Re: VMs: 1006184 & 1006185

[william edmondson <w.h.edmondson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi

That is fine - but can these experts also offer us some descriptions of 
how the illustrations differ from the plants 'depicted'?  If we had 
that then we'd know more about what allowances to make wrt the VMS 
illustrations.

Please don't misunderstand me.  I'm simply concerned to clarify the 
basis on which people can say of any VMS illustration that it 'is of 
plant xxxxx'.  Currently I'm underwhelmed by any of the suggestions 
offered, and really bothered that I can stroll into my garden to check 
(and look in piles of books I have to support the gardening) and find 
many many important taxonomical differences.  If folk can genuinely 
explain away those differences then let's hear about it.

On the face of it the possibility that plants evolved a lot over 500 
years seems implausible.  That drawings might be 
systematically/stylistically 'erroneous' is interesting but I need the 
evidence.

That's all.

William


On 9 Jun 2004, at 12:37, Rene Zandbergen wrote:

> --- William Edmondson <w.h.edmondson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> > Hi
> >
> > The point I am trying to make (non-tetchily) is
> > simply that 'looks-like'
> > is very subjective.  The drawing in question doesn't
> > look like a
> > strawberry plant - any strawberry plant - for a
> > number of reasons I  listed.
>
> It being subjective is true, but the real problem
> is even worse. It was never really the purpose
> of ME MS herbals to create lookalikes of the
> plants, so the same objection could be applied
> to a great many ME herbal drawings which are
> known to represent a particular plant (the text
> being readable).
> I'm not a medieval herbal expert, but the above
> statement comes not from me, but from people who
> are (were).
>
> Cheers, Rene
>
>
> 	
> 		
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Dr William Edmondson
School of Computer Science
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston B15 2TT
UK

Voice: +44-121-414-4763
email: w.h.edmondson@xxxxxxxxxx

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