11-01-2022, 05:18 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-01-2022, 05:22 PM by Mark Knowles.)
I think there are some important things to know:
1) At the time of the Voynich the vast majority of ciphers used were for diplomatic purposes. The most advanced ciphers of the time were for diplomatic use. Diplomats were the experts of the period in ciphers and they worked to develop better ciphers.
2) The requirements for ciphers for the use by states for military and diplomatic purposes influenced many cipher developers. Alberti originally developed his cipher wheel on the basis of a request from the Vatican, if my memory serves me correctly. Many other later developers of ciphers seemed to have come from a background of diplomatic ciphers. I suspect that Giovanni Fontana became acquainted with ciphers through his diplomatic and political contact.
3) The period 1395 to 1445 was a period of very rapid change in diplomatic ciphers in comparison to the preceding and subsequent 50 years. This is evident if one compares the very simple 1395 Mantua cipher in Meister's book with the complex 1448 Milanese cipher in his book. Other evidence backs this up. So this was a dynamic period of innovation amongst diplomatic ciphers. Different things were tried some of which went out of use.
4) There are features in diplomatic ciphers some features that can be seen in Meister and some in other diplomatic ciphers which seem not inconsistent with what we see in the Voynich.
1) At the time of the Voynich the vast majority of ciphers used were for diplomatic purposes. The most advanced ciphers of the time were for diplomatic use. Diplomats were the experts of the period in ciphers and they worked to develop better ciphers.
2) The requirements for ciphers for the use by states for military and diplomatic purposes influenced many cipher developers. Alberti originally developed his cipher wheel on the basis of a request from the Vatican, if my memory serves me correctly. Many other later developers of ciphers seemed to have come from a background of diplomatic ciphers. I suspect that Giovanni Fontana became acquainted with ciphers through his diplomatic and political contact.
3) The period 1395 to 1445 was a period of very rapid change in diplomatic ciphers in comparison to the preceding and subsequent 50 years. This is evident if one compares the very simple 1395 Mantua cipher in Meister's book with the complex 1448 Milanese cipher in his book. Other evidence backs this up. So this was a dynamic period of innovation amongst diplomatic ciphers. Different things were tried some of which went out of use.
4) There are features in diplomatic ciphers some features that can be seen in Meister and some in other diplomatic ciphers which seem not inconsistent with what we see in the Voynich.