19-06-2026, 10:14 PM
(This post was last modified: 19-06-2026, 10:32 PM by Mark Knowles.)
I first hypothesised that Abbot Antonio Barbavara was the author of the Voynich manuscript in March 2017, so over 9 years ago now.
This was as I identified the bottom right rosette of folio 86v as representing the Abbazia di Santi Nazzaro e Celso by the Sesia river and Antonio Barbavara was the Abbot from 1428 to 1469. I identified this rosette with that location based on its appearance and geographical location relative to my other cartographic identifications on that folio. I have described that theory in more detail elsewhere on this forum, although if you wish to see the full theory you will have to contact me.
I recently identified a cipher key originally photographed by Marco Ponzi in the Cathedral Archives in Tortona as being dated to the early 1440s and being one used by Bishop Giovanni Barbavara who was Bishop of Tortona from 1437 to 1460. I dated the cipher key on the basis of the references to individuals in the nomenclature. (Marco Ponzi originally said that he thought that the cipher key was late 15th century, so I was less interested in it at that time.) Given the rarity of early 15th century ciphers this is another little piece of evidence of the cryptographic skills of the brothers and wider family of Abbot Antonio Barbavara. And also given its early 1440s date another piece of evidence about early 15th century Milanese cryptography.
This was as I identified the bottom right rosette of folio 86v as representing the Abbazia di Santi Nazzaro e Celso by the Sesia river and Antonio Barbavara was the Abbot from 1428 to 1469. I identified this rosette with that location based on its appearance and geographical location relative to my other cartographic identifications on that folio. I have described that theory in more detail elsewhere on this forum, although if you wish to see the full theory you will have to contact me.
I recently identified a cipher key originally photographed by Marco Ponzi in the Cathedral Archives in Tortona as being dated to the early 1440s and being one used by Bishop Giovanni Barbavara who was Bishop of Tortona from 1437 to 1460. I dated the cipher key on the basis of the references to individuals in the nomenclature. (Marco Ponzi originally said that he thought that the cipher key was late 15th century, so I was less interested in it at that time.) Given the rarity of early 15th century ciphers this is another little piece of evidence of the cryptographic skills of the brothers and wider family of Abbot Antonio Barbavara. And also given its early 1440s date another piece of evidence about early 15th century Milanese cryptography.