research about the illustrations of the voynich manuscript

Author

Methods & Findings

O'NEILL (1944)

CARTER (1946)

Visual examination of the VMS [1]

BRUMBAUGH (1974)

SCHAEFER (2000)

Emphasizes the astronomical and astrological aspects of the VMS. [2]

TAIZ & TAIZ (2011)

Comparison of the illustrations of the balneological section of the VMS with Nicolaus of Damascus' De Plantis, Roger Bacons Questiones supra de Plantis and Albertus Magnus' De Vegetabilibus.

Based on Nicolaus', Bacons and Magnus' ideas of 'concoction' in plants "[...] we postulate that the green liquid in the vats [...] represents a fermenting (digesting and concocting) mixture of earth and water." [3]

"[...] the author depicts a philosophical scene in which women represent vegetative souls located within the very marrow of the plant, driving the processes that make plants grow and reproduce." [4]

WASTL & FEGER (2014)

Comparative analysis of folio 86v ('rosette map') with medieval Mappae Muni.

"The four Elements and the four parts of the world in f86v are a unique representation of the medieval universe. Minding the equilibrium with visually very pleasing ‘four-somes’- geometry and symmetry, the map maker possibly intended a ‘squaring the circle’ in f86v displaying a square with a central Heavenly Jerusalem as both, the quintessential (sic!) geometric and spiritual centre of the universe and, simultaneously, as the Aristotelian fifth element, the so-called quintessence (often referred to as ether) of the known cosmos suitable for the new, heavenly centre of the spiritual medieval world depicted in the Rosette Map in VM408 Folio 86v." [5]

Zandbergen (2014-08-05)

Pre-1960ies herb ids

Zandbergen (2015-05-07)

Codex Taurinensis

Zandbergen (2015-05-07a)

Codex Vaticanus graecus 1291

Zandbergen (2015-06-02b)

analsysis of the illustrations