06-10-2016, 09:57 AM
There are a lot of guesses in that assessment.
We don't know for certain that the "hieroglyphics" manuscript was the VMS or something else. Dee collected alchemical manuscripts, as did Kelley, amassed quite a large library, and appears to have brought some of his Enochian materials with him. Also, the information that we have from his son Arthur is a recollection from when Arthur was quite young and only just learning to read and anything in another language would have seemed like hieroglyphics to him at that age. Also, Egyptian and Arabic manuscripts were all the rage at the time and the circle in which Dee was working had a number of those (he wasn't the only alchemist receiving patronage at the time in Rudolph's court) and they too were referred to as "hieroglyphics" at the time (the term was used quite broadly).
We don't know for certain that Rudolph actually bought the manuscript from anyone. That is conjecture. For all we know, he may have commissioned it from one of the many people in his court. He had a botanical garden and he loved curiosities. The sum has not been proven to relate to the VMS. It's possible, but it's all circumstantial so far and needs more research.
We do not know that Tepenecz owned it. He might have, it was common to add one's name to a book in the middle ages, and he was the kind of person who would take a personal interest in a book with many plants. The writing does look very close to his, even in its abraded state.
The link to Bacon was even more tentative than the one to Dee at the time Voynich acquired the manuscript. He was HOPING it could be linked to Bacon because that would inflate the value of the manuscript.
As I mentioned before, I think it's possible it passed through Dee's hands at one point. It would fit well with his location and interests, but that doesn't prove he owned it (he might have seen it, he might even have notated it if he were involved in having it bound, but his diaries show no indication of it being in his possession or of him having tried to decode anything, even though he recorded almost everything he did). And, as I also mentioned before, he showed very little interest in plants. If given a choice between spending his money on a book that leans toward plants and one that leans toward chemistry, he'd probably choose the latter.
So maybe Dee owned it, maybe he didn't, maybe Rudolph owned it, maybe he didn't. Maybe Jacobi owned it, maybe he didn't. We don't know.
Did he write it? I'm skeptical that he did. He was busy using Kelley as a seer on a daily basis and he was under pressure to produce alchmical results, to create gold, in addition to raising a family and doing the social rounds with his patrons.
Dee may have added page numbers. He may briefly have tried to decode it (perhaps without much interest since he didn't record it in his diary). Maybe he passed it on to Rudolph rather than keeping it for himself because he was unable to use it for alchemical purposes.
We don't know for certain that the "hieroglyphics" manuscript was the VMS or something else. Dee collected alchemical manuscripts, as did Kelley, amassed quite a large library, and appears to have brought some of his Enochian materials with him. Also, the information that we have from his son Arthur is a recollection from when Arthur was quite young and only just learning to read and anything in another language would have seemed like hieroglyphics to him at that age. Also, Egyptian and Arabic manuscripts were all the rage at the time and the circle in which Dee was working had a number of those (he wasn't the only alchemist receiving patronage at the time in Rudolph's court) and they too were referred to as "hieroglyphics" at the time (the term was used quite broadly).
We don't know for certain that Rudolph actually bought the manuscript from anyone. That is conjecture. For all we know, he may have commissioned it from one of the many people in his court. He had a botanical garden and he loved curiosities. The sum has not been proven to relate to the VMS. It's possible, but it's all circumstantial so far and needs more research.
We do not know that Tepenecz owned it. He might have, it was common to add one's name to a book in the middle ages, and he was the kind of person who would take a personal interest in a book with many plants. The writing does look very close to his, even in its abraded state.
The link to Bacon was even more tentative than the one to Dee at the time Voynich acquired the manuscript. He was HOPING it could be linked to Bacon because that would inflate the value of the manuscript.
As I mentioned before, I think it's possible it passed through Dee's hands at one point. It would fit well with his location and interests, but that doesn't prove he owned it (he might have seen it, he might even have notated it if he were involved in having it bound, but his diaries show no indication of it being in his possession or of him having tried to decode anything, even though he recorded almost everything he did). And, as I also mentioned before, he showed very little interest in plants. If given a choice between spending his money on a book that leans toward plants and one that leans toward chemistry, he'd probably choose the latter.
So maybe Dee owned it, maybe he didn't, maybe Rudolph owned it, maybe he didn't. Maybe Jacobi owned it, maybe he didn't. We don't know.
Did he write it? I'm skeptical that he did. He was busy using Kelley as a seer on a daily basis and he was under pressure to produce alchmical results, to create gold, in addition to raising a family and doing the social rounds with his patrons.
Dee may have added page numbers. He may briefly have tried to decode it (perhaps without much interest since he didn't record it in his diary). Maybe he passed it on to Rudolph rather than keeping it for himself because he was unable to use it for alchemical purposes.
