The Voynich Ninja

e-codices is my primary attention since I suspect the VMS to be a good deal Swiss

I don't know about the main text (I have different ideas about that), but it's my opinion, based on palaeographic samples that I've been collecting since 2008, that the writing on 116v is probably by someone in the Swiss/Augsburg/Bavaria/Tyrol strip. There's a culturally connected strip along southern Switzerland/Germany/Austria/northern Lombardy (picture a ribbon running along that piece of geography from Switzerland to Bohemia) that has similar handwriting characteristics.

I have searched very hard for data on this. I've been trying to get it written up. It's one thing to express an opinion (or make a guess, I notice guesses are very popular among the Voynich "solutions" crowd), but I wanted really good hard data to try to pin it down and I almost have enough to post something meaningful.


I guess I'm not happy posting little bits one at a time. In fact, when I think about it, I hate doing it that way... (maybe that's why my blogs are long and I find it painful to write them, and yet I feel even my longest blogs leave out 80% of what I want to include). Who knows if a find is significant or not until you follow it up? It often takes years to follow it up. It takes a lot of "elimination" and examples to feel comfortable saying, yes, this is real, this is not just a guess or a lucky hunch. Guessing is easy. Proving is not.

I keep reminding myself that searching in the area you expect to find something can be dangerous. I've spent years on the e-codices site (love it, it's one of my favorites) and others that include Swiss manuscripts (e.g., BNF), BUT I have found similar samples that are believed to be from Austria (and a couple of other places), SO, I try not to get overly focused on Switzerland because who knows what I might be missing if I narrow it down too soon.

Well, as for myself, luckily I'm not the only person working on the mysteries of the VMS, so I'm not afraid of missing something.  

I'm truly admiring the amount of time and effort that you and others (you know who you are) are putting into digging through raw data, that's invaluable for the Voynich research and that's what it's built upon; being unable to boast that, what I do is I'm trying to pluck a lucky thread and pull it. Sometimes that would be an accidental observation, sometimes a good idea.

Re "pulverisatum", see here: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

@nostalguru commented on my video that they found "ubren" in this MS, thinking that it's short for "verbrennen", to burn. I'm not sure of that reading, it looks related to "über" to me.  But I find it interesting to see this word in a 15th century "so nim" context. 

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[attachment=13109]

[attachment=13122]

It says:
‘Let it simmer and guard (protect) the lard so that the heat does not burn it.’
‘And place it on a rack, not above.(not burn)’

Es steht:

"lass ihn sieden und hüt (behüte) eben (ebenso) des smatz? (Schmalz) das ihn die hitz(e) nicht anbrennt."
"und lege ihn auf ein Rost, nit übren."

"übren" kann zwei Bedeutungen haben.

"übren" alemanisch "übere" deutsch "hinüber".
Oder eben auch "anbrennen"
gleich wie "obren" aleman "obere" das obere.

‘übren’ can have two meanings.

“übren” Alemannic ‘übere’ German ‘hinüber’. (across)
Or also ‘to burn’
like ‘obren’ Alemannic ‘obere’ the upper.

Today, grammar regulates all of this.

I have now read more and understand the meaning.
It is about a fish. One should be careful not to burn the tail on the grill:

This is my attempt at transcribing the full recipe:

Wolt du ein hecht hübschlich füllen
so züch im die hut ab bis den swantz und zerriß in nit
und flach die hut in ein nas tuch bis uff den swantz
und los den den braten von dem grat mit einem messer
Und tü es für dich uf ein banck und hack es klein und
nim darzü rüve eyger als vil dich güt dunct
und güt wurtzen und mach es gel und füll es wider an
den grat als es vor gewesen ist darnach züch den
balg under umb hin an den grat als es vor gewese
ist bis an dz höpt do mit leg in in ein brügi die wol
gewürtz si und mit win und essich gemacht si und lass in

sieden bis er si gnug mit den hecht aber umkeren
so tu im mit dem balg als for verbind den balg mit
einem nasen tuch und leg den fisch in ein brüge und
lass in sieden und hüt eben des swants das in die hitz
nit ubren und nim in den harus und brich in nit
und leg in uff ein rost und ubren in nit und in mit
tuter die wol gewürtz sigend über al bis an dz habt
dz los ston do mit züch im den balg hinunder uber
also grün bis an dz hopt und lass in den rösten bis
an sin stat dz er sin gnug hab so ist er bereit


The phrase "and verb it not" (und ... in nit) occurs three times in this recipe:

und zerriß in nit (and tear it not)
und brich in nit (and break it not)
und übren in nit (and ... it not)

The imperative form is the verb stem, which suggests that the infinitive of übren is something like "übrennen".


The first sentence is "und hüt eben des swants das in die hitz nit ubren".
"and watch carefully the tail so that the heat doesn't ubren it".

The second: "und leg in uff ein rost und ubren in nit"
"and put it on a grill and ubren it not".

So in the end I agree with Peter that it looks like some kind of burning or overheating, of which the infinitive is likely "ubrennen". One thing I stil wonder is whether this is really an abbreviation of "verbrennen". The "u" doesn't really have an umlaut but more of a little curve on top.

[attachment=13124]

It seems that the line above the ‘u’ is the symbol for ‘ü’. ‘über / überall’ (above / everywhere). But not in ‘übren’. There, it is the abbreviation for ‘ver’. Not a ‘u’ but a “v”. ‘v'bren’ = verbren (burn).
Short form for ‘er’. Quite common.

That's cool, reminds me of the way the month-name scribe writes "e".

In this MS, the supposed -er mark is more like a "c", but I assume the imperative "verbren" is the best option.