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[ReneZ]

Why did Baresch speak about hieroglyphs

To be precise, he didn't. In his 1639 letter he used the terms:

• Scriptura incognitorum characterum
  
• characteres illos fictionis ignotae
  

In Kircher's prior response to the earlier letter by Moretus and Barschius, he uses:

• nescio quibus steganographicis mysterijs
  

The term 'hierogpyphics' originates from a statement by Arthur Dee, and almost certainly refers to another book, not the Voynich MS. This term was also used (presumably by John Dee) to describe some of the writing on the wall decorations of the house he stayed in Prague, namely that of Simon Hajek, father of Tadeas Hajek