10-05-2020, 04:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-05-2020, 04:21 PM by Mark Knowles.)
If my theory of authorship is correct then there are within the Milan State Archives letters written by at least 2 of the "scribes". I know of one enciphered letter written by one of them that I have been keen to obtain a scan of. The other letters I know of are in latin.
If someone can tell me definitively whether the authors of these letters were amongst the Voynich scribes or whether they were not I think it should allow me to determine whether my theory is true or false.
Now I don't yet have scans of these letters and whilst I have obtained scans of some materials from the Milan State Archives I can't say how hard or easy it will be to obtain scans of the letters and whether I or someone I know will have to visit the archives in person. Nevertheless if having such scans will allow me to prove or disprove authorship then that will create an even greater incentive for me to track down those letters.
My focus on authorship has been particularly on one of a set of brothers, all closely associated with Milanese diplomacy in the early 15th century and three at least of whom I know were experienced in writing ciphers as part of their work. The bottom right rosette of the 9 rosette page is core to my identification of authorship, though other details fit well, I think. The brothers were from an aristocratic background and so relatively affluent and collected codices. I know one brother had a great interest in herbs. Various of the brothers were described as men of science, though I don't know quite what "science" meant in this historical context.
If someone can tell me definitively whether the authors of these letters were amongst the Voynich scribes or whether they were not I think it should allow me to determine whether my theory is true or false.
Now I don't yet have scans of these letters and whilst I have obtained scans of some materials from the Milan State Archives I can't say how hard or easy it will be to obtain scans of the letters and whether I or someone I know will have to visit the archives in person. Nevertheless if having such scans will allow me to prove or disprove authorship then that will create an even greater incentive for me to track down those letters.
My focus on authorship has been particularly on one of a set of brothers, all closely associated with Milanese diplomacy in the early 15th century and three at least of whom I know were experienced in writing ciphers as part of their work. The bottom right rosette of the 9 rosette page is core to my identification of authorship, though other details fit well, I think. The brothers were from an aristocratic background and so relatively affluent and collected codices. I know one brother had a great interest in herbs. Various of the brothers were described as men of science, though I don't know quite what "science" meant in this historical context.