The Voynich Ninja

So this is not a full "theory" in the sense of the word, but more of a suggestion, to see what others think about it.

Basically, I recently noticed that the monastery on the Greek island of Patmos bears some resemblance to the architectural drawings in the VMS, especially the Rosettes section. It is a bit out of place within the context of the manuscript, because it is not anywhere near Northern Italy. Yet it has several interesting features.

The first is its size:

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Here is another view from above:

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Keen eyed observers will notice that this monastery, quite strikingly, has ghibelline merlons all around:

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The entire complex was built with a concept of "sunken" or multi-storey buildings, which also reminds one of the VMS :

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In the VMS rosettes, we see that the different structures are surrounded by what appears to be large bodies of water. Well, Patmos is a small island, so in that sense, it "fits" as well. Furthermore, the island of Patmos was under Ottoman rule for a long time, and there would have been many minarets all around. Just like in the VMS Rosettes section.

The interior of the monastery is lush with frescoes. A few examples remind one of the VMS (on the left hand side images from the VMS folio f1v, on the right, typical fresco patterns on Patmos):

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The monastery is called "Monastery of St George the Theologian". Apparently, Saint Georrge, who wrote the Revelations part of the Bible, did so in this exact monastery, hence ist name. You can find some info here: 

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The monastery housed a huge and varied library. In fact, it has been called the "one of the most sgnificant monastic libraries of the world". Already in 1080, thousands of books were kept there and there was a professional scriptorium. 

So based on the information above, I ask myself (and the dear readers of this forum), whether Patmos could have been a place of relevance for the VMS. Could the VMS have been written here? Are the depictions in the Rosettes section describing this monastery? Could the vast library of Patmos have been an influence for the apparent multi-cultural drawings in the VMS?

What do you think?

That's a really cool finding!

I didn't even know there was a mount Athos-like monastery on Patmos. The merlons would be an interesting addition to the map, but I haven't been able to confirm their date. It is certain that the defensive structures were expanded as late as 1646. 

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Quote:Work started in 1088 and continued until 1093.
Fortifications were included from the outset to safeguard its precious library, and were further
strengthened in the twelfth century before the arrival in 1207 of the Venetians, who ruled the
island until it fell to the Turks in 1537. Neither occupier interfered with the autonomy of the
monastery, whose fortunes enabled it to expand continuously. It became the most famous
monastery in the Aegean region and was the only one outside Mount Athos to receive
favourable terms from the sultans in Istanbul. Extensive fortifications were added in the
fourteenth century and again in the aftermath of the earthquake of 1646.

It was again restored after a serious earthquake in 1956.
However, the Venetian governance from 1207 onward would make pre-1450 swallowtails very plausible.

(08-05-2026, 10:27 AM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.However, the Venetian governance from 1207 onward would make pre-1450 swallowtails very plausible.

I also have searched about dates on the beginning of Venetian governance, without success.

(08-05-2026, 12:03 PM)JustAnotherTheory Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

(08-05-2026, 10:27 AM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.However, the Venetian governance from 1207 onward would make pre-1450 swallowtails very plausible.

I also have searched about dates on the beginning of Venetian governance, without success.

I asked Claude to do a deep research... Take with the usual llm pinch of salt ..

The Patmos hypothesis fails on every empirical test that matters for the Voynich Manuscript (Beinecke MS 408). The monastery was a strictly Byzantine Greek institution; its scriptorium produced Greek liturgical, patristic and classical codices — not Latin-script herbals — and there is no documented Latin or vernacular manuscript production at Patmos in the c. 1404–1438 radiocarbon window.

The "swallowtail/Ghibelline merlons" argument collapses on architectural dating. The fortifications visible in modern photographs took their final form in the mid-17th century (after the 1646 earthquake) with Venetian or Rhodian craftsmen adding the characteristic sloping scarpas, (Kastra) and the entire west wing plus the entrance spire were rebuilt from scratch after the 1956 earthquake. There is no published archaeological or codicological evidence that the iconic crenellations as depicted today existed in the 14th–15th century, and Patmos's masonry crenellations are not the V-notched Ghibelline type associated with Lombardy.

Patmos was never under direct Venetian administration; it was nominally under the Duchy of the Archipelago (1207) and then increasingly under the Hospitaller Knights of Rhodes (after 1309) and Ottoman protection (1390 tax, 1523/1537). Latin contact was real but mediated almost entirely through papal/Hospitaller diplomatic documents (Vranoussi catalogues 68 Latin documents in the archive — privileges and tax-related, not literary or scientific texts). (EJournals) No prior Voynich scholar of standing has proposed a Patmos provenance, and the manuscript's Northern-Italian parchment, Italo-Germanic iconography, and Latin-script marginalia point firmly away from the Greek Aegean

There is also cave there, where John received instructions to write book of revelations. Maybe Voynich author also did the same inspiration? Maybe Voynich manuscript is apocalyptic text of end of the world?

(08-05-2026, 12:57 PM)DG97EEB Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I asked Claude to do a deep research... Take with the usual llm pinch of salt ..

Interestingly...

1. this is largely correct
2. people who think otherwise (for whatever reason) will not be convinced by it

(08-05-2026, 03:12 PM)ReneZ Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Interestingly...

1. this is largely correct
2. people who think otherwise (for whatever reason) will not be convinced by it

If that is the case, then this theory can be dropped, as it isn't consistent with the carbon dating of the VMS.

Unless, the VMS was written after 1600 on 1400s parchment...

Does anyone have a source on the late date for the swallowtails? 
Both the the Genoese and the Venetians and their proxies were active in this area, so it wouldn't be all that bizarre to have swallowtails there before 1450. I can't add it before we know the dating, of course.

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. shows the monastery before restoration. Though the resolution is poor, it does show that ghibelline merlons were there.
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You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. is a 15th copy of Buondelmonti that shows merlons on the monastery (f.36v). I don’t know if it’s an autograph, but it’s not much later than the author, who visited Patmos in the early 15th century. The crenellations here are generic, but given the scale of the illustration I think this is understandable. Also, I doubt there could have been reasons for the merlons to change shape between 1400 and 1926. I also include a vulcano from f.19r because it's cool (Nisiros, I think).
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[attachment=15530]

For what it’s worth, my personal opinion is that:

• The swallowtail merlons were added in medieval times by the Venetian rulers of the island. The merlons had both a political and a military function.
  
• They were restored by the Italians during their occupation of Patmos at the times of the fascist regime. The merlons had the political nationalist function of underlining the ancient Italian dominion.
  

I cannot see any reason why people should have added Ghibelline merlons in a Greek island in the 17th century, when the merlons made no military and no political sense. I understand that the 17th century interventions aimed at avoiding the collapse of the building, and were structural rather than aesthetical.