Old Polish (geoffreycaveney's theory)

[Gab19]

I can now present my reading and interpretation of the entire last paragraph (last five lines) of folio page You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. 1 of the Voynich manuscript. 

CAUTION: Readers should be advised in advance that my reading of the first three lines of this paragraph has revealed that this is a rather bawdy medieval Silesian / Old Polish verse (Silesian is a southern dialect of Polish along the Czech border). It contains the obscene language and vocabulary that one would expect in a bawdy verse. Naturally, to present an accurate reading and interpretation of the language and content of the text as I have analyzed it, it is necessary to include the obscene Silesian / Polish words and their most accurate colloquial English translations that preserve the spirit of the original text as I read and interpret it, without censoring the text or using euphemistic or neutral scientific biological translations of the words that do not convey the real idiomatic sense and meaning of the original. I hope that readers and members of this forum understand that the interpretation I present below is my honest best reading of the ms text according to my West Slavic theory of the script, and not by any means an attempt to produce an obscene interpretation of the text for its own sake. 

EVA transcription:

[podaiin  shdar  ypchdar  dar  ypchdy  qopol  dar  keshor  dchdal  cholairy]
[ytor  chol  shdytody  qotchdy  otchol  chees  ar  eeodaiin  or  aral  alkam]
[raraiiin  shey  osaiin  otar  ytar  otedy  or  aiin  otar  alar  olkeedy] 
[ysheedy  ksheey  qokoror  chod  lkchedy  qotody  qokar  shty  otarar]
[sar  chedar  olpchdy  otol  otchedy]

my Slavic VCI reading and interpretation:

<Pdzo  rzcal  #Pical  cal  #Pic#  Mz  cal  terzw  cicas  izál#>
<#pw  iz  rzc#pdz#  mic#  brz  jér  al  égo  w  alas  astá(s)>
<laló  rze#  chro  bal  #pal  bec#  w  o  bal  asal  zdéc#>
<#rzéc#  trzé#  nuw  jdz  sćec#  mg#  nal  rzp#  balal>
<ral  jecal  zbic#  bz  bjec#>

above text with spelling retained but word breaks re-segmented in line with my interpretation below:

<<  Pdzo  rzcal  ~Pical  cal  ~Pic~  Mz  cal  terzw  cicas  izál~  >>
<<  ~pw  izrzc~  pdz~  mic~  brz  jéral  égo  walas  astás    >>
<<  laló  rze~  chrobal  ~pal  bec~wo  balasal  zdéc~  >>
<<  ~rzéc~  trzé~  nuw  jdz  sćec~  mg~nal  rzp~  balal  >>
<<  ral  jecal  zbic~  bz  bjec~  >>

my Old Polish / Silesian interpretation of these lines in modern Polish spelling:

"pizdą rzucał, pizgał cal pięć, mąż cał trzeźwy chcicą-s jeżdżał
po zrzucił pizdę miecz, bryż dzierżał jego wała-s astą-s
laluś że chorobał upadł, biedactwo! bałuszał dziecko
rzekł trzy 'no jedź!', cześć machnął, rzep bolał
rżał jechał zbić bez becz"

English translation:

"he threw and fucked her cunt five inches, the man completely sober rode with lust
When his sword threw off her cunt, her gorget held his cock like a branch
the dandy, well he got ill and fell, poor thing! a child made noise
he said three 'well, ride!', waved goodbye, the bur hurt
it neighed and he rode to conquer without a cry"

Notes on Old Polish and Silesian dialectal forms in my Polish interpretation above:

"cał" is an Old Polish form for modern Polish "cały", meaning "whole".

"bryż" is an Old Polish word meaning "gorget; embroidery". A gorget is a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the medieval period.

"dzierżał" is an Old Polish and Silesian dialectal form for modern Polish "dzierżył", meaning "it held, it wielded".

"astą" is a Silesian dialectal form meaning "like a branch, like a bough". (This is the instrumental singular form of "asta".)

"bałuszał" or "bałuszył" is a Silesian dialectal form meaning "he made noise, he talked a lot". 

It appears to me that there is still more wordplay in this verse that a translation cannot capture. For example, "rzucał" means "he threw", but it is quite similar to the verb "ruchał", which also means "he fucked". In the first line there occur both the word "cal" meaning "inch" and the word "cał" meaning "whole". 

Geoffrey

Geoffrey, I speak Polish and this doesn't have much sense - I am sorry, I know how disappointing it is when we get nowhere. I considered Polish at the beginning (knowing how the 'simple' Latin was inadequate to this language) but I discarded it fast.