Re: VMs: F66r

[Nick Pelling <incoming@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi everyone,

At 11:33 14/06/2004 +0100, Gabriel Landini wrote:
> On Monday 14 June 2004 10:57, Nick Pelling wrote:
> > (2) The crude "heavy painting" (ie not fine details, like the nymphs'
> > mouths and cheeks) was done once the current binding was in place.
>
> I do not follow this. Leave a book closed in unknown conditions of pressure,
> humidity, temperature, etc. for hundreds of years. For sure you will get the
> 'transfer' effect across facing folios, regardless of whether it was bound
> first or painted first.

(a) For the fine detail painting, there is no bleed-across noticeable (I've 
looked quite hard for any). If not, why one and not the other?
(b) Many subtle details are obscured by the heavy painting (look in the 
baths in the balneo section) - why draw things and then paint over them?
(c) For conditions of variable humidity etc, surely there would be 
differing effects in different quires, different parts of pages?
(d) The current quire structure was intact when they were painted - see the 
bleed-across between quires 5 and 6 (f40v across to f41r)
(e) Probably the most convincing evidence is that the bleed-across is 
nearly all left-page-to-right-page. This is surely inconsistent with any 
variable humidity hypothesis? In fact, I suspect it may point to a 
left-handed heavy painter painting right-first left-second.

> > (3) The VMs' alphabet is strongly influenced by Tironian notae, and not
> > influenced by Arabic numerals at all.
>
> Have a look at Cappelli's dictionary. The great majority of the characters 
> are
> there and EVA <l> is the mediaeval number 4. (Are you implying that Tironian
> notae then evolved into mainstream abbreviations?)

To be more precise, I should have said:
        "(3) The VMs' alphabet is strongly influenced by medieval notae, and
        not influenced by *15th-century or later* Arabic numerals at all."

Cheers, .....Nick Pelling..... 

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