21-08-2025, 06:01 PM
Comparing Voynich letterforms to the ones used in the 15th century when the cursive writing was not yet fully developed, only EVA p, f, k, t, q are completely different, b and s look like mirror images of Latin b and s.
When vernacular languages accepted Latin alphabet for their writing convention, they have to adjust it for their sounds. In order to do that, they
- used one Latin letter for one or more different sounds,
- used two or three Latin letters for one unique sound,
- drop a letter,
- used diacritic markers,
- slightly redesign the Latin letterform,
- invent new letter form.
Besides that, Slavs also adhere to the so-called 'word blocks', which means that they attached short conjunctions or prepositions to the next word.
This was particularly important for Slavic languages, because Slavic Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets had 44 individual letters - one for each sound. They also often combine them in ligatures.
This brings us to the question why the Voynich alphabet was so short-lived. When the Counts of Celje who ruled Carniola, Bosnia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, were planning to form their own Slavic kingdom, they would be motivated to use Latin alphabet. We can imagine that the Carthusians who were financially supported by the Counts, have attempted to develop the alphabet suitable for Slovenians living in different political entities, particularly at the time when Basil Council was calling for the liturgy in vernacular languages. After the dissolution of the Basel Council and the assassination of the last Count of Celje, Latin remained liturgical language, and German the official secular language in these Slavic speaking lands. Slovenians who remained under Hungary, later adopted Hungarian writing convention, and those under Italian rule, adopted Italian writing convention. This means that the unique letterforms for k, t, p, f, q were no longer needed, particularly since printing presses that became in use at about that time, did not adopt those letterforms.
According to Slovenian sources, Slovenian dictionary and Grammar book was allegedly written in 1470 by an unknown author, but since it was lost, its existence cannot be proven. What if the Voynich Manuscript contains that lost book? The large number of labels is suggestive of pictorial dictionary, useful for consistent spelling by those who were familiar with oral language.
According to Slovenian sources, Strasbourg native Nicholas Kempf who spent 30 years as a prior of Slovenian Carthusian monasteries Jurklošter and Pleterje, wrote 30 books, including book of poems, but only five were preserved. Could Voynich Manuscript be a lost book of his poems?
Could weird pictures in the Voynich Manuscript allude to his mystical religious experience, explained theoretically in his most important book Mystical Theology? Because of his criticism of the medieval Church, he was probably regarded heretic and his work was not mentioned until 1970s.
Although several effort to develop a written form for Slovenian language were made in the 15th century, only a few short fragments in different writing convention remain. Slovenian literacy practically started in the middle of the 16th century, when Protestantism spread in Slovenia. Most Slovenian books were destroyed in the Counter Reformation. The fact that Slovenian language was included in several 16th multilingual dictionary attests to the existence and the wide-spread of Slovenian language. It was official vernacular language in Carinthia and large part of Styria.
I am surprised that none of the academics from Italian and German linguistic environment has considered Slovenian language.
When vernacular languages accepted Latin alphabet for their writing convention, they have to adjust it for their sounds. In order to do that, they
- used one Latin letter for one or more different sounds,
- used two or three Latin letters for one unique sound,
- drop a letter,
- used diacritic markers,
- slightly redesign the Latin letterform,
- invent new letter form.
Besides that, Slavs also adhere to the so-called 'word blocks', which means that they attached short conjunctions or prepositions to the next word.
This was particularly important for Slavic languages, because Slavic Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets had 44 individual letters - one for each sound. They also often combine them in ligatures.
This brings us to the question why the Voynich alphabet was so short-lived. When the Counts of Celje who ruled Carniola, Bosnia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, were planning to form their own Slavic kingdom, they would be motivated to use Latin alphabet. We can imagine that the Carthusians who were financially supported by the Counts, have attempted to develop the alphabet suitable for Slovenians living in different political entities, particularly at the time when Basil Council was calling for the liturgy in vernacular languages. After the dissolution of the Basel Council and the assassination of the last Count of Celje, Latin remained liturgical language, and German the official secular language in these Slavic speaking lands. Slovenians who remained under Hungary, later adopted Hungarian writing convention, and those under Italian rule, adopted Italian writing convention. This means that the unique letterforms for k, t, p, f, q were no longer needed, particularly since printing presses that became in use at about that time, did not adopt those letterforms.
According to Slovenian sources, Slovenian dictionary and Grammar book was allegedly written in 1470 by an unknown author, but since it was lost, its existence cannot be proven. What if the Voynich Manuscript contains that lost book? The large number of labels is suggestive of pictorial dictionary, useful for consistent spelling by those who were familiar with oral language.
According to Slovenian sources, Strasbourg native Nicholas Kempf who spent 30 years as a prior of Slovenian Carthusian monasteries Jurklošter and Pleterje, wrote 30 books, including book of poems, but only five were preserved. Could Voynich Manuscript be a lost book of his poems?
Could weird pictures in the Voynich Manuscript allude to his mystical religious experience, explained theoretically in his most important book Mystical Theology? Because of his criticism of the medieval Church, he was probably regarded heretic and his work was not mentioned until 1970s.
Although several effort to develop a written form for Slovenian language were made in the 15th century, only a few short fragments in different writing convention remain. Slovenian literacy practically started in the middle of the 16th century, when Protestantism spread in Slovenia. Most Slovenian books were destroyed in the Counter Reformation. The fact that Slovenian language was included in several 16th multilingual dictionary attests to the existence and the wide-spread of Slovenian language. It was official vernacular language in Carinthia and large part of Styria.
I am surprised that none of the academics from Italian and German linguistic environment has considered Slovenian language.