Hello, I have just come across this site after watching some Stephen Bax videos on You Tube, which were absolutely fascinating and suggest a very logical and down to earth approach at translating this absolutely fascinating manuscript simply by looking at the linguistic similarities using the plants as a starting point. He also looked at words for Taurus and Aldebaran or Sirius. Anyway, I'm not a techy person so don't go on forums usually and took one look at this site and didn't know where to start. So I thought I would jut dive in and ask some questions.
1. Where can I find out more about work expanding on Stephen's start as he sadly passed away?
2. And also, the manuscript to me looks like it could be some kind of Book of Shadows, as there is obviously sections pertaining to herbs and healing, metaphysical, astrological and divination and what could be some kind of recipes or spells. Is there any other information about that area of study? My mother and I have discussed this possibility over 20 years ago now and finding the videos on You Tube just sparked my interest again.
Hi, and welcome to the Forum!
Most of Stephen's work can be found in his website which is still preserved: You are not allowed to view links.
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"Book of shadows" isn't really a recognised medieval term, it's a modern invention.
It has been suggested that the Voynich is a type of guild book, where masters would jot down their secrets and experience to be shared amongst the initiated. Although it would certainly be unique in size and (apparent) range of subjects.
Another possibility is that it is a type of florilegium (book of flowers), a sort of early encyclopaedia which collated writings on a similar subject.
(04-03-2022, 01:11 AM)Anton Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Hi, and welcome to the Forum!
Most of Stephen's work can be found in his website which is still preserved: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Thank you.
(04-03-2022, 08:59 AM)davidjackson Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view."Book of shadows" isn't really a recognised medieval term, it's a modern invention.
It has been suggested that the Voynich is a type of guild book, where masters would jot down their secrets and experience to be shared amongst the initiated. Although it would certainly be unique in size and (apparent) range of subjects.
Another possibility is that it is a type of florilegium (book of flowers), a sort of early encyclopaedia which collated writings on a similar subject.
Thank you for the reply. Yes, I understand that Book of Shadows is not really a scientific or maybe academic term, but the content is still the same - it would be like I said, and exactly what you are saying really about a guild book. However some of the illustrations, suggest to me something more "magical" or "alchemical" or "metaphysical" in nature as well as the astrological and probably divinatory aspects that would have been recorded alongside the natural herbology, botanical kind of material. Who knows, since there are several scribes who have penned this manuscript - I would say it is entirely plausible to say that they are copying a far earlier work or works to preserve what may have been an already degrading material. I personally believe that there is a huge amount that we don't know and maybe overlooking regarding ancient civilisations, i.e. lost civilisations, especially to do with lost knowledge, because ancient knowledge if it wasn't recorded in some way on stone then it has degraded long ago and hence there knowledge died with them. I mean look at Easter Island or Gobekli Tepe for example - Who knows what knowledge is buried or degraded away and is now long forgotten. But I suppose in a way, a Book of Shadows, as it has be termed by certain New Age groups now, is really a kind of encyclopaedia, isn't it? It's just naming, categorising, it's just semantics really. I find this manuscript to be, like so many others, just so exciting and intriguing. And as a writer myself, just so full of mystery and intrigue and leads my imagination on a merry ride. LOL
Well Penny, you've certainly got plenty of ideas to go through!
Just remember that when searching for information, you have to discern between modern stuff (loads and loads and loads) and the real medieval stuff that would have been around in the 15th century. Correct terminology helps there.
Best of luck and remember to share anything you find!
The Carbon-14 dating for the VMs parchment provides a necessary grounding for historical interpretation, anything up to 1450 or so. That is just the parchment, not the content. There is much to say that the content is contemporary with the parchment, despite a potential hiccup or two. And that connection has been well supplemented by further research.
Can it be read? Not a chance. No theory can read a segment of text, let alone a single page.
What is known is discovered in the illustrations. What is discovered are things the investigator may not have known previously. The 'Oresme cosmos' of BNF Fr. 565, for instance. Or specific details of medieval heraldry that uniquely connect the VMs cartoons to actual historical events. The illustrations tell us what the artist knows, but only in a few places have investigators found a way to make sense of what the VMs illustration was meant to represent. In the rosettes, the cosmic and mermaid images and several others.
Do the VMs illustrations contain two *potential* representations of the ambiguous creature of the Golden Fleece? There the history dates from 1430 in the Duchy of Burgundy. Does this show something that the artist knew? That the artist can disguise the appearance and confirm by the structure.
Does a Book of Obfuscations qualify as a Book of Shadows?