VMs: RE: Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 17:27:28 -0400

["GC" <glenclaston@xxxxxxxxx>]

Luis wrote:

> >Manuscript books were mainly produced in Europe in the
> scriptoria of
> religious houses. >There were secular illuminators and
> scribes who worked
> on a fixed charge. Books made of >parchment could be on
> religious topics,
> such as the Bible or legends of saints; they could >be
> on secular topics,
> such as history and romances; and they were also used
> as >textbooks. The
> Bibles, stories of saints, Books of Hours, histories
> and romances were
> >often beautifully illuminated with colours and gold
> and became luxury
> items that reflected >the wealth and the taste of the
> owners. Manuscripts
> of learning, however, tended to be >more humble,
> limited in decoration and
> colour.

For every "usual" there's often an "unusual", and the VMS
certainly fits into that category.  There are several examples of
personal herbals, unique and individual works of art, created over
a period of time by an herbalist or doctor for his/her own use.  A
very good example of one from the 15th century can be viewed in
its entirety at the Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text and
Imaging,
http://dewey.library.upenn.edu/sceti/flash.cfm?CFID=796065&CFTOKEN
=21357554

There are many more of these in British libraries, and I assume,
libraries around the world.  Some are to be found in miscellaneous
sections, since the author is usually unknown and the artistry not
of high quality.

> Finally, in a very fine enhancement of a Regiomontanus
> print also in their
> collection, we note again the Pisces joined by a
> string, the Cancer
> crayfish and the somewhat unusual "S" (eyebrow becomes
> nose) facial pattern:
> http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/starry/regiomontanuslrg.jpg

I've looked at a lot of these as well, especially the Pisces.  In
the VMS it is easy to identify the fish as sturgeon, and I've
found only one other image so far where these fish are sturgeon.
If we can find a manuscript with a sturgeon Pisces, we might be
able to make more connections.

GC

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