29-09-2025, 08:28 AM
Two things regarding the scribal question.
The difference between scribe 1 and scribe 2 is night and day. In any other manuscript, these would be considered two different scribes. But in the case of the Voynich, you'll often see special pleading about one person using different styles or returning to the writing at a later stage in life. This to me shows that there is a desire among some people to keep the number of scribes limited, regardless of common practice. (I'm not thinking of a specific person - it's just something we see often). As such, I think the debate is not always held on objective grounds.
That said, I concur that the difference between some of Lisa's B-scribes can be hard to see. I've tried and there was one I was unable to tell apart. But I'm not a paleographer, and I believe many people here underestimate the value of experience. When I see a herd of sheep, I see sheep. But an experienced sheep farmer will be able to tell you much more about each individual animal. They will see differences between the sheep that we don't notice, because our neural pathways haven't been trained to see those differences.
What I would not do, is go up to the farmer and start telling him I don't see the things he's talking about, so he must be wrong.
This is not a plea for blind acceptance of authority, but rather for acknowledging the limits of one's own expertise.
The difference between scribe 1 and scribe 2 is night and day. In any other manuscript, these would be considered two different scribes. But in the case of the Voynich, you'll often see special pleading about one person using different styles or returning to the writing at a later stage in life. This to me shows that there is a desire among some people to keep the number of scribes limited, regardless of common practice. (I'm not thinking of a specific person - it's just something we see often). As such, I think the debate is not always held on objective grounds.
That said, I concur that the difference between some of Lisa's B-scribes can be hard to see. I've tried and there was one I was unable to tell apart. But I'm not a paleographer, and I believe many people here underestimate the value of experience. When I see a herd of sheep, I see sheep. But an experienced sheep farmer will be able to tell you much more about each individual animal. They will see differences between the sheep that we don't notice, because our neural pathways haven't been trained to see those differences.
What I would not do, is go up to the farmer and start telling him I don't see the things he's talking about, so he must be wrong.
This is not a plea for blind acceptance of authority, but rather for acknowledging the limits of one's own expertise.
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