VMs: Pliny or something similar... was Hoya

[Rene Zandbergen <r_zandbergen@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- Jorge Stolfi <stolfi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> As it has been noted several times in this list,
> several plants in the
> Herbal section are obviously clean copies of Pharma
> plant drawings.
  [...] 
> the Pharma drawings show only part
> plants --- roots, leaves,
> sometimes more.  Those parts are copied faithfully
> (only more carefully)
> in the Herbal copy.  The parts that are missing in
> the Pharma version
> are often weird-looking in the Herbal version.
> 
> So, indeed, it look like the Herbal plants are
> half-real, half-invented.

Which is why I could very well imagine that the
VMs is like an 'illustrated copy' of a
non-illustrated original. Take e.g. Pliny.
His herbal text could have been translated 
(or encrypted FAIC) to Voynichese, and the
VMs author could have added illustrations to his
taste. In some cases, the author would have known
which plant was meant, so he could make a 
faithful copy. In some other cases he had no clue
so he had to go by the partial descriptions in
the original text. I maintain that this would
result in something very much like we have in
the VMs.

Cheers, Rene

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