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Observations on the Visual and Functional Structure of the Voynich Manuscript

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• Observations on the Visual and Functional Structure of the Voynich Manuscript

• RE: Observations on the Visual and Functional Structure of the Voynich Manuscript

  pjburkshire > 11-02-2026, 08:26 PM

  Sorry, "Can't see the forest for the trees" is an old English idiom that means, "You're focusing too much on the details and missing the big picture."

• RE: Observations on the Visual and Functional Structure of the Voynich Manuscript

  emanuele.pegorin > 11-02-2026, 08:41 PM

  Thank you for clarifying the idiom — I understand what you mean.
  
  It’s very easy to fall into what I would call the “Voynich tunnel,” where one can get lost in small details and patterns and never come back out. That risk is real.
  
  At the same time, my approach has actually been the opposite: I try to look at the manuscript as a whole and give it a coherent overall meaning. The interpretation I proposed — whether right or wrong — is an attempt to read it structurally from beginning to end, rather than isolating single symbols or individual scenes.
  
  Of course I may be mistaken. But I prefer to test a global hypothesis and see if it holds across sections, instead of focusing only on micro-details.
  
  That’s the direction I’m exploring.

• RE: Observations on the Visual and Functional Structure of the Voynich Manuscript

  emanuele.pegorin > 11-02-2026, 10:50 PM

  I leave you with these interpretations and I hope they are useful for reasoning and reflections, just as they have been for me.
  
  Plants: clearly represented, often with correct colors. No one can deny that they are plants. Colors can sometimes be misleading, so sometimes it is useful to analyze them in black and white.
  
  Naked women in water: present in the illustrations. Period. No one can deny that they are naked women in water; the rest, symbolism or hidden meanings, is open to interpretation.
  
  Jars/cups: each jar is drawn differently. Rather than indicating a packaging, it is plausible that the jar symbol acts as a header or bookmark, like a drawing accompanying a recipe. More than a packaging manual, it could be a visual recipe book, where the jar drawing identifies what goes inside, with the text next to it accompanying the recipe or procedure.
  
  Texts: very long and repetitive, no one can deny it. Probably, with the few characters available to describe something, it was necessary to be very detailed to explain each concept or procedure.
  
  Structure of sentences: the sentences are very long, without periods, but it is clear when a discourse ends and the next begins below.
  
  Symbols: there are symbols of different sizes: some clearly larger (perhaps headers or bookmarks), the rest all at the same height.
  
  Characters and letters: the number of characters is very limited; there are no numbers, little men, pregnant women, or realistic figures in the text. They are abstract symbols.
  
  Repetition and elongation: the pseudo-phrases are very long and repetitive. Probably, with the few symbols available, it was necessary to elaborate in order to describe something.
  
  Annotations next to figures: next to naked women or animals, there is a single word, which seems to represent the concept or function of the figure.
  
  Circles with animals: the names of the animals in the circles seem written in a kind of other language, different from the scheme used in the rest of the text.

• RE: Observations on the Visual and Functional Structure of the Voynich Manuscript

  emanuele.pegorin > 12-02-2026, 07:42 AM

  I would like to point out how many times these two linked characters appear together. They appear more than 60 times.
  
  You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

• RE: Observations on the Visual and Functional Structure of the Voynich Manuscript

  Ruby Novacna > 12-02-2026, 08:09 AM

  (12-02-2026, 07:42 AM)emanuele.pegorin Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I would like to point out how many times these two linked characters appear together. They appear more than 60 times.

  
  Hi Emanuele !
  Have you found anything new that we didn't already know?

• RE: Observations on the Visual and Functional Structure of the Voynich Manuscript

  emanuele.pegorin > 12-02-2026, 08:21 AM

  I’m not claiming it is new. I’m trying to understand its function within the structure.

• RE: Observations on the Visual and Functional Structure of the Voynich Manuscript

  AliciaNelPresente > 12-02-2026, 10:01 AM

  Spot on, Emanuele. Honestly, I’ve been thinking the exact same thing lately. I used to be in the "it's a hidden language" camp, but I’ve pretty much abandoned that ship now.
  
  The evidence is just too overwhelming.
  
  And the repetition.... If it were a real language, it would be incredibly inefficient. It’s a relief to see others coming to the same conclusion: it's about the structure and the function, not about translating a hidden story that probably isn't even there.
  
  Great reflections

• RE: Observations on the Visual and Functional Structure of the Voynich Manuscript

  pjburkshire > 12-02-2026, 10:33 AM

  The structure and function of what?  If it is not about communication of information or telling a story, what is it that has structure and function?

• RE: Observations on the Visual and Functional Structure of the Voynich Manuscript

  AliciaNelPresente > 12-02-2026, 10:49 AM

  What I mean is that the manuscript feels like a closed system with a structure and function
  
  It is not like a natural language where you can say whatever you want. It is limited by its own rules. Since it is a finite system, we can actually measure and analyze it with math. You cannot audit a story, but you can definitely measure a system. It is still giving information, but it is not a story. It is more like recording info in a very rigid way. The repetition is just the system working.

• RE: Observations on the Visual and Functional Structure of the Voynich Manuscript

  emanuele.pegorin > 12-02-2026, 12:58 PM

  It could be an internally codified language, where expressing a single concept requires long and repetitive constructions.
  
  The redundancy may not be accidental, but structural — a way to ensure precision within a very limited symbol set.
  
  The content might not be narrative at all. It could be limited to very specific domains, such as plants and their properties.
  
  The images may not exist to document reality, but to explain and transmit knowledge within a closed group — perhaps to teach, to catalog, or to preserve procedures and rules.
  
  In that sense, the manuscript could function more as an internal technical or ritual compendium than as a conventional literary text.
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