28-09-2020, 05:19 PM
Another point to consider regarding the Sorbian hypothesis is the following historical situation, as described by a scholar at the University of Leipzig (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.):
"The steady decrease in the size of the area where Sorbian is spoken was brought about by the following factors: the Old Sorbian tribes' loss of independence in the 10th century, the subsequent rural settlement of their territory by the Franks, Thuringians, and Saxons, the expansion of German cities and trade, and the official ban of the Sorbian language that came into effect in the 13th century. The Sorbian language was completely eradicated from territories outside Lusatia."
Perhaps this official ban of the Sorbian language in the 13th century is significant and relevant. Later the situation changed: "The Reformation promoted the expansion of Christian teaching in the vernacular, whereby it promoted the use of written Sorbian." However, the Voynich ms is dated to the period after the 13th c. ban of Sorbian and before the revival of Sorbian in the Reformation (16th c.). An author who wanted to write a manuscript in Sorbian in this period would have had a natural and powerful incentive to keep the identity of the language of the ms strictly secret and hidden from authorities who banned the language. This could explain the use of an unknown and mysterious script.
"The steady decrease in the size of the area where Sorbian is spoken was brought about by the following factors: the Old Sorbian tribes' loss of independence in the 10th century, the subsequent rural settlement of their territory by the Franks, Thuringians, and Saxons, the expansion of German cities and trade, and the official ban of the Sorbian language that came into effect in the 13th century. The Sorbian language was completely eradicated from territories outside Lusatia."
Perhaps this official ban of the Sorbian language in the 13th century is significant and relevant. Later the situation changed: "The Reformation promoted the expansion of Christian teaching in the vernacular, whereby it promoted the use of written Sorbian." However, the Voynich ms is dated to the period after the 13th c. ban of Sorbian and before the revival of Sorbian in the Reformation (16th c.). An author who wanted to write a manuscript in Sorbian in this period would have had a natural and powerful incentive to keep the identity of the language of the ms strictly secret and hidden from authorities who banned the language. This could explain the use of an unknown and mysterious script.