In a simple online search I came across a Latin illuminated manuscript on parchment, identified as from Bordeaux c. 1375-1400. At that time Bordeaux was presumably the center of English-ruled Aquitaine (actually more commonly known then as "Guyenne", in fact more commonly known thus from the 13th century until the French Revolution as I understand it). I believe that Old Occitan (Middle Occitan?) would have been the most common spoken vernacular language of this city and region at the time.
I have attached files showing several pages from this manuscript. The English title of the manuscript is "Mass Lectionary with Readings from the Epistles (Epistolarium)". For those who may be interested, the manuscript is apparently available for sale You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. for $55,000.
The description of the manuscript on this webpage states the following: "The attractive Gothic script – each majuscule embellished and filled with pale yellow – pen initials of great refinement and delicacy, and relatively early velvet binding, all point to a commission of some importance."
My question is the following: For those who are knowledgeable about these matters, how do the shapes, ducts, aspects, etc., of the letterforms of this script compare with other English, French, Occitan, other French regional, German, Gothic, other Central European, and other Continental European cursive scripts of this time period?
The main edition in youtube of the 2009 documentary about the Voynich MS, that first announced the forensic analysis results, used to be available via this link:
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Last time I saw it, it had 9.5 million views. This number has increased a bit, but now it appears to be blocked.
This may be a regional issue, so I would be curious if anyone else can still see it?
Has ever been discussed the possibility that colors on pharmaceutical containers are not purely ornamental but could have a meaning? Personally I think/suppose they could indicate which part of plants are being used in the related “recipe” and, in particular - brown for roots, green for leaves, blue for seeds/berries/fruits. There is also another color - sort of beige, but I’m not sure about that if it has any meaning and if so - which one.
In 2004 Gordon Rugg published a paper in which he proposed that the Voynich MS text is likely to be meaningless, and could have been composed by an alternative application of a so-called Cardan Grille, namely by moving a piece of cardboard with holes over a large table of word fragments, and writing down the words that thus appear.
Read more here:
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I would like to know about the ideas that have ever existed for You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. and You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..
In my experience, there is a difference in availability when it comes to digitized manuscripts, and indeed online resources in general. There are too many German, English, French and Italian manuscripts to view in a lifetime. But outside of the central/western European region, things get a bit more hazy. I could easily name a dozen Italian or French manuscript traditions, among which those that appear the most relevant for the VM. Off the top of my head, I can recall some Czech manuscripts I've seen, and even mailed some Czech libraries to request images, but that's about it.
Now on the other hand, the VM first shows up on history's radar in Prague. So I wonder..
Did I simply not study Eastern and/or Central European regions enough?
Are the most "comparable" manuscripts, like herbals, simply mostly from countries like Italy?
Are there simply fewer manuscripts that were produced east of Germany?
Is it a matter of accessibility? (digitization, literature not in English...)
Do we need to look more towards Eastern and/or Central Europe as a possible context of creation for the VM, or are we best off with the current focus?
I have collected a large number of copies of diplomatic ciphers for the early 15th century. So far I have a gap that I am very keen to fill. I have an example of a Milanese diplomatic cipher from 1424 and another one from 1445, however I have no example between these 2 dates. I am endeavouring to find such an example by my own means, but this is another avenue as someone else might know something that I don't.
I will clarify what I mean by a Milanese cipher. Essentially what I am interested in is ciphers designed by the chancellery of the Duchy of Milan, i.e. ciphers designed by employees of government of Milan on behalf of that government. So what I am looking for is an enciphered letter or cipher key for communication with the Milanese State. So this could be an enciphered letter to or from a representative of the government of Milan. It could be a cipher key used for communication by or with an employee of the government of Milan. This would be incredibly valuable for my research hence the sum of money.
I am happy to give this to someone who can give me a lead which will take me to such a cipher, though I would be interested in something much more specific than "try the internet" or "try the BNF"(without a more specific reference).
I have a couple of specific references to ciphers from that period, but I think none of those survive, although I will do my best to follow them up.
Any early 15th ciphers may on inspection turn out to be Milanese even if at first they don't obviously appear so.
I know it is unorthodox to offer such rewards and anyway I doubt that anyone would be able to find such a cipher even if I offered 10 times what I have said, which I have no intention of doing so. Frankly given the amount of effort involved by me in hunting for such things €200 is really good value for me.
I hope offering an amount of money will at least attract some attention which otherwise I fear this thread would not get.
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I read a lot of the translations so far; none of them made me believe, they did it right. But this one could make the break-point.
Anyone here familiar with the described language? Unfortunately, the author in the video did not translate so much.
Hi. I checked up to ten pages and the mentioned rules You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. include every paragraph.
This is a detailed sample of folio 68r
This is simply a question, since I am sure that many people have studied it, researched it, and know much more about this topic than I do:
Can anyone tell me if we can clearly identify any white or red roses in any of the imagery anywhere in the Voynich manuscript?
My reason for asking is probably already obvious to many of you: the white rose and the red rose were the famous symbols of the English House of York and House of Lancaster, respectively, in their feud throughout the 15th century, culminating in the Wars of the Roses. Although the latter wars themselves postdate the apparent age of the Voynich ms parchment, their rivalry and their central place in English (and French!) history in the early 15th century are entirely contemporary with the 1406-1438 range for the dating of the ms parchment. The third and final phase of the Hundred Years' War between England and France, the Lancastrian War, lasted from 1415 to 1453. England controlled much of the territory of northern France in the period 1415-1429 in particular. (I recall one analysis concluded that the month names in Latin letters written on the Zodiac chart pages of the ms were characteristic of a northern French dialect.)
![[Image: blkx9ean8tt61.png?width=2000&format=png&...79880064e6]](https://preview.redd.it/blkx9ean8tt61.png?width=2000&format=png&auto=webp&s=55d1b7e93696c512e46ccbe466754279880064e6)