Category Archives: The Voynich Zodiac Wheels

Aries Gets the Goat

11 February 2021

I have to make this quick. My time for blogging is very limited (and I have many mostly-finished blogs I need to get posted). But I thought this quirk in some medieval zodiacs might be interesting to Voynich researchers.

Mislabeled or Misunderstood

In a cruise through eBay a couple of years ago I noticed that many small sculptures, pieces of jewelry, and designs on ceramics that were based on animals were mislabeled. Foxes labeled as mice, hedgehogs labeled as boars, deer labeled as foxes. These were not occasional errors, they were common. Apparently, some people don’t recognize animals, especially if they are small.

VMS goat-like illustration where Aries would usually be.

I’ve already posted a blog on how unrealistic medieval animal drawings can be, but sometimes this is because the animal was unknown. For example, unicorns sometimes resembled a cross between a goat and a rhino. Tigers were sometimes drawn as stripy horses. Elephants were sometimes cowlike animals with long noses.

I have also seen marginal drawings of goats labeled as sheep (and sometimes vice-versa). The VMS pic where one would expect a sheep, in the slot usually assigned to Aries, does have fairly curvy horns but otherwise is quite goat-like:

Zodiac figures Beinecke 408, the Voynich Manuscript

Does this happen in other medieval zodiacs? Yes, sometimes. Here are some examples.

Goat-Like Aries or Misplaced Figures

In the first example, extracted from a wheel illustration, the constellation Aries is somewhat goatlike, especially considering that medieval sheep were often drawn with long tails. However, it can still be distinguished from the goat by having slightly more curved horns:

Zodiac figures Bodmer 7

The following drawings are a bit degraded, so it’s hard to see clearly, but the goat and ram have been transposed. The drawing in Aries has long horns and a short, upturned tail (goat-like), and the one in Capricorn has shorter, curved horns and a longer down-turned tail:

Zodiac Walters W.425

In this example, the figures are out of order. The illustrator mistakenly drew Capricorn (goat) and Sagittarius (centaur) in the months for Aries (ram) and Taurus (bull).

BNF Latin 1156 A zodiac figures

In the next example, Aries has a goatlike beard and the traditional goat-fish has been used for Capricorn:

Zodiac figures KB 76 E 4

In this example, Aries has sheep-like wool combined with a goat-like tail and beard:

Zodiac figures for Codex Guilf 8.7

Sometimes the drawings are so similar, it’s difficult to tell the sheep from the goat. In this case the bodies are almost the same (Aries is slightly thicker, but not much). The main difference is the curl of the horns:

Zodiacs Morgan MS M.126

Summary

In general, in medieval zodiacs, Aries is depicted with curly horns and a puffy or long tail (usually pointing down), Capricorn usually has a shorter tail, sometimes upturned, with straighter horns and often a beard.

It doesn’t happen often, but Aries is sometimes drawn like a goat, and Capricorn is occasionally transposed with Aries. The VMS goat-like sheep in the Aries slot is somewhat unusual, but it’s not unprecedented, so it’s difficult to know if the deviation is lack of experience, a mistake, or a deliberate choice.

J.K. Petersen

© Copyright February 2021 J.K. Petersen, All Rights Reserved

Stages of Life Revisited

10 December 2019

In 2016, I posted several blogs suggesting the imagery around the VMS zodiac figures might be cycles of life. In medieval times they called this the Ages of Man but since the nymphs are mostly women and some of the VMS cycles are specific to women’s physiology, I thought “stages of life” might be more appropriate.

I have less doubt about this interpretation than many aspects of the VMS, but I didn’t hear much support for the idea. The nymphs have variously been interpreted as star charts, parts of a calendar, and numerous other ideas (I have other ideas too, but the one I prefer for this specific wheel is stages of life). I intended to follow up the blog with more examples years ago, and this blog has been sitting in draft form since June, but other lines of research always intrude on continuing a series so, belatedly, here it is…

Ages of Man

Before we look at Ages of Man, keep in mind that classical Ages of Man (as described by Ovid and Hesiod) focused more on the evolution of mankind from gods, titans, heroes, to iron-age man, and less on the evolution of modern humans.

In the Middle Ages, dependence on classical beliefs began to wane. The concept of the Ages of Man still retained some classical ideas, but focused more and more on the individual’s journey through time. The stages of wo-man lagged behind the stages of man, but were gradually acknowledged in the Renaissance and early modern periods.

Unwinding the Zodiac-Figure Nymph-Wheels

Below is an overview of the folio, and following that, the unwound series of nymphs I posted in April 2016 (the figures surrounding the f70v fish).

Note: In this overview, I am not entirely certain if the tipped-over barrels in the center ring, which I think of as coffins, are being entered (as the last stage of life), or exited (as the soul ascends to the after-world), so the arrows in the inner ring might have a different start-point than indicated here, but either way, the basic idea is the same, the outer wheel is maturation and middle age, the inner wheel is older age with a sugar-coated version of death or possibly one of ascension:

In 2016, I suggested this was a life cycle from pre-adolescence to old age.

Note how the nymphs in the outer ring go from skinny unpregnant pre-adolescence through child-bearing years and middle age, to tipped-over baskets that resemble caskets. The age progression and tipped-over posture gave me a hint of their possible meaning:

VMS 70v cycle of life

I believe this is a cradle-to-grave sequence, but did such a concept exist in medieval society?

Yes, very much so, and it was drawn in a variety of ways. Here are some examples…

Cradle-to-Grave Sequences

This stages-of-life diagram is a simple timeline. Note how the first figure is young, the second-to-last is hunched, and the last figure tips over.

A detail from a 1482 German woodcut representing youth, maturation, aging, and death in ten steps. [Copyright © The Trustees of the British Museum]

In classical and medieval times, the ages of life were usually described in six to eleven stages…

Plato described nine stages. Isidore of Seville (6th century) lists six: infantia, pueritia, adolescentia, juventus, gravitas, and senectus.

Shakespeare eloquently counts seven:

All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players, They have their exits and entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages…

Sometimes there were fewer stages. The following 13th- or 14th-century example (sorry, I couldn’t find a shelfmark) roughly follows Isidore’s classification (relative to the VMS, note the Gemini-like amorous couple in the adolescence circle):

Postscript 21 March 2020: This illustrator managed to include seven ages of man within the tiny space of a historiated initial, beginning at the bottom and going clockwise:

Ages of Man illustrated within a historiated initial in a 15th century manuscript from Utrecht.
The seven ages of man contained within a historiated initial. [Source: Digital Walters W.171, c. 1402]

Sometimes the cycle was depicted like a generational photo, rather than as a chart. Here are two examples depicting seven stages:

Generational drawing of the stages of man from infancy to old age.
From infancy to old age in seven stages, from De proprietatibus rerum, Published after Jan. 1486 in the same style as a French copy from 1485 [courtesy of the U.S. Library of Congress]

In other words, there were no set rules on how to organize the drawing, or how many stages to include. As long as the idea of cradle-to-grave was present, the illustrator could draw the passage of life in many ways.

Postscript 28 March 2020: I wanted to add this depiction of the Stages of Life because it’s a bit unusual. Most illustrators tried to compact the stages into one image. In this case, the stages were spread over two different folios several pages apart, with commentary in between (Cod. pal. germ. 471):

The stages of life from youth to old age from Cod. pal. germ. 471.

Ages Depicted Staircase-Style

Staircase drawings were especially popular in the 16th and 17th centuries and these later examples are of interest because the ages relate to animals through verse, and four of the animals are common to zodiac sequences (ram, bull, lion, goat). This is not a direct reference to astrology, it’s probably biblical, but it is interesting because depictions in other styles sometimes include astrological references (discussed further below).

Here’s the background on some of the stages-of-life animal drawings… There are biblical interpretations about the life of man being increased from 30 to between 70 and 100 years by adding in the ages of animals who begged to live shorter lifespans to ease their lives of burden.

The idea of animals relating to the ages of man is reflected in a classical Greek poem by Babrius:

Horse, bull, and dog appear freezing before the house of man. He opens the door, receives them kindly and offers them food; the horse gets barley, the bull legumens, and the dog food from the table. The animals filled with gratitude towards the man give up part of their years in return for his hospitality. First the horse repays with his years, that is why man is insolent in his youth; then the bull, therefore the middle-aged man has to work hard; last comes the dog with his years…

—L. Landau, The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 1920

Here is one of the later staircase-style cradle-to-grave illustrations. I include it because it shows how stages were increased over the smaller set from classical times:

The above drawing illustrates eleven stages with animals inset in the steps. The cradle and grave are on the ground, perhaps expressing the idea of “dust to dust”:

The verse for the child and the man of 30 are as follows:

Eh’ noch das kind fünf Jahr erreicht, Un Unschuld es dem ramme gleicht. (Before the child reaches five, it is innocent/unknowledgable about the ram.)

Mit dreißig zieht er in den Krieg, Stark wie ein Ochs, erringt den Sieg. (At thirty, he goes to war, strong like an ox, achieving the victory.)

Post-medieval cradle-to-grave illustrations often include biblical references in both the illustrations and the text, and the overall CtoG theme was included in hymns and prayers.

The Feminine Angle

Medieval depictions of the stages of life usually emphasize men, but a lightly modified version for women was created for commercial sale in later years.

This is a simplified version, without animals or verses, with a greater emphasis on marriage and children, as published in the early 19th century for women:

Ages of women c. 1840, published by Currier & Ives

There were also versions with both men and women that might be more similar to the VMS. This one includes includes 17 figures (and a dog) and 11 stages:

Stages of Life - Men and Women
Cradle to Grave. Based on Fridolin Leiber by Gustave May, Frankfurt, Germany, late 1800s.

Here is a similar theme from romance to old age, played out by flamboyant characters:

The Life Ages of Man, Abraham Bach the Edler, c. 1651 [courtesy of Wikimedia Commons]

The following example is more sparse than some, only six stages (or five, depending on how one interprets the top step with two figures), but includes animals, and emphasizes the cradle-to-grave aspect with a cradle and casket at either end:

Stylistically, these don’t have the same look or feel as the VMS nymphs, but in terms of content, there are other formats with larger numbers of figures. This one is populated by 24 figures on the ground and steps, plus about 24 more in the round frames, along with some overseers (including an angel and a demon). In other words, more than the VMS:

Stages of life from birth to the grave by John Pitts
Stages of life from birth to the grave, with heaven and hell inset in the center, John Pitts, London 1811.

So those are some timeline, generational, and staircase formats, but there are also some based around wheels.

Co-opting the Wheel of Fortune Theme

Some stages-of-man illustrations borrowed from the “wheel of fortune” concept that was popular in the Middle Ages, with slight modifications in the characters. Note that this differs from most of the Wheel of Fortune drawings in that Fortuna is not present (there is a skeleton instead), there is no king at the top, and the emphasis is on maturing and aging rather than on one’s material standing, with a young boy on the left and a mostly prone figure on the bottom-right (and graves in the background):

Cradle to grave illustration in wheel of fortune style
The Wheel of Life in 10 steps with skeleton turning the wheel (c. 1800) [courtesy of http://www.kulturramtirol.at/ ]

At this link you will see many more arrangements.

What about earlier examples?

In this Schwabian manuscript, blindfolded Fortuna is turning the wheel, but the main theme is clearly not a wheel of fortune. It represents cradle-to-grave with labels similar to those used by Isidore of Seville. An angel waits in the casket below:

Cradle-to-grave sequence in wheel-of-fortune style with seven classical stages [BSB Cgm 312, c. 1450]

The idea is also reflected in sculpture, as in this example from the tomb of Peter 1st in Alcobaça, who died later in the 14th century. Unfortunately, it is horribly defaced, but in the inner ring, you can see the Fortuna theme, and in the outer ring are the stages of life. You can make out a mother and infant in the lower left, and if you follow the figures clockwise through their life cycle, you eventually reach the prone figure under the lid of a casket at the bottom:

Mother and infant on the left in the outer ring, with stages of life running clockwise around until it reaches the crypt in the bottom-center. [Source: Alcobaça tomb of Peter 1 by ho visto nina volare, Wikipedia]

Here is a late-15th century blockprint of the stages of life as a wheel. Except for the wheel, it is similar to some of the staircase drawings:

The Wheel of Life might be the same idea as the VMS, but it doesn’t feel the same in terms of drawing style and so far there’s very little connection with zodiac figures. Are there stages-of-life drawings with astrological connections?

Connections to Astrology and Astronomy—Wheels with “Stars”

There is a variation on the Wheel of Fortune that has a stronger relationship to astrological/astronomical concepts than the previous examples. In this woodcut, Fortuna is replaced by an angel, the earth is in the center, and the seven stars or “planets”, as they called them (including the sun and moon), orbit around it.

Late 15th-century woodcut of cosmological themes (the seven “planets”) based on the general idea of a wheel of fortune or wheel of life.

The following example from the Psalter of Robert de Lisle, originated in England in the early 1300s. This is often called The Ages of Man but you might notice small differences between these early depictions and the way they drew the Ages of Man in the 15th and 16th centuries.

The general format is circular, with a figure in the center, and there is an infant in the first circle (7 o’clock) and a prone figure near the end (4 o’clock). In this way it is similar to the sculpture of Peter 1. The actual lifespan is shown in eight stages, plus a circle for the eulogy, and a sarcophagus for a total of ten. The labels mention infancy, youth, aging, and death, as was common for classical stages:

The Ages of Man, showing stages of life in a circle around a central figure. [Howard Psalter and De Lisle Psalter, British Library Arundel 83, Creative Commons 1.0 – Public Domain]

Medieval Classification of Stages

The stages in the following illustration from De Lisle Psalter are sandwiched together with Bible stories. Following the Tree of Life (the Jesse Tree) is a wheel with 12 stages of life, written as abbreviations for birth (Nasce[n]s), infancy (Infans), childhood (Puer.), adolescence (Adolesce[n]s), etc., counter-clockwise around the circle until one reaches death. In the corners are symbols for the four evangelists. The central figure is usually Jesus or God (in older manuscripts, the central figure is sometimes a personified sun):

12 stages of life from the De Lysle Psalter
12 Stages of Life from birth to death in the De Lysle Psalter, Arundel MS 82 (c. 1339) arranged in a wheel around a central figure of the deity nimbed. Symbols for Mathew, John, Luke, and Mark are in the corners.

Could images like this, arranged in a circle, have inspired the VMS creator to combine zodiac figures with the stages of life? The VMS is rife with illustrations that hint at concepts that have been combined, but they are not quite overt enough to be sure.

The Zodiac and Ages of Man

The idea of associating the stages of man with zodiac figures (thus creating 12 stages) may have come to us through Hebrew sources (e.g, the Midrash Tanhuman referenced by Landau, 1920).

Astrological mansions (affairs of man) are combined with zodiac symbols in the following example by Erhard Schön. They are expressed as figures within three concentric circles. The inner circle includes the seven “planets” that are present in many medieval cosmological drawings, surrounded by twelve zodiac figures, further surrounded by twelve mansions in the outer circle. Since this diagram was created by a card-maker (1515), it is not surprising that some of the outer figures are also found in Tarot cards.

The subject matter is slightly different from the VMS—it generally focuses on affairs of men, and all the zodiac figures are in one diagram, but the general format (zodiac figures combined with other figures in concentric wheels), is more like the VMS than many of the previous examples. Note how the the numbers run counterclockwise:

Houses and zodiac in concentric circles by card-maker Erhard Schön (1515).
Natal horoscope by Erhard Schoen, early 16th century.

If you are curious about what the mansions represent, look at the seventh house (on the right, next to the skeleton) and you will see the marriage ceremony. The skeleton itself refers to death, wills, and testaments. The tenth house represents kings, generals, and other leaders. The eleventh house is not as easy to discern in this image, but it represents friendship and fidelity.

Astrological References from Eastern Europe

In Bulgaria, there are frescoes that combine several ideas, including night and day, the seasons, the stages of life, and zodiac figures.

For example, the wheel in the Church of the Nativity in Arbanasi is one of the closest parallels I’ve found so far to the stages of life wheel in the VMS. It has concentric circles of figures, a number of which are unclothed. The zodiac figures are traditional, however, are all included in one wheel, and are not of the same iconographic subset as the VMS zodiac figures, but it’s still worth keeping this fresco in mind (the labels in the green band are the months of the year). Unfortunately, the images are copyrighted so you will have to click the link.

Eastern Wheels

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

The wheel of life or Wheel of Becoming (called bhavacakra भवचक्र) is a prevalent theme in buddhist art, but it follows a different scheme from western manuscripts, emphasizing the idea of karma and rebirth and planes of existence, along with the different realms (animal, human, etc.). They don’t usually include zodiac figures in the same way as some of the western manuscripts and Bulgarian frescoes.

When zodiac figures are included in Wheels of Becoming, they are typically in the eastern style, composed entirely of animals and are usually symbolic of various emotions or states of being.

Many of these Buddhist wheels are later than the 16th century.

I believe the VMS wheel expresses a cradle-to-grave theme rather than eastern concepts of reincarnation.

Textual Versions of Stages of Life

Many manuscripts that include herbs, information on bathing, or astrological information are not illustrated. The same is true for Stages of Life.

L. Landau (1920) mentions a rhyming poem about the stages of life that I think is important for textual reasons related to the VMS. It is not medieval, it was written in Venice in 1554, but it stands out as an example of how languages and scripts can be jumbled together in less obvious ways, something that could easily have happened in the 14th or 15th centuries, as well.

Bodley Can. Or. 12, Neubauer 1217 (fol. 211b–213) is a slightly bewildering combination of German/Yiddish and Judeo-Italian that was not penned in Latin script—it was written using Hebrew letter-shapes even though it is not in Hebrew:

Bodleian Library, Can. Or. 12 (Neubauer 1217), folio 213
Bodleian Library, Can. Or. 12 (Neubauer 1217), folio 213, Judeo German/Italian (in alternate verses) written with Hebrew letters, probably intended for oral recitation.
Does the Stages-of-Life concept apply to other VMS wheels?

As mentioned in previous blogs, I believe that several of the other wheels have similar themes, but that they focus and enlarge on more specific stages, such as menstrual cycles and childbearing cycles.

For example, in the 2016 blog, I posted an unspun cycle from 70v (green Aries, which is on the same foldout as Pisces) that focuses on female nymphs and their journey through womanhood. I believe it begins with a pre-adolescent maturing into a woman and acquiring a large [probably pregnant] belly (and possibly stretch marks).

Notice the fancy veil on the sixth nymph. I’ve noticed a fancier veil on other nymphs in contexts where it might represent marriage (I’m not completely certain of this because diadems were often used in preference to veils, but it depended on the region and time period):

Cycles of life Voynich Manuscript

When I was researching medieval wedding customs I read that some couples lived together and didn’t get married until the woman became pregnant. The logic was that the husband-to-be wanted to be sure his fiancée could produce children. This was not the custom everywhere, there was a gradual shift from Pagan to Christian traditions that differed from region to region, but living together before marriage was not as uncommon or as counter-culture in the 15th century as I originally assumed.

It’s possible the lines on the belly of the nymphs in this sequence represent stretch marks. I say this based on looking at patterns in all the folios but I am not entirely sure this is the correct interpretation. I do think it’s worth considering, however, because the lines are never on the pre-adolescent girls or male nymphs. They are usually on the ones with big bellies or the thinner ones that follow soon after the big bellies. As far as I can tell, this sequence represents two pregnancies, perhaps to show that it happens more than once in a woman’s life.

I found it particularly interesting that the bellies in all the green Aries nymphs are prominently displayed so you can see if they are thin or large, except the last one…

Since the sequence starts with a pre-adolescent girl (I suspect the genitals are displayed above the edge of the barrel to make it clear it’s not a boy), I’m wondering if maybe the last nymph, with the hidden belly, represents menopause, the point at which there are no more buns in the oven.

Related Wheel-Themes

The nymphs around affectionate-Gemini relate to these themes, as well. At 2 o’clock, there is a lustful male (I’m pretty sure his flag is raised) with his eye on the nymph in front of him.

There are several other males surrounding Gemini, some of them clothed (it’s a bit of a leap, but I am reminded of love triangles, which were popular in medieval literature, stories such as Tristan and Isolde, the forerunner to the story of Guinevere):

I wanted to go into more detail about these other cycles, but it’s far too much information for one blog, so I’ll leave it for now and will fill in the rest as I have time.

Summary

It should be clear from the above examples, that there was no specific format for cradle-to-grave illustrations. They can be timelines, staircases, wheels, or anything else that gets the idea across. The number of figures isn’t rigid either. What is common to all of them is the progression from youth to old age, and old age is frequently represented by semi-prone or prone figures and may include various styles of crypts or coffins.

I see 70v Pisces nymphs as a cradle-to-grave theme and green Aries, Gemini, and some of the others, as subsets of the cradle-to-grave idea (an expansion of the middle years, with the focus on romance and child-bearing). It’s appropriate that the Pisces and Aries nymphs would be side-by-side, and perhaps intentional that the pregnancy cycle is on Aries, the symbol we most associate with spring.

J.K. Petersen

© Copyright 2019 J.K. Petersen, All Rights Reserved

Missing Links

21 July 2019

The Voynich Manuscript has 10 figural themes patterned after zodiac symbols, where one would usually expect 12. Two have been duplicated in different colors. The unduplicated figures are surrounded by 30 nymphs each, the others 15. The figures for Aquarius and Capricon, which are usually at the beginning and end of traditional sequences, are missing (or were not necessary for whatever purpose the designer intended).

Over the years, I have collected more than 550 early zodiac sequences, most of them complete. It’s becoming difficult to find ones I don’t already have, so I’ve only located three more in the last year, but 550+ is probably enough to post some general observations.

VMS Layout

In the VMS, the double fish we associate with Pisces follow directly after a section with a lot of moon and starburst shapes, so there isn’t space to insert a seemingly missing Aquarius. The last figure, the crossbowman, falls before a completely different section with nymphs in green pools, so there may be a folio missing after Sagittarius:

VMS figures patterned after zodiacs.

It doesn’t seem likely that the two “Aries” drawings stand for Capricorn (or for Aries and Capricorn), since the sequence would be wrong, and Taurus has been duplicated as well. Similarly, the extra Taurus would not be a good stand-in for the missing Capricorn or Aquarius, so it seems probable that Aries and Taurus are four halves of two wholes.

Sources

Most medieval zodiacs were added to astrology/astronomy manuscripts, books of hours (where they served as embellishments along with months’ labors), missals (although less frequently), and books of general knowledge that include sections on cosmology or astrology.

This blog is a continuation of a series of combination-searches and will not delve into Aquarius. Aquarius imagery can be quite variable, even among similar traditions, which makes it hard to guess what Aquarius might have looked like if it were part of the original VMS.

Instead, this blog focuses on zodiacs with crayfish-Cancer and lizard-like Scorpius, because they appear to represent a distinct subgroup in terms of thematic content and execution (about 7%). See previous blogs for other combinatoins.

Incomplete Zodiacs

It’s not difficult to find zodiac series with fewer than 12 figures. Sometimes drawings have been cut out, sometimes the series is unfinished (or has been sketched but not painted). Occasionally there are mistakes. But usually it’s evident that 12 figures were intended. With the VMS, the intent is not so clear but we can look at some incomplete sets to see what they offer.

The following manuscript was significantly vandalized, with only four zodiac figures spared and many of the months’ labors excised, as well. The four remaining figures (aquatic critters and crawly things) are contained within gold-filled roundels and show a mixture of traditions—the uncommon lizard-like Scorpius combined with the classical “Capri-Pisces” (goat-fish), also known as a sea-goat:

Significantly defaced zodiac in BNF Latin 8885
Vandalized zodiac series in BNF Latin 8885 (14th century). Note that Scorpius has been erroneously placed in the month labeled September rather than its usual place in October.
Taking Stock

In the vandalized zodiac, Pisces is blue, and the fish have long noses.

Color variations are common in copied manuscripts, even those with identical figures, but in this case the blue fish seems to be an underlying theme that is carried over to other manuscripts, as will be shown in the following examples. Cancer is a crayfish, Scorpio is lizard-like (these are medieval innovations), but Capricorn is a classical seagoat dating back thousands of years.

After going through my files numerous times, I’m fairly confident that the vandalized missal is in the same general tradition as a subgroup from France/Normandy/Flanders that is discussed below. This might be relevant to the VMS because crayfish-Cancer combined with a somewhat reptilian Scorpius represents less than 10% of 550+ examples.

Scorpius is generally represented by one of these four themes: a real scorpion (sometimes badly drawn), a turtle, a dragon, or a vaguely reptilian creature.

Cancer is typically a crayfish/lobster or a crab.

So let’s look at the general characteristics of this specific group of manuscripts…

Crayfish & Lizardy Scorpius Mixed with Classical Themes

Here is an example from early 13th century France that includes long-nosed blue fish, crayfish-Cancer, and lizardy-Scorpius, anomalously blended with classical scales-with-figure, centaur and seagoat. Sometimes the tail of the seagoat is more like a shell than a fish, but both commonly represent Capricorn:

Morgan MS M.153 from France, 13th century. It includes mostly traditional themes, except that it has a crayfish-Cancer and lizard-like Scorpius. Note the tail wound through Taurus’s legs. This is unusual and generally reserved for Leo.

The long-nosed fish are in the minority (about 12%). The majority are normal or blunt. The fish in the VMS have slight touches of blue, and have long noses and scales from top to bottom, but do not have a connecting line between them, as is common. Instead each has a line connecting to a star (and a somewhat ambiguous blue line added with paint):

pic of VMS zodiac symbol two fishes (Pisces)

The next zodiac series, from c. 1230s Paris, is clearly similar to Morgan M.153.

It has the long-nosed blue fish, Taurus with his tail through his legs, the crayfish, and reptilian Scorpius. They are framed by gold-filled roundels. Note the tree in Aries, which almost looks like a tail. I don’t think there’s a direct relationship between them, but coincidentally, the VMS feline has a tail that almost looks like a tree:

These themes are repeated in the mid-13th century in a number of manuscripts. The first example below is said to be from England (although this might be debated). The second and third from Paris, France. They are all drawn with gold-embellished roundels. Each one has a blue fish and a medieval-style reptilian Scorpius combined with classical themes.

Unfortunately the twins and crayfish are missing in Morgan M.103, but it’s not a stretch to imagine that Gemini was probably nude twins behind a shield and Cancer was a crayfish. If it is indeed from England, then Cancer might be a crab:

This one, from France, does not have a blue fish, but has obvious thematic similarities to Morgan M.153 and M.92. Note in particular the tail threaded through the legs of Taurus:

Morgan MS M.283 zodiac series

The following Psalter zodiac has fish of two different colors, but one is blue. It too includes a crayfish rather than a crab, and a lizard-like Scorpius within gold roundels:

A Book of Hours from the Diocese of Thérouanne (early 1300s) lacks the blue fish, but is thematically like the others and Taurus has his tail between his legs:

Walters W.90 zodiacs

So far I have only seen 25 examples of Taurus with the leg-tail (less than 5% of zodiacs) and only 10 were paired with crayfish-Cancer and lizardy-Scorpius. One was paired with a crayfish and a turtle-Scorpius. They range in date from c. 1220s to c. 1478 with most of them being from the 13th and 14th centuries. Thus, this combination forms a distinct subgroup if one considers that most are from France and contained within gold circles.

The Scorpius drawing that most resembles the VMS critter is Douce 313 (c. 1350s, Paris), but it is unlike the VMS in other ways, relying on classical themes for Gemini, Cancer, Libra, Sagittarius, and Capricorn, and enclosing the figures within decorative frames:

Douce 313 Missal zodiac

Contrasting Examples

To see how this group of zodiacs contrasts with some of the others from the 13th and 14th centuries, here is an example from England or Normandy with rectangular frames, a crab-Cancer, and somewhat ambiguous Scorpius (it’s hard to tell if it’s a scorpion or a lizardy version). Note also that Capricorn is a regular goat and a lot of action is going on in each scene, with numerous figures playing out roles (it is unusual in this regard):

Royal MS 2 B VII zodiac

In Royal MS 2 B VII, the nude Gemini twins are behind a shield, as in the crayfish roundel zodiacs, but in the following two examples, the twins lack the shield or are fully clothed.

This one from southern Italy (c. 1320s) features crab-Cancer, a real scorpion, and rectangular, highly decorated frames. It’s interesting that it has long-nosed blue fish (possibly dolphin-fish):

BNF Latin 7272 zodiacs

There is a similarly decorative zodiac in Breviari d’Amour (Yates Thompson 31) from Spain (c. 1340) patterned after classical themes except for the clothing on Aquarius and Gemini:

Yates Thompson 31 zodiac

Back to the Crayfish-Lizardy Group

Ms Typ 311 is from the far north of France (St. Riquier), and eventually ended up in the Houghton Library at Harvard. It too has blue fish and a lizardy Scorpius, combined with classical Virgo, Libra, and Capricorn (Aquarius and Gemini were probably scraped because they were nude):

Harvard Houghton MS Typ 311 zodiacs

Another zodiac was created in France in the mid-13th century that is very similar to the previous crayfish roundel-zodiacs, but note how the illustrator added trees to both Aries and Taurus:

Zodiac series from MOrgan MS M.101

Yates Thompson MS 13 (prob. England, c. 1330s) also has trees in Aries and Taurus, and a lizardy Scorpius, but Cancer is a crab and there is only a hand rather than a full figure for Libra, which puts it in a slightly different illustrative branch. In general, English manuscripts favor the crab rather than the crayfish.

Here is another 13th-century example from Paris with teal-blue fish and gold-filled roundels:

Morgan MS M.1042 zodiacs

The Grosbois Psalter Hours from Liège includes wreath-like tendrils on the circular frame, but the subject matter is consistent with the others, with the exception of Libra, which is only the scales, no figure:

Grosbois Psalter-Hours, Morgan MS M.440 zodiacs

This difference in Libra might be significant, perhaps even relevant to the VMS, because Germanic manuscripts with crayfish/lizard are more likely to have no-figure Libra than the French manuscripts. Liège is in eastern Belgium, by the German border. Perhaps it was a transmission point between the two traditions:

Trinity B-11-5 (Normandy) has clear thematic similarities to the previous examples, but note the unusual scales on the blue fish and the fat trees as props for Gemini and Virgo. Like the previous zodiac, the Libra scales are not held by a full figure. Unlike the previous one, a hand has been added. Note also the pawlike hooves on Aries:

11-5 zodiac series

In the late 13th century in Switzerland, they adopted the same general themes (and gold-filled roundels), except the twins are in a barrel instead of behind a shield, and the lizardy-Scorpius looks more like a turtle (maybe a tarasque). Also note that Libra does not include a figure. Thus, as might be expected, the Swiss zodiac falls somewhere between the French and German styles:

Ludwig VIII 3 zodiac

By now it should be clear that illustrators often individualized line quality, poses, and colors, while still maintaining thematic similarities with other manuscripts (including the gold-embellished roundels).

This is a fairly rare subset of zodiacs. Reptilian scorpions, long-nosed blue fish, and crayfish Cancer specifically combined with classical themes within gold roundels account for less than 10% of medieval zodiacs. See my previous blogs for maps and other combination-searches.

Diverging from Tradition, But Only a Little

Around the middle of the 13th century, an illustrator in Arras got creative, as did others nearby. The Psalter-Hours of Gulluys de Boisieux (Morgan M.730) retains the same combination of medieval and traditional themes, including long-nosed fish, but adds an unusual pair of wings to the seagoat and sets them within rectangular frames. The tail extending beyond the frame is similar to Morgan M.440:

Morgan MS M.730 zodiacs

The above Psalter is significant in another way as it is one of the earliest crayfish/lizardy manuscripts to present Gemini as an affectionate couple. We can’t tell if they are twins or lovers, it’s not a marriage pose, but it is a distinct departure from a pair of nude males behind a shield. Arras is in northeast France near the Belgian border.

In this example from Paris, the general themes are the same as the early examples, including the Gemini shield. The main difference is the diamond-shaped frames:

Ludwig VIII 4, c. mid-13th century, Paris, France

Someone in Liège was even more innovative with frames, but retained the same themes (although the fish are more gray than blue). Unlike the earlier example from Liège, with the no-figure Libra, this one is consistent with the Parisian themes:

Note that all the frames so far are filled with gold except for Douce 313.

The frames around these figures from France are individualized and ornate, but the themes are the same. The main difference is decorative rather than gold-filled backgrounds, but the frame edges are gold:

Bodley Douce 118 zodiacs

In this example from Paris, the frame is scalloped instead of round, and delicately patterned rather than filled with gold, but nevertheless includes the crayfish, long-nosed blue fish, and vaguely reptilian Scorpius:

Zodiac sequence in Morgan M.75
Morgan M.75, circa 1350, Paris, France

Thus we see a gradual movement away from the use of gold toward the latter part of the 14th century. It’s possible the plague years (1346-53) contributed to this change.

So why are most of these examples from France, rather than evenly distributed between France and England? Because English zodiacs generally favored the crab rather than a crayfish, and a dragon rather than a vaguely reptilian, more lizard-like Scorpius. The VMS includes a crayfish and lizardy Scorpius, so it is more similar to the French and Germanic manuscripts than those from England.

This is a more humble manuscript (mid-14th century) from southeastern France. There’s no gold in the roundels, but the themes are the same, except for two significant differences… the goat is a real goat, not a goat-fish, and the Libra scales are not held by a figure—thus it shares characteristics with both French and German zodiacs:

Montpellier H 437 zodiacs

This French Psalter from the late 14th century includes decorative roundels, and a clothed, affectionate couple as Gemini (the man’s tunic has baggy sleeves). Most of the French zodiacs in this tradition feature nude male Gemini, so I wondered whether it might be from eastern France or the Alsace. It’s more similar to the VMS than most of the others, except that Libra, Sagittarius, and Capricorn are classical styles:

BNF NAF 4600 Psalter zodiac

When I saw this zodiac, it occurred to me that the departure from tradition in choosing an affectionate Gemini may have been influenced by the very popular Roman de la Rose but it might be difficult to confirm whether this is so.

The Other Side of Europe

Meanwhile, in c. 1390s Prague, there is a manuscript the follows the French themes except it has a no-figure Libra and a real scorpion. It caught my attention because the fish are so similar to those in the VMS. They have very long noses, the scales go from top to bottom, they are slightly wavy, and there is no line between them connecting their mouths:

BSB clm 826 Pisces detail
Long-nosed all-over-scales Pisces in a Prague manuscript that is mostly in the same style as the French manuscripts, with crayfish-Cancer, centaur, and goatfish. But like the Germanic manuscripts, Libra does not have a figure. In common with the VMS, the lion does have his tail between his legs, but his tongue is not sticking out. BSB Clm 826 825 (c. 1378 to c. 1419).

Unfortunately, other than the no-figure Libra and the crayfish, nothing else about the series has much in common with the VMS, so perhaps the similarity to the fish is coincidental or perhaps there is an intermediary source with long-nosed fish.

It’s not certain where the following manuscript is from (I wonder whether it might be Provençe), but it fits thematically with the others even though the figures are intended to represent constellations and are not within roundels. The stated date is 1395, but I would have guessed early 15th century based on the drawing style and text. Note that Cancer is unusual, as it includes both a crab and a crayfish:

BNF Latin 7351 zodiacs

The same manuscript includes a Zodiac Man illustration in a slightly different style, with a lizardy Scorpius that is somewhat like the VMS and even more similar to the green salamander in herbal manuscript Sloane 4016:

Unusual Framing

In terms of color and style, one would expect the following French manuscript to be from the late 15th century, but the repository says it’s early 15th-century (if so, it is remarkable for its time). The lavish colors and decorative frames set it apart, but the figural themes are consistent with the earlier French gold-filled roundels:

BVMM MS 1834 zodiac

This early-15th-century example from the Netherlands is stylistically very different from anything else I’ve seen, and it doesn’t include a blue fish or seagoat, but otherwise, it’s thematically similar to the French manuscripts, with the addition of a protruding tongue on the lion. Since this person could draw better than most, it is obvious that the lizardy Scorpius is deliberate and not just a bad drawing of a scorpion:

Morgan MS M.866 zodiacs

Cross-Border Influence

The same general themes can be found in Catalonia, Switzerland, Austria and Bavaria, but there are some notable differences…

Morgan M.711 (Germany, c. 1230s) is thematically similar to the French subgroup, except that there is no figure holding the Libra scales and Capricorn is a goat:

Morgan MS M.711 zodiac series

In the German-speaking countries, the color of the fish was less often blue, and they didn’t always have long noses. The frames were similar (they were often circular), but the twins were more varied, and often clothed. Scorpius was sometimes a scorpion or a turtle rather than a lizard.

Most of the French examples included a full figure for Libra and the German ones (in the same tradition) generally omitted the figure. Note also that the French zodiacs favor the centaur while some of the Germanic manuscripts have two-legged Sagittarius. Might these details be important to localizing the VMS?

Here are examples from the Stammheim Missal, Austria Gradual Sequentiary, and Augsberg Psalter that I’ve posted in previous blogs. Note the turtle in the latter two (Hildegard von Bingen also drew Scorpius with a turtle shell):

Morgan MS M.855 zodiacs
Augsberg Psalter, Walters W.78 zodiacs

In this example, possibly from Augsburg, the roundels have been replaced by arches and the archer has human legs, but the themes are the same:

This one (Augsburg, c. 1300) has arches, as well. I’ve posted it several times because there are numerous similarities to the VMS, including an affectionate couple and a human archer:

Walters W.726 zodiac

This c. 1350s example is thought to be from Germany. There is no gold fill, and the painting style is more sketchy than the above examples, but the themes are the same as other Germanic manuscripts. Scorpius is noteworthy because it looks more like a dog than a lizard, but it has a “sail” similar to some species of lizards.

Note that the lion has its tongue sticking out, Gemini is clothed, Capricorn is a goat, and the archer has two legs (characteristics more similar to the VMS):

BSB clm 13076 zodiacs
BSB Clm 13076 (probably from Germany, 1356), has more in common with the VMS than French manuscripts featuring a crayfish and lizard-like Scorpius, but differs in that the lion doesn’t have its tail between its legs and Libra is held by a figure.

A zodiac sequence that is particularly significant (and similar in drawing style to Clm 13076) is Codex Sang. 827 from Lake Constance (but not from St. Gall). It combines a crossbowman with the crayfish and maybe a lizardy scorpion, although I suspect it’s a bad drawing of a scorpion.

The main differences between this manuscript and the French ones are that Libra does not include a figure, Sagittarius has two legs, and Capricorn is a goat. In common with the VMS, it has a crossbowman with baggy sleeves, and a crouching or sitting Virgo. However, nude male Gemini differs from the VMS:

Codex Sang. 827 zodiac

This one from Catalonia (possibly Gerona), is missing Gemini, and Capricorn is a unicorn-goat rather than a seagoat, but it is otherwise thematically similar to the French crayfish/lizard zodiacs:

BNF Français 1601 zodiac
Zodiac in a Breviary written in Occitan, BNF Français 1601.

Origins of This Thematic Tradition

Where did this particular combination of crayfish and reptilian Scorpius originate? As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, I think one of the sources may have been carvings on cathedrals. Here is an example from the Basilique Ste. Madeleine in West Burgundy, France (there is a similarly-themed set in Chartres Cathedral). It combines the medieval Cancer and Scorpius with the classical centaur, goatfish, and Virgo:

Relief carvings, west Burgundy, circa 12th century

Italian and Spanish manuscripts usually feature Cancer as a crab, Sagittarius as a centaur, and Scorpius as a scorpion, which is why they don’t fit well in this particular subgroup. There is one from Bologna (c. 1400) that is stylistically unusual that features affectionate Gemini, a 4-legged goat, and a crayfish, thus incorporating some of the German characteristics:

Gerry MS 34 zodiac

The zodiac in De Sphaera (Cristofor de Predis of the Lombard School, c. 1470) combines the French and German themes:

De Sphaera Estense Ms Lat 209 zodiac

English manuscripts almost always have Cancer as a crab and Scorpio as a dragon or a traditional scorpion.

Summary

This combination-search focuses on one particular theme, the crayfish-lizardy combination, and yet even though the scope is narrow, it’s quite informative. There is a clear subgroup that combines these two figures with classical drawings and most of them are in France/Normandy/Flanders. However, the influence of this line can be seen in Germanic zodiacs, especially those in west and south Germany.

How Does the VMS Crossbow Fit In?

Crossbow zodiacs are rare, only a dozen out of 550+. They are similar to the French group in having male twins and a crayfish (except for one that has a badly drawn crab), but they usually omit the figure from Libra and include a real scorpion. Only three two of the crossbow zodiacs include a clothed male/female Gemini. The first has a “turtle” scorpion, the second a real one. Both are similar to the German subgroup in having a real goat rather than a seagoat:

Mscr Dresd A 126 zodiac
Cod. Pal. Germ. 148 zodiac

There is also an incomplete Brevier zodiac from Breslau/Prague that is potentially similar to Pal. Germ. 148 (I don’t know who originally found this, but it has been mentioned by other VMS researchers), but note that it has a figure for Libra, so it might be in between French and German traditions and may not have included a crayfish or lizard-scorpion:

Cod Vindo Palatino 1842

Summary

The crayfish/lizard combination is more common in the French/Flanders group, and the crossbow/affectionate Gemini combination only shows up (so far) in German and Czech/Polish manuscripts (these are pinpointed on maps in earlier blogs). Thus, the VMS figures seem to fit somewhere between the French and German examples.

In terms of drawing style and thematic choices, Cod. Sang. 827 from Lake Constance (15th c), Pal. Germ. 298 from Augsburg, and Ms Germ. fol. 557 are similar to one another and similar to the VMS, except for the nude male Gemini twins:

Cod. Pal. Germ. 298
Berlin Germ. Fol. 557 zodiac
Pal. Germ. 298 zodiac

Cgm 28 (Schwabia, c. 1460) is painted differently and is more detailed, but it fits with the above examples, as well:

As does BSB Cgm 312 (also from Schwabia), which includes text within the roundel frames:

BSB Cgm 312 zodiac

But they are not quite as similar as this c. 1440s zodiac from Seckau Austria, which has grazing Aries and Taurus with trees, undulating long-nosed fish, no-figure Libra, a clothed affectionate Gemini, two-legged Sagittarius, and a more lizard-like scorpion than the previous examples:

Graz MS 286 zodiac

When the ten symbols are taken as a whole, the VMS zodiac sequence fits most comfortably with the Alsace/Schwabia/Bavaria/Austria manuscripts. The drawing styles are different and the exemplars for individual figures don’t necessarily come from zodiacs, but if you lift Virgo and the crossbowman out of Cod. Sang. 827 and fuse them into BSB Clm 13076 or Graz Ms. 386 (and hand out a few stars on strings), the thematic result is a close cousin to the VMS.

J.K. Petersen

© Copyright 2019 J.K. Petersen, All Rights Reserved

Zodiac Traditions

After collecting more than 500 zodiac series and analyzing their patterns, it becomes apparent that the VMS zodiac figures are consistent with thematic traditions from central Europe ranging from the late 12th century to the early 15th century.

Discovering this goes far beyond comparing images. Traditions and thematic families allow leeway for personal expression. For example, colors or the direction in which an animal is facing were not always slavishly copied by illustrators and do not appear to negate a thematic relationship to other zodiacs. Considerable study was necessary to determine which details are significant and what can be expected to vary within a reasonable range without straying outside the pattern.

The VMS only includes 10 of the 12 figures that are traditionally found in figurative representations of “zodiacs”, symbols of constellations that occur along the ecliptic, so Aquarius (water bearer) and Capricorn (the goat) were excluded from searches.

The Difference Between Classical Zodiacs and A Subset of Medieval Zodiacs

Classical drawings of zodiac figures depict Cancer as a crab and Libra as a figure holding the scales or sitting on top of the scales. Most of the Roman carvings, and the Beit Alpha mosaics, follow this model, as do 11th- and 12-century friezes in Spain and France. Here are some early examples that illustrate how the VMS departs from classical tradition by using a crayfish instead of a crab and a scale with no figure:

Examples of traditional zodiac themes

Occasionally, when space was constrained, the Libra scales were drawn without a figure, but those in manuscripts were usually held by a male figure, or by a scorpion. Similarly, Virgo was usually male. Virgo and/or Libra were sometimes drawn with wings. As time went on, a female was gradually substituted for the male and wings were less often included.

Patterns that Relate to the VMS

I have already posted some “combination searches” in previous blogs. This one attempts to zero in on which relationships to other manuscripts are the most crucial.

Using a sample of 520 medieval zodiac series, only 25% were found to depict Cancer as a crayfish/lobster together with Libra scales without a figure. This break with tradition may have originated in church portal sculpture, but appears to have entered manuscripts sometime around the 12th century:

Pic comparing classical and medieval zodiacs

This puts the VMS in the thematic minority. If we filter the zodiacs further, to exclude Sagittarius with four legs, it reduces the number to 6%.

What is particularly interesting is that this added filter does not change the approximate date range of early examples that break with tradition in the same ways as the VMS and, as an added bonus, the following 12th-century examples also include Leo with his tail wound between his legs. When a pattern like this occurs naturally, without explicit filtering, it is usually not a coincidence:

Pics of zodiac figures that are thematically similar to the VMS figures.

Some of the zodiacs from this time period match the first three filters, but continue to use the traditional 4-legged centaur to represent Sagittarius. Those with a centaur have proportionately fewer Leos with the tail between the legs. Even though the two sets are regionally similar (primarily Germany and, to some extent France), this may be the beginning of two separate branches.

This series from southern Germany is incomplete (Libra is missing) but it shows that even zodiacs that are drawn quite differently can follow the same thematic patterns:

Note that by the 14th century, leg-tail Leo was paired with centaur-Sagittarius more often than in earlier manuscripts. Traditions don’t always diverge, sometimes they go the other way, as well.

Kuching When did Cancer as a crayfish emerge?

Some might say Cotton MS Galba A XVIII (9th c) is the first crayfish, but it’s very oddly drawn, with two heads, and it was very rare for English manuscripts to include a crayfish, most of them are crabs. It is possible that it’s not from England (historians aren’t sure). Many manuscripts in English collections are thought to be from Normandy.

Badly drawn crabs sometimes look like crayfish, but one of the earliest unambiguous crayfish is in Vatican Reg.lat.123 from St. Maria Rivipulli/Ripoll monastery, Catalonia, Spain (mid-11th century).

Crayfish were historically abundant in this area and are still featured on many menus, so perhaps that’s why they substituted a crayfish for a crab. However, as can be seen from the image above, the rest of the zodiac series is completely traditional, and the scales are carried by a winged figure. Other than the crayfish, it doesn’t resemble the VMS.

Taking Cancer and Libra Together

One of the earliest examples that includes both crayfish-Cancer and no-figure Libra is the Stammheim Missal, originating in Hildesheim, Germany, c. 1170s. I have mentioned this before because it has other commonalities with the VMS (including two-legged Sagittarius, and Leo with the tail through the legs). It doesn’t match on all counts, but it’s one of the earliest manuscripts that hints at the transition to VMS-like zodiacs,. Note that the figures are contained within roundels:

Stammmheim Missal zodiac seriesThere is a Psalter fragment in the British Library (Landsowne 381) created around the same time as the Stammheim Missal that has similar Cancer, Libra, and leg-tail Leo, but the twins are dressed in Roman garb and are not touching, and Sagittarius is a four-legged centaur.

What about Gemini?

I’ve mentioned the Claricia Psalter numerous times because it has much in common with the VMS. In addition to crayfish Cancer and no-figure Libra, it has a leg-tail lion, one of the first overtly affectionate male-female Geminis, a human Sagittarius, and a non-scorpion Scorpius. It originated in Augsburg, Germany, in the 12th or 13th century. In terms of the basic “template”, it differs very little from the VMS and is clearly modeled on the same themes as the Augsburg Psalter. I’ll repost the images:

Claricia and Augsburg Psalters, which are similar to the VMS zodiac themes

Note how the goat and the ram are painted different colors, the turtle/tarasque is from a different angle, and the bull and goat are facing the other way, and yet the overall thematic similarities are striking.

Augsburg is in southern Germany, not far from where Hildegard von Bingen created these zodiac figures:

Zodiac of Hildegard von Bingen

[Image source: Hedidelberg digital library, Cod. Sal. X 16]

Hildegard von Bingen’s zodiac series (c. 1200) features crayfish-Cancer, no-figure Libra, and non-scorpion Scorpius, but Sagittarius is a traditional centaur, and Leo’s tail does not thread through the legs, which makes it more similar to the Oettingen Psalter (BVB Cod.I.2.4.19) and the Bambergher Psalter than the VMS.

You may have noticed that the Soissons Cathedral windows are quite similar to the VMS and even include trees in the background, but some of the glass has been replaced and it’s difficult to know if the new glass mimicked designs from the 12th century or updated them. If the designs are faithful to the original, they follow a similar model to the VMS, including leg-tail Leo and two-legged Sagittarius, as discussed in my earlier posts on the evolution of zodiacs. It even looks like Aries might be nibbling from a bush or a basket.

The use of a crossbow rather than a longbow probably represents a sub-branch or may, in some cases, be a simple matter of illustrator choice (crossbow tournaments were popular at the time). The most important distinction for this sign appears to be the number of legs rather than the kind of bow. Whether Sagittarius is human or satyr also appears to be less important than the number of legs.

The Origins of the Traditions

I’ve created a map to show the origins of manuscripts that emerged with these filters. This is a work in progress and I have not yet double-checked the datapoints, but they are accurate enough to show that zodiacs, when filtered for Crayfish-Cancer, no-figure Libra, 2-leg Sagittarius, and leg-tail Leo, are conspicuously clustered within the Holy Roman Empire and very conspicuously absent from England, Scandinavia, Spain, southern Italy, southeast Europe and the Middle East (at least so far).

Map of Holy Roman Empire with datapoints for nontraditional zodiac figures

Summary

I’ve mentioned these zodiacs in previous articles and can’t present all the pictures because there are too many for one blog, but I did want to emphasize this: the data tells us that the VMS fits comfortably within existing traditions, particularly those in Germany and northeastern France and Flanders.

This doesn’t reveal where the creators of the VMS were from, but it does suggest that at least one of them was familiar with specific illustrative themes and probably copied the ideas (not necessarily the drawings) from one or more zodiac-series exemplars that originated between c.1170 to c.1430. Some of the English zodiacs are similar, but they differ from the VMS in favoring a centaur-Sagittarius, and Gemini as nude male twins.

If you filter even further to include affectionate Gemini and non-scorpion Scorpio, north-central Germany comes closer than England or France:

Examples from 13th-century Augsburg and Magdeburg/Hildesheim are particularly significant. In fact, these somewhat distant locations might indicate an important line of transmission between north and south.

J.K. Petersen

© Copyright 2018 J.K. Petersen, All Rights Reserved



A Stitch in Time

I’ve posted several blogs on hats and tunics and the VMS Gemini tunic is now being discussed in depth on the voynich.ninja forum, so it’s clearly a topic of interest. I’ve been researching the clothing of the zodiac figures for a number of years, so I have many examples from a large variety of sources (including mosaics and stained-glass windows), but I thought I would focus on fashion in two specific manuscripts.

I see the VMS zodiac tunics and robes as belonging together in terms of style.

  • Both male-Gemini and Sagittarius wear basic tunics with simple double-line neckbands, both are wearing hats, Gemini a simple rounded hat, Sagittarius a hat with a very long rounded tail (similar to a foxtail hat, but with fabric rather than fur). Sagittarius has the hint of a goatee. Note that Gemini is conspicuously short-statured even though there’s room to make the leg longer.
  • Both females (assuming the slightly androgenous Virgo is female) are wearing long robes with embellished sleeves and the hint of an undergarment peaking out from under the outer sleeve:

The clothing in Vatican Pal.lat.871 has been mentioned before, because it has many commonalities with the VMS figures.

Here are examples from folio 4r. The subject matter is quite different from zodiacs, it’s a nativity scene, but the roundel-with-text presentation, drawing themes, and clothing have VMS parallels in necklines, gathers, and the hard-to-find bootlaces:

It’s possible that the round-tailed style of hat doubled as a carrying pouch since tunics generally did not have pockets. Small items were strapped to belts, carried on the back, or slipped into hat bands or pouches. The VMS hat does not look like an animal tail. Note that many of the neckbands are similar to the VMS (a plain double-line band), even though a variety of necklines are represented:

There are also tunics with bumpy or scalloped edges like those in the VMS:

One can also find sleeves that are narrow at the wrist and wide at the elbow (left), which is less common than sleeves that are mostly even or much wider at the wrist:

The illustrator was definitely making distinctions in dress. Not all collars were a simple band, there were also high collar, capes, and cowls. Tunics were sometimes single-layer, sometimes double.

There are also many hat styles in addition to the “pouched” hat, including Phrygian hats, royal crowns, tonsured monks, berets, bowlers and, since this is a biblical text, pointed and flat hats to represent Jews and Philistines:

The drawings in Pal.lat.871 make it look like the “pouch” style of hat was common, but it is not easily found in medieval manuscripts. Usually, the tail was an animal tail or the ends were ragged, like a cock’s comb. Pouched hats with very long tails, like VMS Sagittarius, are especially hard to find, although I previously posted this one from Morgan M.453 (left) and one from a Swedish book of law that has a fairly long tail, with a conspicuous roll for the band:

Getting Back to Tunics

Many of the robes in Pal.lat.871 are long or have simple edges, but there are also tunics that are distinctly pleated (e.g., some of the warrior tunics, left) and some that are drawn with a bumpy, gathered, or scalloped edge, like the VMS:

So we can see numerous parallels to VMS clothing styles throughout the manuscript, not just in one or two places.

Finding the Origin of the Manuscript

I was curious about who drew the illustrations.

Pal.lat.871 is written in German, and I noticed it was a dialect. It is thought to be from central Germany, possibly north Hessen (near Frankfurt) or west Thuringia (about midway between Frankfurt and Prague). There is a woodcut version of the Pauper’s Bible created nearby in Bamberg, just north of Nuremberg (c. 1460s) with some of the same clothing styles.

I don’t know if it is specific to the illustrator, but there’s a political statement on folio 16r, a nimbed figure holding the battle banner of the Scandinavian tribes. This puzzling image is sandwiched between Sampson carrying tablets and Jonah in the mouth of the whale. It’s the only roundel on the folio without text.

In manuscript art, the white cross on a red field frequently represents the Lombards or Danes. The inverse of this flag, a red cross on a white field, often represented Helvetians, Templars, or participants in the Crusades. By the time this manuscript was created, Lombardian rule had long since diminished, and Lombardy itself had receded from Florence north to Pistoia, but it still dominated what is now northern Italy, and there were still pockets in Germany, Switzerland, and southern Italy.

But, I have also seen the white-on-red flag in drawings of 14th-century “Gaisler” (Geißler), Christian flagellants associated with the plague years.

Perhaps a sister manuscript can shed some additional light on origins.

A More Primitive Drawing Style

Vatican Pal.lat.1806 was created at approximately the same time as Pal.lat.871 and has very similar clothing themes. It is interesting because the illustrator’s skill level is a little less accomplished than Pal.lat.1806 and thus closer to that of the VMS. Here are some examples of tunics:

There are also sleeves that are narrow at the wrist and wide at the elbow, but they tend to be paired with fancier tunics. Here are some of the simpler ones

Also, if you keep looking, you can find the Sagittarius “pouched” hat. The hat (right) in Pal.lat.871 is not just a vague or generic drawing, it is drawn in a distinctively different way from the ragged-fabric chaperone on the left:

Pal.lat.871 and Pal.lat.1806 are thought to be from different towns, and are drawn by illustrators of different skill levels, yet the clothing themes are clearly related and, in turn, are similar to the VMS zodiac costumes.

Drawing Skill and Cultural Differences

What happens if the same subject matter is interpreted by someone from a different culture and significantly better artistic skills? Do the tunics change? That’s a subject for a separate blog, but I’ll include a few examples to introduce the topic. On the left, from Pal.lat.1806 and on the right, the same scene from BNF Latin 512:

Here some more specific tunic comparisons between Pal.Lat.871 and BNF Latin 512, both of which are from approximately the middle or third quarter of the 15th century:

As might be expected, there are more details in the drawing by the better artist, but paging through the manuscripts side-by-side, there also appear to be small cultural differences that are probably related to the difference in German and French origins. In terms of clothing style and drawing skill, the VMS is obviously more similar to Pal.lat.1806 than BNF Latin 512.

Summary

I have much more on this subject, and don’t have enough space to post about the female dress in the same blog. For the moment, there are enough examples to illustrate that the two German manuscripts Pal.lat.871 and Pal.lat.1806 (in addition to those mentioned in previous blogs), bear notable similarities to the costumes of the VMS zodiac characters.

J.K. Petersen

© Copyright 2018 All Rights Reserved

 

Tracing Long-Necked Taurus

I posted a blog on long-necked Taurus in April 2016, but was reluctant to add a specific picture of a red bull with a strikingly long neck. My focus was zodiac symbols and I didn’t want to include dozens of bulls that were not in zodiacs. I’ve decided to post this one, because the manuscript does have a zodiac series and the bull (which is in a different section) is so strikingly similar to the VMS.

There are two drawings of bulls in the VMS, one painted a little darker than the other. The placement of eyes and style of the nose differ, but their bodies are essentially the same shape:

In another manuscript that predates the VMS by about half a century, we find this drawing of a bull. It’s not a zodiac symbol, it’s in the bestiary section, but it is labeled “Taurus”:

I lightened the background (right) to make it easier to see the shape and pose. Note the long neck, long white curved horns, raised front leg, reddish coloration, very long tail, narrow pointed penis, and landscape background. Even though the background is rectangular and more ornate, the bull is very similar to the lighter VMS Taurus, including the angle of the head.

This drawing is more similar to the VMS bull than the one in the zodiac section. The zodiac Taurus is amber and faces the other way (and doesn’t have the front leg raised). The rest of the zodiac is based on traditional symbols and differs from the VMS in a number of ways—Sagittarius is a centaur, Leo has a man-face, the scorpion is more-or-less naturalistic, and the Libra scales are held by a female figure. It fits in with the H 437 tradition in the previous blog. The only significant commonalities with the VMS are the crayfish and the long noses on Pisces.

Are the similarities between the VMS zodiac bull and the bestiary bull coincidental? Why would these two long-necked bulls look so much alike when the zodiac drawings have little in common?

Maybe it’s not entirely a coincidence. If we look at Scorpius in BPL 14a, it is roughly like a scorpion, and yet the scorpion in the bestiary section (right), with fatter legs and body and snake-like tail, leans more toward medieval drawings of lizards and tarasques than a scorpion. Even though it’s drawn at a different angle, in some ways the bestiary critter is more similar to lizard-style Scorpiuses than the slightly more realistic one in the zodiac:

It seems possible that the illustrators of BPL 14a were consulting different sources when drawing the zodiac versus the bestiary. What’s even more puzzling is that the description next to the lizardly scorpion in the bestiary describes the stinger and knobby tail of a real scorpion, and yet these features are not in the drawing.

Crayfish, Centaur, and Libra-with-Figure

BPL 14a expresses themes that were common to the region, and which continued well into the 15th century, as illustrated by these two examples, one from the southern Netherlands (c. 1360) and a later, similar one in a 1455 Book of Hours (both now in The Hague).

Note how these differ from BPL 14a in colors and the shape that encloses the symbols, but they are the same basic themes: Virgo with grain, Libra with figure, somewhat naturalistic scorpion, shield Gemini, centaur-Sagittarius, and crayfish:

pic of s. Netherlands zodiac

KB 74 zodiac series

Like BPL 14a, the KB zodiac has Gemini shield, crayfish, Virgo with grain, Libra with a figure, a real scorpion, and centaur Sagittarius. Except for Aquarius and Leo, it’s clearly the same basic template.

Some of the Parisian and Castilian zodiacs follow this template, as well, except that Gemini does not have a shield, as in Egerton 1070, and BL Add 18851 and Add 38126.

Is there a match for Pisces in the bestiary?

Is there a pattern? Can we find evidence that VMS zodiac animals were taken from bestiaries?

It turns out that the fish section in BPL 14a is fairly extensive, and several drawings have long noses and double dorsal fins. Here are some examples, four of which have notably long snouts:

But… I don’t think they match the VMS as well as the Greek fresco fish mentioned in a previous blog.

What about Leo?

VMS Leo is distinctive for having a long neck (as do several of the other critters), only a hint of a mane, and possibly a furry coat. It has been suggested this might be a panther/leopard rather than a lion, but young lions are shaggy, with spots, and do not yet have manes, so even a cat with skimpy mane could represent a young or female lion.

This drawing in the feline section of the BPL 14a bestiary caught my eye, with the tilted head and its tail through its leg, but it is explicitly labeled “pardus” (abbreviated p[er]dus), so it is intended to be in the leopard rather than the lion family. It’s not posed quite like the VMS, either, but I thought I would include it for reference:

Note the faint suggestion of blue on the VMS lion.

There are a few zodiac and bestiary lions that are blue. Most of them originate in England or northern France/Normandy. The one in Walters W.37 has its tail through its leg, but has a distinctive mane. Trinity B-10-9 has a man-face and Morgan M.729 is posed quite differently (although it should be noted that Scorpius is rather tarasque-like and Gemini is an affectionate couple). Add MS 21926  (below) has a blue lion with one leg raised and only the hint of a mane:

The blue lion in Cotton MS Galba A XVIII (below) might be one of the earliest zodiacs with a blue lion (c. 9th century). It is facing the other way, but interestingly, several of the animals are standing on bumpy terrains, as are some of the VMS critters, and Sagittarius is a human.

It has been noticed by several researchers that the crayfish in this zodiac appears to have two heads. However, the zodiac also differs from the VMS in that the twins are male warriors, and Libra is held by a figure. Scorpius appears to be a two-headed serpent, a fairly unique depiction:
But getting back to the blue lion, what does it have to do with bestiaries?

I think it was Ellie Velinska who first brought this to my attention, but there’s a bluish-gray bestiary feline with a suggestion of fur or spots, a sparse mane, a raised paw, and its tail through its leg that is more similar to the VMS Leo than anything I’ve seen in a zodiac. Note also the very rounded shoulder joint on both the VMS and the bestiary lion:

Glancing through the bestiary, I noticed one other thing related to VMS critters in general…

In the serpent/dragon section of BPL 14a are a number of dragon-like critters that reminded me of the critter nosing a big plant in the VMS, in the sense of being vague and hard to figure out. These all are named, some of them with the names of real snakes (like “boa”), but they do not resemble snakes in any way. Sometimes it’s impossible to identify medieval creatures without the captions:

So what does all this mean?

I’m not sure yet, there’s still much work to be done… the VMS is consistent with a certain branch of zodiac illustrative traditions, as I hope I’ve demonstrated in previous blogs, and yet it’s possible the details, the animals and figures, were drawn from other sources. The VMS illustrator may have studied the zodiac motifs and then plugged in content from somewhere else.

I know that’s easy to say, but not so easy to prove, even if the resemblance of VMS Taurus to the bestiary bull is quite striking. It’s probably a good idea to keep in mind that VMS exemplars might be less obvious than assumed.

J.K. Petersen

© Copyright 2018  All Rights Reserved

 

Catching the Crayfish

Crayfish are on the Voynich zodiac menu these days, so I thought I would cross-reference some of my previously posted maps and point out additional details about traditions that may have inspired the crayfish symbols in the VMS. Crayfish are quite prevalent in medieval and early Renaissance zodiac art (about 40%), with the rest being crabs.

In February 2016, I posted a blog about the unusual placement of legs on the crayfish tail, and also included naturalistic drawings of crayfish, showing how different species have different numbers of legs.

In that blog, I pointed out that some zodiacs have a pair of cee shapes on the backs of crayfish/lobsters and some don’t. I’d like to discuss this detail in more depth.

The Lines that Define

You can see the double semi-circles or “cee shapes” on the greenish VMS crayfish on the left and on the medieval calendar-zodiac crayfish on the right:

The crayfish above-right is from Würtzburg (c. 1240s). It is not the earliest example of a crayfish zodiac (an earlier one from Catalonia was described in the previous blog), but it may be one of the earliest to indicate the carapace with curved lines. It has four sets of spindly legs, like the VMS crayfish, but they are correctly placed on the body, not on the tail.

The earliest crayfish zodiacs emerged around the 11th and 12th centuries, in church architecture and manuscript art, but unlike the VMS, the crayfish was typically paired with traditional male Gemini twins.

There are no cee shapes on the crayfish symbols below. Instead, there was sometimes a line running from head to tail. The cee shapes were not yet a popular crayfish motif.

Some details are added by illustrators according to whim, and color (or the direction the figures are facing) is not always a defining feature, but the cee shapes provide an interesting glimpse into zodiac traditions. They appear to have emerged sometime around the 13th century.

Charting the Crayfish’s Carapace

After the c. 1240s Würtsburg symbol, there is a cee-shaped crayfish (c. 1260s) thought to be from Austria. It does not include a romantic Gemini or human Sagittarius, but is similar to the VMS in other ways (non-scorpion Scorpius, no-figure Libra, long-nosed Pisces) and might be considered a “cousin” in terms of motif:

Crayfish with cee shapes are sometimes found in Hebrew manuscripts, such as the Machsor Mazhor (which also has a non-scorpion Scorpius and male/female Gemini). The Machsor Mazhor, in turn, has similarities to Morgan M.855 and BSB Cgm 32. All three were created in the same general region (Austria, or possibly Germany) from c. late 1200s to c. 1340:

Geolocating the Crayfish Tradition

In March 2017, I posted a map of the origins of zodiacs that have a crayfish rather than a crab. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to fit all the examples (some dots are on top of each other), but hopefully there are enough to show that crayfish follow similar patterns to other VMS zodiac symbols, with notable clusters in northeast France and southern Germany, but the examples above suggest there may have been a convergence of traditions a couple of centuries after the earliest examples.

Cee-Shape Crayfish Paired with a More Lizardly Scorpius

The three previous examples have the turtle/tarasque style of Scorpius. The following zodiac is thought to be from France (possibly Provençal, c. 1340). It has a lizard-like scorpion and an interesting detail that is not especially common… Aries, Taurus, and Capricorn have rounded “paws” that aren’t very hoof-like, just as the VMS has unusually rounded hooves. The poses are also similar—note how Aries’s head is drawn from the side and Taurus from a higher perspective so both eyes and horns are visible:

While we’re on the subject of anatomy, look at Aries’s nose. It’s not a very common way to draw it, indistinct and very rounded, so I thought I would post this zodiac from Libr. pict. A 92 (possibly from Germany, c. 1400), which is one of the few that has animals with similarly drawn snouts. They’re not exactly the same, the mouths are more deeply indented, but they are worth noting, since it looks like the hooves on Capricorn might be somewhat rounded, as well:

Variations on Cee-Shape Themes

The following zodiacs, also from France, have similar themes to H 437 (traditional nude twins, a lizardlike Scorpius, centaur Sagittarius, and cee-shaped crayfish) but differ in having a figure holding the scales. Despite the differences in palette and style, they are thematically very similar to each other but, in a sense, one step farther from the VMS. Quite a few northern zodiacs had elaborate frames and traditional nude Gemini behind bushes or behind a shield:

Pairing the Crayfish with Human Sagittarius

The previous zodiacs all have Sagittarius as centaur or satyr. The earliest one I could find that has a cee-shape crayfish and a human archer is Vindo. Pal. 1850 from Prague (c. 1405). Unfortunately, the twins are traditional nude males, and the scorpion is naturalistic, so it’s not quite in the VMS ballpark, but it does have a no-figure Libra:

This 16th-century zodiac from Nuremberg (Cod. Pal. germ 833) has only minor differences and clearly comes from the same tradition as Vindo. Pal. 1850:

False Alarms

It’s easy to get excited about individual images when one first sees them. For example BSB Clm 826 (c. 1390) has a leg-tail Leo with its tongue sticking out, but I was reluctant to post it until I had done more research… I discovered that leg-tail lions are extremely common in medieval art, plus other aspects of Clm 826 are quite different from the VMS. It’s a real scorpion, Virgo has wings, Sagittarius is a satyr, and Taurus is a half-bull emerging from a cloudband. It seems unlikely that the VMS illustrator would copy Leo and completely ignore the other symbols when there are quite a few zodiacs that match the VMS quite well.

Summary

This all adds up to some interesting patterns. The VMS chiefly differs from other cee-shape-crayfish zodiacs in having affectionate male-female Gemini rather than the traditional male twins, yet is more similar overall to zodiacs that don’t include the cee shapes on the crayfish’s back, such as these, thought to be from Augsburg and Cologne:

As can be seen from the above examples, two of the better matches, in terms of motifs, are Morgan MS m.94, which has a line down the crayfish’s back, and Augsburg 2 Cod 5, which has an unusually ornate, decorated crayfish.

Part of the challenge of tracing these traditions is sorting out which details are significant, and which ones are not.

J.K. Petersen

© Copyright 2018, All Rights Reserved

 

 

From Brotherly Love to Otherly Love

In May 2016, as part of a VMS zodiac series, I posted a blog about Gemini symbols evolving from twin brothers to affectionate siblings to the “otherly” love usually associated with romantic couples. I noted that the Claricia Psalter is one of the earliest depictions of male/female Gemini in an affectionate embrace. If you haven’t read it already, I suggest you at least scan the second half of the previous blog.

Germini from Claricia PsalterI chose the Claricia Psalter for a number of reasons—it is one of the first zodiacs to unambiguously show the twins as different genders, and is possibly one of the earliest zodiac images of “otherly” love (c. 1200s or earlier). It’s difficult to know if the figures are fraternal twins or a romantic couple, but the fact that they are male/female is a departure from classical images of Castor and Pollux, and also different from medieval images of the twins as warriors.

But there is more… it is also, in a sense, a “template” for zodiac cycles with the same cast of characters as the Voynich Manuscript.

http://gradsgate.com/wp-class.php Background

I’ve already described classical zodiacs a few times, but here is one from the 9th century to make it easier to see the differences between this and later zodiacs that resemble the VMS zodiac. Note the girdle on Aries, the nude, male warrior twins, Cancer as a crab, a real scorpion, and Sagittarius as a centaur:

The Claricia Psalter (Walters W.26) was created about three centuries later, probably in the southern HRE about midway between Bohemia and the Alsace, and is distinctly different in a number of ways that are relevant to the VMS.

The Claricia Psalter was created for an Augsburg abbey (possibly commissioned) and yet is rather crudely drawn and painted, not much higher in general skill level than the VMS. The palette is also similar, although the Claricia is enhanced with some highlights in gold, and the shade of red is a little more orange than the VMS and used with more frequency.

Here is the Claricia zodiac together with the Augsburg Psalter (which is very similar in subject matter, and contained within roundels like the VMS):

Is There a Traceable Zodiacal Tradition?

Is it possible to pin down the VMS to a specific illustrative tradition?

When I search through my database of more than 500 medieval zodiacs, I find fewer than 40 (only 6% of the total) that have this particular combination:

  • male/female Gemini,
  • Libra scales with no associated human-like figure, and
  • Cancer as a crayfish/lobster.

What is even more significant about this combination-search is that quite a number of the hits also have a non-scorpion Scorpius (in the form of a turtle/tarasque, dragon, or reptile/amphibian)—another commonality with the VMS—as in this example from the 13th century, created a few decades after the Claricia Psalter. Note also that the zodiacs are contained within roundels, like the Augsburg Psalter and the VMS:

To push the comparison with the VMS beyond the realm of coincidence, some of them also have Sagittarius with legs and Leo with his tail threaded through his legs.

I can’t quite tell if Cod. Vindo. Pal. 1982 (14th century) is male and female or two males, but it otherwise fits in this group, with a no-hand Libra, Cancer-crayfish, human Sagittarius, and tarasque-Scorpius.

Even though it is roughly drawn, and colored only with a bit of amber wash, the zodiac symbols in BAV Pal.lat.1369 (c. 1400s) have much in common with this tradition, as well. The couple is male/female, Cancer is a crayfish, and the scales have no figure. But this is a scientific compilation with many charts, and a number of volvelles, and the illustrator drew the zodiacs with the traditional centaur and a more-or-less real scorpion.

Note the clothing, which is very similar to the VMS, including unembellished round necklines. The symbols are contained within roundels and the labels are in German, but German was used in many places, including eastern Switzerland, Germany, parts of Bohemia, and parts of Lombardy, so the language doesn’t specifically pin down the localality:

This combination is first seen around the 1100s or 1200s and continues until the early 1500s. If we eliminate Sagittarius as a centaur, then we are left with those originating around the time of the Claricia Psalter until the 1470s. Specifying a human Sagittarius eliminates Hildegard von Bingen’s zodiac, a 13th-century zodiac from Stuttgart, Ludwig VIII 3, Codex Sang. 42, and the Augsburg Psalter, but I was curious to see which ones had the greatest similarity to the VMS symbols.

Morgan MS M.280 is very similar in format to Walters W.78 (the Augsburg Psalter). It has roundels with a clasping couple, crayfish, no-figure scale, and tarasque-Scorpius, but lacks the human Sagittarius:

Morgan M.280 and Walters W.78 demonstrate how two different illustrators can draw essentially the same things in quite different ways simply by changing the direction of a head or tail, or adding a detail or two:

Even though it has twists of its own, like the double-crayfish and the added stars, in terms of subject matter and chronology, the VMS zodiac fits quite well with this group. You can almost guess that Aquarius would probably be a mostly-clothed male with a single jug rather than two, and that Capricorn would be a running or walking goat rather than a mythical goatfish or a goat next to a water-well:

Another Transition

By the 1460s, another change was unfolding… a number of zodiac illustrators who closely followed the above patterns, including leg-tail tongue-Leo, reverted back to the traditional nude male twins and naturalistic scorpion, as in Codex Pal. Germ 298 (which also has a crossbowman) and LJS 449.

Zodiacs in Pal.Germ 298

Dating to approximately the mid-15th century, Codex Pal. germ 298 includes roundels with crayfish-Cancer, leg-tail Leo, no-figure Libra, and the famous crossbowman, in keeping with zodiacs already mentioned, but like LJS 449, Gemini has been drawn as traditional nude twins rather than as a romantic couple in fine clothing.

But wait… LJS 449 has two zodiac sets (the second one incomplete) and in the second (which is the signs associated with their ruling planets), the symbols are contained within roundels, and Sagittarius is a human. Separate from the zodiacs, under a tree in a garden, we see an amorous couple. LJS 449 also has some medical topics, including an illustration of urine specimens.

Ludwig XII 8 also seems to fit within this group, with no-figure Libra, crayfish-Cancer, romantic-looking Gemini, a slightly dragony Scorpius, and a human archer. BSB CGM 7269 is similar, as well, and includes a crossbowman. The twins are of both sexes, holding hands, and sharing a bath (the “in” thing to do at the time was to dine together while bathing).

Cod. VIndo. Pal. 1951 (c. mid-1400s from France?) converts the bowman back into a satyr. Morgan MS G.1 (c. 1450s) has a lizardly Scorpius but Sagittarius is a centaur, and the twins are youthful nudes. It seems that by the later-1400s, some illustrators were reverting to traditional forms (as in Vat. Barb.lat.487 and Walters W.428), with the exception of Cancer, which remained a crayfish into the 16th century.

Summary

Can we geolocate the closest matches?

Even though the non-scorpion Scorpius may have originated in NE France, the manuscripts that combine it with male/female affectionate Gemini and crayfish-Cancer seem to be mostly from southern Germany, especially around Augsburg, with one from Basel, Switzerland (14th century).

This survey is restricted, of course, to digitized examples available on the Web, there may be treasures hiding in dusty libraries, but at least it gives a reasonably good picture of a specific approach to zodiacs that is consistent with the VMS.

J.K. Petersen

© Copyright 2018, All Rights Reserved

 

A Line in the Stars

Recently Voynich Views posted a blog about the line (or lack of one) connecting the fish that represent the astrological symbol Pisces, paying specific attention to those that look like the VMS long-nosed fish. I have a dataset of more than 500 zodiac cycles, so I thought I would post them to help round out the picture.

Long-nosed fish are definitely in the minority. Only about 8% of the total samples in my files have long noses, and if you filter out those with a line between the fish, only 3% remain.

The majority of those with long noses originated in France, with a few from Austria and Germany. There were also single examples from Italy, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands. If you look back at the map of symbols similar to VMS Scorpio, you will see that several of those that resemble the VMS lizardy Scorpius are also from France.

The earliest examples, mainly from the 12th and 13th centuries are from France, England, Cologne, and Austria. Those enclosed in circles are from France, Austria, Germany, and the Hague.

Only two or three of the fish pairs have the same “wavy” shape as the VMS fish (a couple from Paris, possibly one from England, and one from Austria). Note that the 12th century zodiac from Seckau, Austria, may have had the drawings added in the 15th century, so I have sorted according to the later date [click to see larger]:

It’s interesting that so many of the VMS details are in the minority. Crossbow Sagittarius is relatively uncommon, as is lizardy Scorpius, and double-Cancer. The Gemini “courting couple” is also uncommon.

Pisces with a long nose is quite uncommon, especially those without a line between the fish. I sometimes wonder if the person who designed the VMS zodiac signs got the general idea from looking at zodiacs but inserted pictures copied from other sources. For example, in CLM 10072 and BNF Lat. 13025, we see a long-nosed fish in a pond, and a long-nosed fish with the scales emphasized in an embellished initial. The Book of Wonders and the Rochester Bestiary also have a variety of long-nosed fish. Plus, there are a couple of “zodiac man” images with long-nosed fish under the man’s feet that I didn’t include in the above compilation.

Another way that the VMS fish differ from many fish drawings is the way the scales cover the whole body. Many illustrators don’t put scales on the bellies:

The wavy form of the VMS bodies is also unusual. I found a “wavy” fish in an Arabic manuscript, but other than the undulating posture, it doesn’t strongly resemble the VMS fish. It has spots, three fins top and bottom, a pale belly, and a drawing style that is much more eastern:

There are also some long-nosed fish in the marketplace and in the water in Tacuinum Sanitatus:

This fish is scaly top to bottom, but the fins and nose are quite different from the VMS fish:

In the planetary influences section, Cod. Sang. 760 has a human Sagittarius and some scaly long-nosed fish, but the fish are roughly sketched and probably later than the VMS:

Morgan B.19 has a very cute drawing that looks like it was done by a child that includes a long-nosed fish with double dorsel fins:

In the Andalius De Sphaera (c. 1327), we see long-nosed dolphins. They’re not fish, they’re mammals but many old texts refer to them as fish and even today many people call them “fish”:

Family emblems, such as this one (which also features cloud-band imagery), sometimes include long-nosed fish:

The best match I’ve seen for the VMS fish outside of zodiac imagery was the one pointed out by MarcoP in the Sachsenspiegel. It has a long nose, a face quite similar to the VMS fish, and is scaly top to bottom. I’ve turned it sideways so it is easier to see:

Summary

Even though the VMS long-nosed fish are unique in a number of ways, there are several possible sources for the imagery, including zodiacs, bestiaries, and manuscripts unrelated to astrology.

The Parisian zodiac dating from c. 1350 (Morgan M.75) is the closest I’ve found so far as a Pisces symbol, in terms of style and features. Morgan M.75 also includes a four-legged Scorpius and crayfish Cancer, so perhaps there is some common source that connects them, but I’d like to gather more information and continue analyzing what I have before venturing any conclusions.

J.K. Petersen


[Postscript July 27, 2018] I found this picture after I posted the blog:

The drawing style is different from the VMS, but the features are notable. It has long-nosed double-dorsal fish that are scaly from top to bottom. Plus, something that is even harder to find in fish with these characteristics… the lower one has an undulating posture. The image detail is from a 14th-century hell-mouth fresco in the Timios Prodromos monastery in Serres, Greece.

Serres also has grottoes with fabulous stalactites. I’m always on the lookout for grottoes since some of the VMS bathing images have grotto-like structures.

J.K. Petersen


Postscript 30 August 2018: It has been suggested that the VMS Pisces symbol represents the New World alligator gar. Here is a picture of the gar. Note there is one fin top, two sets of fins bottom-front, and another fin back-bottom. Drawn from the side, it might look like one top and three bottom.

Alligator gar picIf the researchers who identified the VMS fish as alligator gar are going to ignore the mismatch in the number of fins, then any fish with a long nose could be said to be similar to the VMS fish, including the northern pike, which is indigenous to both Old and New Worlds:

Northern pike (Esox lucius)The same researchers claim the fish with the nymph in its mouth on folio 79v is also an alligator gar. I can’t take that seriously. Look at the mouth, it’s very broad and blunt, more like a wide-mouthed bass:

Voynich f79v fish

In contrast, the mouth of the alligator gar is long, narrow, and toothy (especially this species):Alligator gar long snout

Natural or Traditional?

Four years ago, I looked at hundreds of pictures of New World and Old World fish and there are several with long noses and two fins top and two bottom, but I have the feeling the VMS illustrator consulted other drawings rather than studying real fish because VMS Pisces resembles medieval illustrations more than it does naturalistic drawings of the time.

Here is a small subset of Pisces symbols with varying numbers of fins and long noses. They are all Old World illustrations:

Medieval fish drawings with different fins

I’ll leave it to the reader to decide whether the VMS fish look more like the New World alligator gar, or like fish in pre-conquest medieval illustrations. I’m partial to the fish in the Sachsenspiegel with its similar face and tail, and to the fish in the Greek fresco, which have the right number of fins, top-to-bottom scales, and narrow curvy bodies.

© Copyright 2018 J.K. Petersen, All Rights Reserved

Zodiac Patterns – Human Sagittarius

Two days ago, I posted maps illustrating combination searches of medieval zodiac images similar to those in the Voynich Manuscript. Today, a simpler search explores Sagittarius as a two-legged human, distinct from centaurs and satyrs. This is different from previous Sagittarius blogs where I focused on the crossbow and tunic.

Background

Medieval images of Sagittarius generally fall into three categories: centaurs, satyrs, and humans. Most of them are holding longbows, a few have crossbows. Here are examples that illustrate common themes:

Note how the VMS fits naturally with the human-in-tunic style that became popular in certain regions, especially in the 14th to mid-16th centuries. Sagittarius as a satyr is primarily found in Germany or northeastern France.

Evolution

The Egyptians and Greeks represented Sagittarius as a centaur. The tradition of using a human was uncommon but can be seen in the sacred reliefs of Romans who followed the Mithraic religion in the second century. Not all the Mithraic Sagittarius carvings are human, the London relief shows Sagittarius as a centaur, but the one associated with Hadrian’s wall at Housesteads, England, is a nude archer with a longbow (right).

A few centuries after the fall of Rome, clothed human archers appear in Hebrew mosaics south of the Sea of Galilee, in the general area now known as Beit Alfa. This is not far from the birthplace of astrology as we know it, originating with the Chaldeans and Egyptians.

Back in northern Europe, probably England, Sagittarius-as-human didn’t vanish after the fall of the Roman Empire. It shows up in the early 9th century in Cotton MS Galba A XVIII, in a series that includes a double-headed crayfish and a bull with his tail between his legs. There are additional echoes of the VMS in the bumpy terrains under the feet, and suggestions of foliage in the background, but Virgo and Libra do not look anything like the VMS, and Scorpio is a double-headed serpent in the arms of a human (possibly a reference to St. George battling a dragon or perhaps Ophiuchus, the serpent-wrestling constellation). Leo doesn’t have a leg-tail or a protruding tongue either.

Continental Examples

In the 12th and 13th centuries, a number of Sagittarius-as-human figures appear in churches and manuscripts in at least three places: the northeast of what is now France, in the Holy Roman Empire (mainly Germany), and in a Christian cathedral in Georgia (Georgia has been primarily Christian since the 4th century).

There is also a brevarium from Seckau, Austria (Graz MS 286) with some VMS-like characteristics such as a simple scale, a crayfish, and nibbling animals, but I am very suspicious that the zodiac symbols may have been added in the 14th or 15th century, mainly because of the style and themes, and partly because of the way the drawings overlap the original text.

By the mid-1300s, some of the zodiacs with Sagittarius-as-human were starting to look like the Voynich bowman. In particular, a manuscript thought to be from Germany, held in the Regensburger library (Clm 13076), has several commonalities, including a lion with a protruding tongue, a mammalian or lizardy scorpio, human Sagittarius, and Cancer as a crayfish. There is also a vague suggestion of bumpy terrain:

About 40 years later, a zodiac with a leg-tail lion and human archer appears in the north (Trinity B-11-7, possibly England), but it features Cancer as a crab and Scorpius as scorpion, and only superficially resembles the VMS. Big cats with their tails between their legs (a position that cats prefer to avoid that became a popular visual emblem) weren’t specific to zodiacs, they were frequently used on banners, friezes, and coats-of-arms throughout Europe and parts of the Middle East.

Graz MS 287 Human Sagittarius

By c. 1390 to c. 1405, examples of human Sagittarius can be found in Bohemia, and they have a number of commonalities with the VMS, including Leo with leg-tail, a crayfish, and Libra scales without a full figure. So, even though early lizard-style Scorpius emerged in northern France, if you look at several zodiac symbols together, those that are most similar to the VMS in the mid-to-late 14th century appear to be from the southeastern HRE.

Thus, if you ignore the crossbow for a moment, you will notice significant clustering of human-Sagittarius themes in the Holy Roman Empire:

A Tradition-Transmission Mystery

There is a zodiac cycle a little to the west of what appears to be a cluster in the SE HRE, an early-15th century manuscript from the Lake Constance area (not from St. Gall), one with similar themes to the VMS: a squatting Virgo, a crossbow, and Sagittarius wearing a tunic of the same style as the VMS (Cod. Sang. 827 c. 1425).

Note the crossbow and the wide sleeves that are narrow at the wrist. Cod. Sang. 827

So, the question is, might the VMS illustrator have seen one or more of the south-eastern HRE manuscripts and/or one from the Alsace or possibly even the one from Seckau? Or did the Sang. 827 illustrator independently see manuscripts from the southeastern HRE and interpret them in a similar way, with no connection to the VMS?

That’s one way of looking at it, but another possibility is that there might be an intermediary manuscript created sometime between 1400 and c. 1425 that influenced both of them, possibly one that has been lost?

And, there’s a further possibility. When combination searches are used, the VMS has many commonalities with manuscripts from the mid-15th century.

LJS 449 includes a crayfish, a leg-tail Leo, a human archer, and squatting Virgo gowned with many folds. Cod. Pal. Germ. 298, CGM 312, CGM 7269, 3085 Han, Estense De Sphaera, Codex Schürstab, and Sang. 760 (and several others) are similar, as well. Some that include combination themes also have romantic Gemini (e.g. Ludwig XII 8). Were the raw materials for the Voynich Manuscript stored for a decade or two before being used so that the contents belong to a later time period than the radio-carbon dated parchment? Might it have a closer kinship to southern German manuscripts from c. 1440 to 1470 rather than earlier sources from England or Burgundy/France?

I’m hoping a series of combination searches will provide a better sense of which illustrative traditions may have directly influenced the VMS and which are incidental or coincidental.

Summary

This search is speculative, as it describes results from a very specific point of view—Sagittarius as human—and one has to be careful not to read too much into it because zodiac cycles can be extremely similar and still differ on a symbol or two but, once again I found it intriguing that the examples from this specific search clustered so dramatically in certain regions and time periods.

J.K. Petersen

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