[Article] The Voynich Manuscript, Dr Johannes Hartlieb and the Encipherment of Women’s Secrets

[MichelleL11]

Very pleased to announce the publication of Keagan Brewer's and my work below:

The Voynich Manuscript, Dr Johannes Hartlieb and the Encipherment of Women’s Secrets

Social History of Medicine, hkad099, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

Published: 22 March 2024

Abstract
The Voynich manuscript is a famous European enciphered manuscript of the early fifteenth century featuring herbal, pharmaceutical, astrological and anatomical illustrations, including hundreds of naked women. Some hold objects adjacent to or unambiguously pointed towards their genitalia. This paper therefore investigates the culture of self-censorship, erasure and encipherment of women’s secrets, with a focus on Dr Johannes Hartlieb (c. 1410–68). Hartlieb had enduring apprehensions about the propagation of women’s secrets in vernacular Bavarian, which culminated in a call for ‘secret letters’ to hide recipes for abortifacients and contraceptives. Other cases of encipherment relating to sexual intercourse and genitalia will be described. On the basis of this evidence, we propose that the Rosettes, the largest and most complex illustration in the Voynich manuscript, represents coitus and conception. This hypothesis explains many of the illustration’s features and establishes a variety of future research possibilities.

Because of licensing fees, this is behind a paywall, but a broader summary is available You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. at The Conversation.

This work expands on what Keagan presented at the Malta Conference.

For those who do not know Keagan and his work, a summary can be found You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..

Keagan is scheduled to present on this at our upcoming Voynich Day celebration and we're happy to discuss on this thread.