A name to attach to the origins of the manuscript

[LisaFaginDavis]

Paper may have been available, but yes, in the early fifteenth century it was not yet in common use and would have been more expensive than parchment. 

As for the cost of the parchment, we can say for certain that - as in all markets - higher-quality goods cost more than lower-quality. Ergo the Voynich Manuscript's parchment, which is inarguably low-quality, would have been less expensive than the finer parchment used in higher-quality manuscripts.

That is not a judgement about the manuscript's importance or value TO US. It doesn't mean that it COULDN'T have been produced by or for a wealthy patron. But it does broaden the possibilities to include a less-wealthy community of origin.