20-04-2021, 09:36 PM
Below: reading and interpretation of the first line of the Voynich manuscript, on folio page You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. .
The identification of the character EVA [y] as "k/c", possibly along with an unwritten vowel in some places, which I designate as [y] = "K", has simultaneously greatly reduced a large degree of freedom that used to exist in the interpretation ([y] as a "wild card", "null", or "anything") and also actually greatly facilitated the reading of the text. It was impossible to understand many words and lines without the presence of the "K", which was one letter value that I actually never considered for [y] before. In fact, though, there is a logic to it: now JKP and others who know more about medieval Latin manuscripts than I do will be able to sharpen the details, but my understanding is that the extremely frequent medieval Latin scribal abbreviation that physically resembles the shape of the Voynich ms character that is transcribed as EVA [y] is often used not only to abbreviate the Latin ending -us and certain other endings, but also to abbreviate the Latin word cum and the Latin prefix con-. This use of the symbol for Latin cum / con- may have been the motivation to use this particular symbol in this way in the Voynich ms script.
One refinement of the use of this "K" character in the first line of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. below: It is also used to represent word-final "-gh", as in the end of Middle English thurgh "through".
The backwards reading of words also occurs in the first line of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. : Again it is the last word of the line which is read backwards. I checked carefully for other words in the line that might have been intended to be read backwards, but I found none. The other 9 words in the line are all read forwards as normal.
And I have identified one new letter value of a Voynich character in this first line: EVA [cth] = "m". This actually also makes sense, since EVA [t] = "p" and EVA [ot] = "f" are also labial consonants.
With this one additional letter value -- which does not contradict any other readings of words up to this point, since the character combination EVA [cth] has not occurred in the previous readings -- the first line of the Voynich manuscript can be read and understood as follows:
EVA transliteration:
[fachys ykal ar ytaiin shol shory cthres y kor sholdy]
reading according to my provisional letter correspondences:
" tiyKl Ktis ir Kpo tho/us tho/urK [m?]rel K to/ur tho/ussK "
my interpretation of this line:
"tikel catis : ir capo thus thurgh mural cum tour : Cassytha"
rough literal translation of this line:
"sexual pleasure for the cunning : her capon thus through (her) wall with (his) tower : love vine"
real meaning:
Her man was a "capon" before/without the aphrodisiac "love vine" Cassytha, but he went "through (her) wall with (his) tower" after/with the aphrodisiac "love vine" Cassytha.
Citations for the forms and meanings of the Middle English, Latin, and Old/Middle French words used in this line:
tikel (Middle English) - "irritating tingling sensation; sexual pleasure, excitement"
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catis (Latin) - dative/ablative plural of catus "clever, intelligent; cunning, crafty, sly; shrill, sharp, clear-sounding"
Thus the dative/ablative plural form of this word means "by or for the clever/cunning ones".
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ir (Middle English) - alt. sp. of hir "her"
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capo (Latin) - "capon (castrated cockerel); rooster"
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capoun (Middle English) - "capon; eunuch"
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thus (Middle English) - "thus"
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thurgh (Middle English) - "freq. in phrases with verbs of cutting, stabbing, piercing, etc.: through"
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mural (Old French) - "wall; especially a large one"
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muraille (Middle French) - "(large) wall"
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cum (Latin) - "with"
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tour (Middle English) - "tower"
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Cassytha (translingual) - "love vine: any of various Cassytha species alleged to have aphrodisiac properties"
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This final word Cassytha is the Voynich word EVA [sholdy] = "tho/ussK" read backwards.
As a particular justification of this reading and interpretation of this word, I note the double "ss" written in the word, as according to my provisional letter correspondences, EVA [d] = Middle English "long s" and EVA [l] = Middle English "short s".
Geoffrey Caveney
The identification of the character EVA [y] as "k/c", possibly along with an unwritten vowel in some places, which I designate as [y] = "K", has simultaneously greatly reduced a large degree of freedom that used to exist in the interpretation ([y] as a "wild card", "null", or "anything") and also actually greatly facilitated the reading of the text. It was impossible to understand many words and lines without the presence of the "K", which was one letter value that I actually never considered for [y] before. In fact, though, there is a logic to it: now JKP and others who know more about medieval Latin manuscripts than I do will be able to sharpen the details, but my understanding is that the extremely frequent medieval Latin scribal abbreviation that physically resembles the shape of the Voynich ms character that is transcribed as EVA [y] is often used not only to abbreviate the Latin ending -us and certain other endings, but also to abbreviate the Latin word cum and the Latin prefix con-. This use of the symbol for Latin cum / con- may have been the motivation to use this particular symbol in this way in the Voynich ms script.
One refinement of the use of this "K" character in the first line of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. below: It is also used to represent word-final "-gh", as in the end of Middle English thurgh "through".
The backwards reading of words also occurs in the first line of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. : Again it is the last word of the line which is read backwards. I checked carefully for other words in the line that might have been intended to be read backwards, but I found none. The other 9 words in the line are all read forwards as normal.
And I have identified one new letter value of a Voynich character in this first line: EVA [cth] = "m". This actually also makes sense, since EVA [t] = "p" and EVA [ot] = "f" are also labial consonants.
With this one additional letter value -- which does not contradict any other readings of words up to this point, since the character combination EVA [cth] has not occurred in the previous readings -- the first line of the Voynich manuscript can be read and understood as follows:
EVA transliteration:
[fachys ykal ar ytaiin shol shory cthres y kor sholdy]
reading according to my provisional letter correspondences:
" tiyKl Ktis ir Kpo tho/us tho/urK [m?]rel K to/ur tho/ussK "
my interpretation of this line:
"tikel catis : ir capo thus thurgh mural cum tour : Cassytha"
rough literal translation of this line:
"sexual pleasure for the cunning : her capon thus through (her) wall with (his) tower : love vine"
real meaning:
Her man was a "capon" before/without the aphrodisiac "love vine" Cassytha, but he went "through (her) wall with (his) tower" after/with the aphrodisiac "love vine" Cassytha.
Citations for the forms and meanings of the Middle English, Latin, and Old/Middle French words used in this line:
tikel (Middle English) - "irritating tingling sensation; sexual pleasure, excitement"
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
catis (Latin) - dative/ablative plural of catus "clever, intelligent; cunning, crafty, sly; shrill, sharp, clear-sounding"
Thus the dative/ablative plural form of this word means "by or for the clever/cunning ones".
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
ir (Middle English) - alt. sp. of hir "her"
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You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
capo (Latin) - "capon (castrated cockerel); rooster"
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capoun (Middle English) - "capon; eunuch"
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thus (Middle English) - "thus"
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thurgh (Middle English) - "freq. in phrases with verbs of cutting, stabbing, piercing, etc.: through"
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mural (Old French) - "wall; especially a large one"
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muraille (Middle French) - "(large) wall"
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cum (Latin) - "with"
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tour (Middle English) - "tower"
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Cassytha (translingual) - "love vine: any of various Cassytha species alleged to have aphrodisiac properties"
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You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
This final word Cassytha is the Voynich word EVA [sholdy] = "tho/ussK" read backwards.
As a particular justification of this reading and interpretation of this word, I note the double "ss" written in the word, as according to my provisional letter correspondences, EVA [d] = Middle English "long s" and EVA [l] = Middle English "short s".
Geoffrey Caveney