Description:

This nymph is the second figure  in the central "canal" in the image on the f80r. Standing (going) in the water (or some liquid), she is dressed in the transparent (wet?) skirt, she holds some object in her hand, which looks similar to tongs or pincers.

In this thread, I want to make a list of possible interpretations concerning the instrument and this person, in general.
One or a few men made a supposition that this nymph may represent a woman in childbirth, and the tool in her hand is an obstetric forceps (after the second part of 16 c.). Another thought was made that this thing and the nymph could have some allegorical meaning.
I also have a few suppositions as for this item. Let's begin from the "transparent skirt". I think it depicts a bathing clothes, just wet. 
For example, as in bathing of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.:
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

Now, about the thing similar to You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. or pincers. There are quite many kinds of tongs: blacksmith's tongs for coal (fireplace tongs, fire-tongs), goldsmith's tongs, dental tongs, ice tongs, etc.

Tongs themselves are very old instrument:
1). Ancient Greek: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..
HEPHAISTOS (Hephaestus) was the Olympian god of fire, smiths, craftsmen, metalworking, stonemasonry and sculpture. He was depicted as a bearded man holding a hammer and tongs - the tools of a smith, and, sometimes, riding a donkey.
2).The Bible:
Isaiah 6:6 "Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar."
3). Pirkei Avot:
"According to Pirkei Avot, a classical Jewish text of the third century of the common era, the first pair of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. were created by God right before God rested in the Seventh Day. The reasoning is that a blacksmith must use a pair of tongs in order to fashion a brand new pair of tongs. Accordingly, God must have provided humankind with the first pair of tongs."
Pirkei Avot, chapter 5, mishnah 6 says:

Quote:Ten things were created at twilight of Shabbat eve. These are: the mouth of the earth [that swallowed Korach]; the mouth of [Miriam's] well; the mouth of [Balaam's] ass; the rainbow; the manna; [Moses'] staff; the shamir; the writing, the inscription and the tablets [of the Ten Commandments]. Some say also the burial place of Moses and the ram of our father Abraham. And some say also the spirits of destruction as well as the original tongs, for tongs are made with tongs.

I think this is a very important question that might illuminate some things, yet I'm not sure if there is any answer readily available.
The question has been purposefully phrased in terms of "most impact" because I'm not primarily interested in rare characters and other freak occurrences, but rather differences that might affect entropy (thanks Anton) and similar properties.

I believe the alterations would mostly be to read as two separate glyphs something which in EVA is transcribed as one.
Perhaps the most obvious example is the different kinds of "caps" on the bench. I would try to distinguish there between the floater and the toucher.

But when I look at other glyphs, I also see significant variation, especially in the "tilt", for example in l and d. But those seem harder to tell apart.
What is your opinion? And is there a way we could test whether a split is meaningful?

I have been studying Quire 13 for many months now, and have written quite a lot about it. I thought it would be a good idea to make a thread where I can share the results of my analyses. And hopefully discuss your comments, questions, criticisms or additional ideas.

I decided to do my own "Jackson sequence" and call these things Konstellations because my name starts with a K. There is a good reason to not call them "constellations" because they diverge from standard depictions in a relatively consistent way.

What?
A Konstellation is two things at once, a synthesis of:

1. A scene in an Ovidian myth, part of a narrative sequence that spans one or two pages.
   
2. A depiction of an Aratean constellation.
   

• f79r Ceyx and Alcyone: Ceyx' ship is destroyed in a storm, Iris is sent to the realm of Sleep, Morpheus tells Alcyone the news that her husband is dead.
  
• f79v Scylla and Glaucus: Glaucus, a "merman", is in love with Scylla. He asks the witch Circe for a love potion. Circe is jealous and turns Scylla into a monster/rock instead.
  
• f80r Philomela (part 1)
  
• f76v Philomela (part 2)
  
• f80v Callisto
  

• f76v Ara, Engonasin (Hercules), Lyra, Cygnus, Equus. Scorpio's tail is hinted at above Ara.
  
• f79r Perseus, Aries, Auriga, Gemini, Libra, Ophiuchus. Also both Equinoxes are marked. Locations of in-between constellations are marked with dots but not depicted.
  
• f79v Argo Navis, Piscis Austrinus, Triangulum, Delphinus, Sagitta
  
• f80r Scorpio, Pisces, Virgo, Aquarius, Leo, Taurus
  
• f80v Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Draco, Bootes, Orion, Cetus, Lepus, Canis, Corvus-Hydra-Crater
  

Like most things Voynich, these "rainbows" look rather strange. They consist of four or five bands, one colored blue and another green.
They are not tube-like, distinguishing them from similar bows in the MS.

So well, I wonder, could these actually represent rainbows? Has anyone found comparative images?

I started this thread because I saw this rainbow in the Wiener Genesis, which reminded me of the VM style. But that's all I've got for now.

Attached Files

Thumbnail(s)
   

Nick Pelling introduced on his blog the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. with the aim of matching blocks of text sources across several pages of the Voynich manuscript in an attempt to create a new angle for voynich analysis.
I tried to use a special use case of his methodology in order to match a single text source to a single folio analysing the network of imagery within. I attach the summary of my findings in essay format You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. .
As the title of the thread and essay already indicates, I suggest strong links of the Rosette folio’s micro-imagery (part of it, not all) to Aristotle’s Meteorologica (as indicated previously You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. on Davidsch's thread). For those not fancying the full story, I attach one figure with two findings: Firewinds and whirlwinds and their proximity in text (webster translation of Meteorologica, Bekker pagination fro the greek version in the figure) and image details, respectively.
Other findings e.g. relate to earthquakes. The discussion then introduces some more suggestions (e.g. the Aristotelian life cycle in the context of the Meteorologica). By no means is that work finished, but if anyone wants to comment on it, I would be grateful for any feedback.

Attached Files

Thumbnail(s)
   

About the plant in f7v: it struck me that it has a single dot on each of its leaves. I thought this might be an abstraction, and signify 'has dots on its leaves'. 

In that case this plant could for instance be Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis), which has dotted leaves, little flowers, and belongs to the Boraginaceae, which in general have hairy leaves . 

See pictures: Lungwort (Pulmonaria) in photo, in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. MS Egerton 747 (Nicolaus of Salerno, Tractatus de herbis , c.1280-1310), and in Giorgio Bonelli’s, Hortus romanus, vol. 2, Rome, 1774, tab. 27.

           

Is anyone aware of similar abstractions in representation in other herbal manuscripts of that time? 

If was wondering if perhaps the 'image language' in the herbal section could be in general more abstract than one would expect.

Unfortunately, I didn't download the image and I didn't bookmark the page, but ReneZ uploaded an interesting mention some months ago of a "Voynich page" which the owner feels is authentic (or authentically old, I can't remember which)—of one of the large-plant drawings.


The instant I saw it, it was obvious to me that it was not drawn by the Voynich illustrator and the person who had copied the text didn't fully understand Voynichese glyph forms, so I basically forgot about it until a few minutes ago when it suddenly hit me why there was something eerily familiar about it. I can't find the original picture anywhere on the Net so I can't compare them to check if I remember it correctly, but it struck me that it is similar to a specific style and so perhaps was done around the same time. Maybe it's one of the drawings that was copied and sent to one of the potential decipherers, since most of the owners of the VMS were reluctant to let the original out of their hands.

If so, then it would definitely form part of the provenance of the manuscript.

Does anyone know if there's still a link to the pic on the Web?

Just a small question I can't find any answer to: is there is a word written in the upper left corner of the Rosettes page (left above the image of the sun)?

What about three categories... women, men, and uncertain?

Hi everyone,

I can't believe there isn't a specific thread about the thing yet... you know what I mean: the thing.



Whatever it is, it must be pretty important since it is shown twice.

I've heard it described as bellows, or as part of a flower or bud, or as spinning equipment. Sorry for not referencing that better, I can't remember who said what or when.

I'm curious about everyone's opinions on this thing, and about the connections forum members may make with other objects.

To get the ball rolling, and without much conviction, I'll present these eel traps:


Luttrell Psalter (BL Add MS 42130) c1320-1340, f 181r.