18-07-2017, 02:14 PM
In the thread #2009, Rene writes:
Yes, that's another point to pay attention to. Why the VMS escaped the fate of other books? I can offer only some general reasoning here.
It is clear that de Tepenecz could part with the VMS in only two possible ways: by his own free will or against that.
In the former case, this means that he either passed or granted or sold the book to somebody during his later years, or he made a separate clause in his will for the VMS to go to some other place other than the Jesuit college. I do not know whether de Tepenecz will is still available and can be examined in that respect, but since we don't know anything positive in that respect, I guess that either the will is not preserved or the answer is in negative, i.e. the VMS was not prescribed to have a way separate from other books. But it looks to me very probable that de Tepenecz could have parted with the book during his life. Look at Baresch and Marci: all through their lives they have been interested in the VMS and eventually Marci sent it to Kircher in order for the latter to decipher it. Quite likely, de Tepenecz behaved in the similar fashion. Having failed to understand the book himself, he sent it to some expert for him to give a try. Perhaps that occurred when de Tepenecz began to feel that his own death is approaching. Who could that expert be?
In the latter case, i.e. in the case when de Tepenecz parts with the book against his own will, this means that either the book was given away for debts, or stolen/took away from him, or after his death his will was violated in respect of the VMS (as opposed to other books). De Tepenecz was not a poor man, and even after his imprisonment he was able to leave 50000 ducats to the college, so debts are out of question. Theft/robbery - don't know. On one hand, when de Tepenecz went to prison, his house may have been ransacked and the VMS stolen. On the other hand, other books escaped such fate (they were preserved and later signed away to the college). So if it were a theft, it would have been a very targeted theft, carefully planned. Violation of the will - it's difficult to make a reasonable judgement, because I don't know what was the form of the will. Were the books listed separately, or all books were signed away in batch? Were "books" even specified as a separate piece of property (suppose they were, since the estate did not go to the college). If all books were signed away in batch, then some person interested in the VMS could have effectively stolen the book, and the fact remained unnoticed, since de Tepenecz had many books. Or de Tepenecz's relatives quickly sold the book to some person who insisted upon that, prior to the jesuits' arriving to take hold of property signed away to them.
All in all, I find it more likely that de Tepenecz voluntarily sent the book to some other person - just like Marci did decades later.
Quote:One key event for me in all this is the death of Tepenec. His books were donated to the Jesuit college, but the Voynich MS did not go there. How did that happen? I suspect (but this is pure speculation) that Raphael may have had something to do with this. He was involved with confiscations of properties of deceased people, but I have no record that he knew Tepenec. Both had a Jesuit education and both were buried in the Jesuit St.Salvator church (like Marci) but neither entered the order.
Yes, that's another point to pay attention to. Why the VMS escaped the fate of other books? I can offer only some general reasoning here.
It is clear that de Tepenecz could part with the VMS in only two possible ways: by his own free will or against that.
In the former case, this means that he either passed or granted or sold the book to somebody during his later years, or he made a separate clause in his will for the VMS to go to some other place other than the Jesuit college. I do not know whether de Tepenecz will is still available and can be examined in that respect, but since we don't know anything positive in that respect, I guess that either the will is not preserved or the answer is in negative, i.e. the VMS was not prescribed to have a way separate from other books. But it looks to me very probable that de Tepenecz could have parted with the book during his life. Look at Baresch and Marci: all through their lives they have been interested in the VMS and eventually Marci sent it to Kircher in order for the latter to decipher it. Quite likely, de Tepenecz behaved in the similar fashion. Having failed to understand the book himself, he sent it to some expert for him to give a try. Perhaps that occurred when de Tepenecz began to feel that his own death is approaching. Who could that expert be?
In the latter case, i.e. in the case when de Tepenecz parts with the book against his own will, this means that either the book was given away for debts, or stolen/took away from him, or after his death his will was violated in respect of the VMS (as opposed to other books). De Tepenecz was not a poor man, and even after his imprisonment he was able to leave 50000 ducats to the college, so debts are out of question. Theft/robbery - don't know. On one hand, when de Tepenecz went to prison, his house may have been ransacked and the VMS stolen. On the other hand, other books escaped such fate (they were preserved and later signed away to the college). So if it were a theft, it would have been a very targeted theft, carefully planned. Violation of the will - it's difficult to make a reasonable judgement, because I don't know what was the form of the will. Were the books listed separately, or all books were signed away in batch? Were "books" even specified as a separate piece of property (suppose they were, since the estate did not go to the college). If all books were signed away in batch, then some person interested in the VMS could have effectively stolen the book, and the fact remained unnoticed, since de Tepenecz had many books. Or de Tepenecz's relatives quickly sold the book to some person who insisted upon that, prior to the jesuits' arriving to take hold of property signed away to them.
All in all, I find it more likely that de Tepenecz voluntarily sent the book to some other person - just like Marci did decades later.