I am are not claiming this proves a Provençal origin for the Voynich, but it may be one more small piece of evidence worth considering. Depictions of Tarasque with turtle shell span along the Rhône and into the western Alps.

  A more detailed writeup here: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

• RE: A turtle-shelled dragon

  GracefulShinjo > 12-07-2026, 11:49 PM

  It reminds me of a creature from Chinese mythology: the dragon turtle. That being appears often in Chinese art but I didn’t realize the longgui appeared in the Voynich manuscript. Now I need to reread the Travels of Marco Polo to see if there is any mention of the longgui.
  
   As to your connection with Provence…well there was trade with the Duchy of Savoy which I think did trade with the County of Provence. So…maybe?

• RE: A turtle-shelled dragon

  R. Sale > 13-07-2026, 12:51 AM

  Could be. This has been discussed here before. Search: tarasque
  
  Lots of variation in appearance.
  
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  Since the story was part of the Golden Legend, it would have been widely known.

• RE: A turtle-shelled dragon

  Dracaena > 13-07-2026, 11:24 AM

  Thank you for the observation that some aspects were already discussed here. Upon closer inspection however, I noticed that tarasque is simply mentioned as a one-liner in 25v discussions, or even in discussions regarding the "armadillo" on folio 80v. 
  
  I would like to add two things.
  

  • Lots of variation in Tarasque depiction.. I think that is the point: Painters elsewhere added an "ordinary" dragon next to Martha... Shells seem to correlate with the Tarasque tradition of southern France. What varies here is usually the face (dragon-like, turtle, lion, etc.), not the shell.
    

  • An intersting question would be, if you could treat Tarasque (or other animals, such as the weird scorpion) as a an additonal "geographical" clue:
    
    You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. -> Of coure this is just a rough estimation and more skilled people should define the geographical reach of such iconographic traditions.
    

• RE: A turtle-shelled dragon

  Koen G > 14-07-2026, 08:03 AM

  It's a wing, scaled or feathered, typical for medieval dragons of this type. Examples of the wing in a resting position on the body are easy to find. Scroll down a bit here, for example: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

• RE: A turtle-shelled dragon

  R. Sale > 14-07-2026, 04:37 PM

  Various depictions of dragons, some with folded wings.
  
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• RE: A turtle-shelled dragon

  Dracaena > 14-07-2026, 07:38 PM

  Dragons with folded wings have a clear delineation between wings and body. 
  However, this dragon has a "bridge" (a carapace-plastron suture). This bridge divides the carapace from the plastron on a turtle shell.
  
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  None of the winged dragons in the examples shows any sign of a suture-like structure. The dragon on 25v has a some kind of suture dividing the upper part (whatever it is) from the body.
  
  Edit: Of course, dragon depictions are varied across Europe. However, I think the dragon on 25v has to be viewed in the context of medieval herbarium dragons. Dragons associated with plants. These dragons in these manuscripts are depicted almost exclusively snake-like
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  The best match for the 25v dragon is this here:
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  ...and it's from a Provencal adaption of Tractatus de Herbis:
  Ms. Palatino 586, fo 12 vo : De ambra, De aceto, De arthemisia tagantes et De arthemisia leptaphilos.
  So, they one matching dragon I could find is also from Provence, ca. 1370-1375
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