13-09-2017, 06:49 AM
In the wake of last week's Voynich MS publication by Nicholas Gibbs in the Times Literary Supplement, the historical discussions of the manuscript copies of "De Balneis Puteolanis" in relation with the Voynich MS were picked up by several people, and the information may be found scattered over several blogs, including those of Nick, JKP and Koen, but also in (what seems to be) the first "rebuttal" article in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..
I attempted a first brief summary in the comments of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. , but I believe it deserves a bit more, and in a more central place.
These discussions were triggered by the fact that Gibbs did not mention any of these earlier references. Now while he might be excused for not having read all web resources about the Voynich MS, this does not apply for the recent Yale volume. Not only are the "Balneis" manuscripts mentioned in the essay by Jennifer Rampling, they also figure in the Preface by Ray Clemens, with a rather prominent illustration on one of the first pages.
Nick, in a You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. to You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. , presented a quote from a Voynich mailing list question I asked Jim Reeds on 19 Feb 1996. The answer came pomptly, on the same day:
The second part was a follow-up by Brian Smith on 9 March 1998:
Following this mail, I found a a link with some illustrations. This particular site no longer exists, but now there are of course on-line digital copies of several of the manuscripts.
It's worth stepping back to the first mention that traces back to Sergio Toresella. His opinion about the Voynich MS, reported by Jim Reeds, and partially reflected in his 1995 paper, had an enormous impact on the general opinion about the MS that prevailed in the old mailing list. He strongly argued for an Italian origin, a humanist handwriting, and a possible relationship with the tradition of alchemical herbals, even though the MS clearly isn't one by itself. In particular the Italian origin seems to have been largely accepted by the majority as likely.
. . . to be continued . . .
I attempted a first brief summary in the comments of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. , but I believe it deserves a bit more, and in a more central place.
These discussions were triggered by the fact that Gibbs did not mention any of these earlier references. Now while he might be excused for not having read all web resources about the Voynich MS, this does not apply for the recent Yale volume. Not only are the "Balneis" manuscripts mentioned in the essay by Jennifer Rampling, they also figure in the Preface by Ray Clemens, with a rather prominent illustration on one of the first pages.
Nick, in a You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. to You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. , presented a quote from a Voynich mailing list question I asked Jim Reeds on 19 Feb 1996. The answer came pomptly, on the same day:
Quote:Toresella is thinking of some late 1400’s books describing the public thermal baths of Italy. This sub-genre of topographical book has, typically, sections describing the special medicinal properties of the waters in each of several towns. Each section might have an illustration showing what the baths were like. The page layout and the architecture is similar to what we see in the VMS.
The second part was a follow-up by Brian Smith on 9 March 1998:
Quote:It is a reproduction of a 15c copy of “De Balneis Puteolanis” which was written by a Petrus de Ebulo c. 1200. The content was very reminiscent of an herbal — a picture of the bath and a page of text describing it physically and its healing properties. The pictures generally showed a large tub surrounded by pillars or other building elements. Some of the tubs were shown being fed by streams flowing down from mountains in the background or from pipes. A few naked figures stood in each tub, usually men but sometimes women. All of the tubs were single-sex. The style of the illustrations was unlike the VMS but I came away feeling fairly confident that the “balneological” section of the VMS is, in fact, balneological. “De Balneis Puteolanis” would not be at all out of place in a work otherwise about herbs and astrology and the VMS pages showing large tubs stretching across the width of the page would not be out of place in “De Balneis” (if drawn by a more skilled artist).
Following this mail, I found a a link with some illustrations. This particular site no longer exists, but now there are of course on-line digital copies of several of the manuscripts.
It's worth stepping back to the first mention that traces back to Sergio Toresella. His opinion about the Voynich MS, reported by Jim Reeds, and partially reflected in his 1995 paper, had an enormous impact on the general opinion about the MS that prevailed in the old mailing list. He strongly argued for an Italian origin, a humanist handwriting, and a possible relationship with the tradition of alchemical herbals, even though the MS clearly isn't one by itself. In particular the Italian origin seems to have been largely accepted by the majority as likely.
. . . to be continued . . .