Re: VMs: Herbal illustrations

[ajb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Hello

René wrote..  

>> that the illustrations in the 'Herbal' section look
>>to me as if they were 
>>drawn by or painted by someone who knew nothing of
>>the plants 

>Yes, this has been suggested before, but it has
>not really been discussed very much. It is one
>of many possible ideas and I don't think it
>ever caught on. FWIW, I like this idea very much.
 

Also FWIW - 
I have just done a little experiment. I took some plant
descriptions from Gerard's Herbal (English, c.1600)
and slightly modified them by removing recognisable
English plant names etc. I gave these descriptions to a
friend who has no knowledge of or interest in botany
(or 17th century English language) and who also
has no interest in art and cannot draw. His efforts
bear no resemblance to the real plants but do have
somewhat of the curiously disturbing 'alien' look of the
Voynich herbal illustrations.

Perhaps someone else would care to repeat this
experiment? Meanwhile I will try and find any possible
resonances between VMS plants and pre-15th century
botanical descriptions. Suggestions welcome!

Regards

Anthony


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