The Voynich Ninja

Note: this is about the folio numbers, not the quire numbers. Sorry if this is reinventing the wheel. I'm just pulling some things together others have noticed.

In You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., Nablator explains the shape of the "e" in "aberil". R.Sale links You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. as an example.
In You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., oshfdk notices the way "3" is written in "93" of the folio numbers. In fact, the folio numberer regularly (but not always) adds an extra tick on top of the 3.

Looking through the MS R.Sale linked in the context of the "e", I noticed the way its scribe writes short-s. Like the "3" of the folio numberer. 

Both the foliation and the month names are described as "could be 15th century but could be later". Both add a top tick to certain letters/numbers. 

Adding month names might make sense in the context of rebinding?

Image below shows capped folio 3's, two clips from CB174 and the capped "e" from aberil.

[attachment=10796]

Since both shapes are found in the same reference MS, I suspect they might be related.

(09-06-2025, 08:57 PM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Both the foliation and the month names are described as "could be 15th century but could be later".

Note that Sergio Toressella stated that the hand of the month names is 15th century, and from my limited exposure I also have a hard time seeing it as much after 1500.

The abbreviations are from someone who used these all the time - there is no particular reason to use them here (enough space).

I wonder if the rather inconspicuous 'fe' or 'fo' on f2v could be from the same origin (hand) as the month names. 

On a different tangent, Nick Pelling always advocated an Occitan origin for this writing, and wondered about Montpellier and Rondelet here: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

Nowadays, there is a good link to Rondelet, as Rauwolf was his student (in Montpellier), and R. has a tenuous connection with the MS. However, the handwriting style of these days (mid-1500's) is quite different from the Voynich month names.
 
Back to the 'fo' on f2v, long ago I wondered if this could be related to similar inscriptions on alchemical herbal MS Firenze 106. See slides 12 and 13 of this talk: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

Also Jean Ruel, who lived in Northern France, is a bit late for the handwriting of the month names. I never found a connection between Ruel and Rondelet, apart from the fact that they were both in Paris at roughly the same time.

(10-06-2025, 12:42 AM)ReneZ Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.The abbreviations are from someone who used these all the time - there is no particular reason to use them here (enough space).

Which abbreviations do you mean? The thing in the middle of aberil is the actual shape of the "e", not a superscript.

(10-06-2025, 06:46 AM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Which abbreviations do you mean?

The 'm' in the later months.