Is the VMS a work of female authors ?

[MichelleL11]

Here is a blog post by Monica Valentinelli titled "Why I Believe the Voynich Manuscript was Created by a Woman". As far as can be seen, she bases her thesis on social circumstances in the Italian Renaissance (?).

Hi, bi3mw:

Thanks for this.  Although Ms. Valentinelli seems like a very interesting person with lots of interests and creative pursuits, this thesis is incredibly thin and reads like the pitch for a work of fiction rather than anything seriously researched.  In my opinion it is yet another example of the Rorschach blot effect of the manuscript on people who become interested in it.  They see in it what they personally need to see for it to have meaning. 

That’s not to say l am not personally aware of this issue, but in my own defense l have worked hard to understand the historical time, read many publications of experts in the myriad of fields that touch on this endeavor to understand it as a historical artifact, and have developed a very healthy skepticism for this “shallow hit and publish” attitude that is also so prevalent.

She ends her blog lamenting the lack of time and l totally get it - but l also hear an echo of not wanting to dive in - hopefully at least subconsciously due to a realization of the kind of effort it would take to move her modern mind into a second-hand place of understanding that is needed to get the job done authentically.

But l am preaching to the choir here.  Thanks for finding it - but l remain completely and utterly unconvinced that the Voynich was written by a woman or group of women.  If anything, l lean the opposite way - that the Voynich was written and illustrated by men who produced it as a reflection of their place of societal power over women.  But l am still gathering that information and don’t want to commit the research sins l’m criticizing here.