Mnišovský's report

[ReneZ]

Hello Anton,

that's quite a bit to ponder about. I am away from home which makes it a bit more difficult to sort out some details, but I can add a few initial comments.

Marci was the personal physician of both Ferdinand II and III, and he certainly was well known at the court, and knew many people at the court. He was also a close friend of the historian Balbin. He cured the latter, and basically saved his life.
Some of Balbin's work has been translated by Philip Neal, and he has sections both on Jacobus de Tepenec, and on Dr. Raphael, whom Balbin also knew personally. Marci certainly was "very well connected", also with other nobility, scientists and clergy. (The archbishop of Prague once saved him from prosecution).

Kircher almost certainly did not know who was Raphael Mnisowsky, and I read Marci's reference (the person who taught Bohemian to Ferdinand III) as a way of introducing him. Kircher knew Ferdinand III very well. Throughout the Marci-Kircher correspondence there are plans of Kircher visiting Ferdinand in Prague, but these did not materialise. Kircher dedicated at least one of his books to him.

There are many uncertainties in all this, and the number of possible permutations is enormous. It is possible to come up with many different scenarios that fit all known facts.

From memory: Mnisowsky was at Ferdinand II's court in Austria in the early 1630's, when he taught his children Czech.
Still, he would have spoken about the MS with Marci and Barschius in Prague. (I couldn't quickly find the relevant mail from Raphael on this topic, and when I will, I can check this for accuracy).

One key event for me in all this is the death of Tepenec. His books were donated to the Jesuit college, but the Voynich MS did not go there. How did that happen? I suspect (but this is pure speculation) that Raphael may have had something to do with this. He was involved with confiscations of properties of deceased people, but I have no record that he knew Tepenec. Both had a Jesuit education and both were buried in the Jesuit St.Salvator church (like Marci) but neither entered the order.

The other point is related to timing. Barschius had the MS latest in 1636, but we don't know how long he had it by then. This is the time he decided to write to Kircher. This is also the time when Raphael would have talked to Marci (and Barschius).
This could be a coincidence, but it could also be that these events are connected, and Mnisowsky somehow presented the MS to Barschius. Again, this is speculation.

This is also where Sendivogius comes in.
Sendivogius was one of the two most famous alchemists at Rudolf's court, the other one being Kelly (who only lost favour later on).
Sendivogius was very drawn back, and tried to stay anonymous as much as possible. Nobody knew anything about him except, it seems, Raphael, who gained his confidence and learned much from him.
He is likely to have been an important source for Raphael, who writes in his own letter about his interest for Rudolf's manuscript collection.
Sendivogius died in 1636, just before Barschius writes about his MS.
In this scenario (which is just one of many possible ones), the initiative for talking about the MS would have come from Raphael, not from Marci, so that remains a valid option in my opinion.