A One-Page Ledger Method for Generating Voynich-Like Text

[Dunsel]

... this workshop thinking they could create collections of these books to sell.
... One small group to write the book and one charming salesman to promote it.

Somehow I cannot see that the trade in books and manuscripts was as quick and easy as it is today. I cannot see that there would have been a big market for such manuscripts. Not enough to justify a team of opportunists occupying themselves full time on the sharp practice.

I very strongly believe that the VMS is a collection of individual pieces of work, written section by section over a length of time; the reward from each section providing the enthusiasm to write the next one. It seems so logical. It just would have been too risky to try to write the whole manuscript not knowing if you would be able to find a buyer for it.

Oh I think there was plenty of justification. The late medieval and early Renaissance world already had an active manuscript trade, universities, wealthy collectors, courts, monasteries, and professional workshops. Finding a buyer for an unusual manuscript was not some unimaginable task.  And the Voynich itself does not appear to be an ultra-luxury production. The parchment is fairly ordinary, there is no gold leaf, and if current theories about the original format are correct, it may not even have been formally bound at first, but simply loose quires wrapped in leather.

So imagine you already have the method. You commission a workshop to produce it. The scribes do not even need to understand the content, only the production process (which could explain Currier A and B). Perhaps you handle the illustrations yourself to reduce costs further. Even if production and travel together consumed months, a successful sale to a wealthy collector or court could still make the venture very worthwhile.

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

I'm not saying you're wrong and I'm right. I'm just saying there are other possibilities that I see just as likely.