RE: Middle English as precursor
dashstofsk > 10-04-2024, 03:16 PM
Auchinleck predates Voynich by around 100 years. The 14th and 15th centuries were a time of great change in the English language, and it wasn't until the late 15th century with the arrival of Caxton's printing that the conditions for a standard written language began to emerge. Even so Caxton's language still had inconsistencies in spelling and word form. During the period to which Voynich was dated ( 1404 to 1438 ) language in both spelling and pronounciation was very regional. It seems to me unlikely that you will be able to decipher the Voynich manuscript by comparing it with any dialect of Old or Middle English.