10-03-2025, 05:06 PM
I'm wondering if the manuscript finding its way into the hands of a collector 180-odd years after creation - presumably as part of a group of other, unrelated books, liking having changed hands multiple times - increases the probability of the manuscript being a hoax to make money. On the other hand, manuscripts changed hands by force all the time. People that tend to go to such lengths to conceal information tend to have a reason to believe said information is important and has a risk of being intercepted. The manuscript doesn't seem like it stayed with its original creators for very long, which in my mind increases the chances of it either having not been important to them, or them having had valid cause to worry that it would fall out of their hands.
While the creators could've all died and the manuscript sold off by a heir, I would think part of the point of putting so much money and effort into creating a high-quality manuscript of secret knowledge would be so that it could be preserved, for future generations of whatever group or family they were a part of.
While the creators could've all died and the manuscript sold off by a heir, I would think part of the point of putting so much money and effort into creating a high-quality manuscript of secret knowledge would be so that it could be preserved, for future generations of whatever group or family they were a part of.