12-10-2026, 06:48 AM
I don't quite understand what this sale by La Sfera is supposed to prove? It is not disputed that Voynich was an antiquarian, that is, a dealer in old, rare books and manuscripts. That is, first and foremost, the reason why he acquired the “Voynich” manuscript and also tried to sell it. Nothing more.
To conclude from this that he forged the book because he had access to medieval illustrations is, at first glance, a circular argument that neither refutes one claim nor proves the other.
In fact, given that he possessed this knowledge, he could just as easily have believed the book to be genuine.
After all, these circular diagrams were very widespread in the Middle Ages. In the tradition of medieval teachings, they can be traced back, among others, to Iohannes de Sacrobosco (*De Sphaera*) and certainly also to the *Ars Magna* of the Mallorcan philosopher, logician, and theologian Ramon Llull.
But the roots of these diagrams go back much further. Zodiac signs in the form of a circle can be found in Egypt, Arabia, and elsewhere.
But the depiction of maps in circles is also ancient: One of the oldest T/O maps (year 560 / 630)
"A T and O-style mappa mundi (map of the known world) from the first printed edition of Isidore's *Etymologies* (Kraus 13). The book was written in 623 and first printed in 1472 in Augsburg by Günther Zainer (Guntherus Ziner), making Isidore’s sketch the oldest printed map in the Western world.”
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I don’t see where this discussion is going.
Or am I misunderstanding something here????
To conclude from this that he forged the book because he had access to medieval illustrations is, at first glance, a circular argument that neither refutes one claim nor proves the other.
In fact, given that he possessed this knowledge, he could just as easily have believed the book to be genuine.
After all, these circular diagrams were very widespread in the Middle Ages. In the tradition of medieval teachings, they can be traced back, among others, to Iohannes de Sacrobosco (*De Sphaera*) and certainly also to the *Ars Magna* of the Mallorcan philosopher, logician, and theologian Ramon Llull.
But the roots of these diagrams go back much further. Zodiac signs in the form of a circle can be found in Egypt, Arabia, and elsewhere.
But the depiction of maps in circles is also ancient: One of the oldest T/O maps (year 560 / 630)
"A T and O-style mappa mundi (map of the known world) from the first printed edition of Isidore's *Etymologies* (Kraus 13). The book was written in 623 and first printed in 1472 in Augsburg by Günther Zainer (Guntherus Ziner), making Isidore’s sketch the oldest printed map in the Western world.”
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
I don’t see where this discussion is going.
Or am I misunderstanding something here????
![[+]](https://www.voynich.ninja/images/collapse_collapsed.png)