The manuscripts in the (short) list in the first post are a selection of those for which I found images online in 2009-2010. Even when it is not that long ago, it was much harder then than it is now. When looking at scanned images online, one has no feel whatsoever for the physical size of the MS, and I made the picture for my own use.
The MSs are sorted chronologically (roughly) in the picture.
The one conspicuous thing about the dimensions of the Voynich MS is that it is relatively small, as has been noted both by amateurs and by experts alike, but they are in no way unusual. In fact, that is one thing that the figure shows clearly.
There are much smaller MSs still, and perhaps MS Plut. 73.16 could be called unusual.
The figure also shows that one cannot use the dimensions to say anything about the time when the MS was created, or the region. The fact that two alchemical herbals have a very similar size does not mean too much, since other alchemical herbals are larger. However, it just shows that the size of the Voynich MS is not unusual.
JKP is quite correct, of course, that the size does say something about the intended use of a book. Casanatense 459, one of the larger ones, was conceived as a present from a prince for a king.
The MSs are sorted chronologically (roughly) in the picture.
The one conspicuous thing about the dimensions of the Voynich MS is that it is relatively small, as has been noted both by amateurs and by experts alike, but they are in no way unusual. In fact, that is one thing that the figure shows clearly.
There are much smaller MSs still, and perhaps MS Plut. 73.16 could be called unusual.
The figure also shows that one cannot use the dimensions to say anything about the time when the MS was created, or the region. The fact that two alchemical herbals have a very similar size does not mean too much, since other alchemical herbals are larger. However, it just shows that the size of the Voynich MS is not unusual.
JKP is quite correct, of course, that the size does say something about the intended use of a book. Casanatense 459, one of the larger ones, was conceived as a present from a prince for a king.