RE: A Cusanus Ladin Hypothesis
Hermes777 > 08-07-2022, 12:15 PM
I would describe the Voynich ms. as Christian, but not ecclesiastical, and I admit this is the biggest obstacle to a Cusanus authorship because he was indeed first and foremost a man of the Church. I even admit that on the face of it he is unlikely as an author because the ms. deviates so wildly from his other works. I resisted the identification, but I find a strong body of evidence points in his direction.
In my hypothesis, though, the character of the book is strongly Ladin. The project is Cusanus', and the text is his, and it is his cosmology, but it is applied to a local, indigenous body of herb knowledge from his bishopric.
Turning to his works, he actually foreshadows such projects in his dialogues with the Layman. In the dialogue on weights and measures (On the Weight Scales) he reports how desirable it would be to give an account of local regions according to the somewhat mystical methods outlined. He even promises the Layman that he will apply himself to the task. The dialogue ends:
Orator: You have now explained sufficiently the reasons why you wish for the weights of things to be measured by means of a weight-scale and to be recorded both serially and multiply. For, indeed, we see that that book would be very useful. And we see that the under-taking of it by great men ought to be urged, so that in different provinces [experimental weights] would be registered and would be collected into one [book], so that we would more readily be brought to many things that are [now] hidden to us. And I will not cease everywhere to promote its being done.
Layman: If you care for me, then be diligent [in this task].Farewell.
I am imagining the Voynich came out of some such project applied to the province over which he was bishop for eight years.
In the context of his life, the Brixen bishopric was a bit of a cul-de-sac. He was unwelcome, had a difficult time, faced lots of opposition, but it was also something of a rural by-way. Friends thought he was wasted there and should be back in Rome in the main game. He had 8 years to put himself to local projects.
In Brixen, Cusanus faced two burning issues, as I see it. Firstly, corruption. He was appointed as a reformer and faced strong resistance. (He gave the Benedictine nuns 30 days to get rid of their boyfriends. They appealed to the Count of Tyrol.) Secondly, this exact region was gripped with growing witch hysteria aimed at the rustic folk of the alpine valleys. When 3 old mountain women were dragged before him accused of witchcraft he let them go, saying he found them to be ignorant and lacking in Christian instruction rather than evil. He expresses sympathy for the mountain people and seems to understand them as pagan remnants who have never been properly instructed.
These two issues may be connected; namely, those with vested interests in corruption and abuses (nuns with boyfriends) argue that the Church doesn't need internal reform but rather protection from Satanic external forces. The witch hunts and church reform go hand in hand in this way. In this context, the mountain people (Ladin) are demonised.
My view is that the VMs is in some way pastoral and shows how the Ladin tradition (though ancient and pagan) is nonetheless Christian. But it must have been a work of collaboration.