Page f68v3

[f68r3]  [index]  [f68v2]

Identification

  Title: "Spiral Nebula"
  Page: f68v3 = IH (Rene) = p126 (Stolfi)
  Folio: f68
  Panels: f68v4, f68v3
  Bifolio: bI1 = f67+f68
  Quire: I (Rene) = IX (Beinecke)

  This page comprises the two outermost verso panels (f68v4 and f68v3) 
  of an eight-panel fold-out.

  Way p140

  Newbold XIII, XXI, XXII, who calls it f.68r. Jim Reeds calls it 68v3.

  Roe, 6th September 1993.
  Machine translated from transcription in Bennett notation dated 30/03/90.

Attributes

  Language: ? (Currier)
  Hand: ? (Currier)
  Subsets: C (Rene), cos (Stolfi)
  Subject: cosmological
  Colors: blue(spickling),yellow(stars) (Reeds), messy_blue(centre) (Rene)

Description

  The page is dominated by a circular diagram, su surmounted by a 
  paragraph of text (3.5 lines).

  The diagram is framed by a ring of text, between two very faint
  mechanically drawn circles. There is a large gap in the text at 09:00, with
  a small notched square element.

  At the center there is a circle framed by another ring of text,
  also between two faint circles. The interior is divided into three
  parts by an upside-down "T". The top quarters contain a word each;
  the bottom half contains three lines of text. The circles and the
  "T" are mechanically drawn.

  Surrounding the central circle is an irregular "ocean" with a dotted
  texture and a meandering outline.  The outline is doubled in places
  in a way that suggests a sunken pond, or a shape cut out 
  from thick cardboard.

  Eight hand-drawn, inward-reading text bands, curved like the
  "arms" of a galaxy, connect the outer frame of the diagram with
  the center figure. The four arms that start at mid-quadrant merge
  into the "ocean", while the other four continue over the ocean and
  merge with the inner circle of text, 45 degrees counterclockwise
  of their starting point on the outer circle.

  The four arms that connect to the center divide the "ocean" into
  four sectors. Each sector contains five unnamed stars, except the
  West sector, that has six of them. (The anomaly may have to do with
  the fact that one of the six stars is right on top of the fold-out's
  crease.)

Comments

  The "notched square" symbol at 09:00 is very likely the starting point
  for the text ring.  Here it is unusually small; in other diagrams
  it generally spans the width of the text ring.

  The outline of the "galactic bulge" seems to represent water in
  other illustrations. Here the ocean's outline is drawn with a
  displaced "echo", as if it were a pool, or a thick puzzle piece.
  The perspective of the lobes shows the same perspective error
  see on the flowers of f53r and f40v, among others.

  The circle at the center resembles the medieval "T-O" diagram of
  the world divided into three continents. However most examples of
  the latter have the two quarters (Europe and Africa) on the
  bottom; and the "T" is usually drawn with double lines as it
  represents water bodies.

References

[f68r3]  [index]  [f68v2]