• Options
• Login
• Desktop Style

Paragraph layout

• Index

  • The Voynich Ninja
  • Voynich Research
  • Analysis of the text
  • Paragraph layout
• Paragraph layout

• Paragraph layout

  davidjackson > Yesterday, 09:20 PM

  The formatting of the text is quite simple for the era. I am not interested here in the text analysis but in the way it is presented on the page.
  If we look at standard manuscripts or incunabula (usually agreed to be visually the same as their hand written equivalents) from, say, 1450 - 1500 we see text written in blocks, not paragraphs. 
  Many manuscripts will have clear paragraph markers -pilcrows-, usually distinguishable by a different colour or size, to break up information units, rather than the modern usage of using a line break, as I am doing in this post. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..
  
  The Voynich, from the very first page, uses the line break format accompanied by a pilcrow.
  
  
  This habit is clear throughout the manuscript and all scribes follow the same layout instruction
  
  
  It is striking that the same layout instructions were applied by all scribes across all sections of the manuscript. A template, even if only verbal instructions, was given for layout and this was applied across the manuscript. The same layout was used for page after page, this indicates a conscience decision and even a group instruction issued if indeed multiple scribes were used
  
  
  How did paragraphs work?
  
  

  Quote:But while distinction of words was disregarded in early literary texts, distinction of important pauses in the sense was recognized from the first. The papyrus of the Persae of Timotheus of Miletus, the oldest MS. of a Greek classic in existence, of the end of the 4th century B.C., is written in independent paragraphs. This is a natural system, the simplicity of which has caused it to be the system of modern times. But, in addition, the Greek scribe also separated paragraphs by inserting a short horizontal stroke, παράγραφος, between them at the commencement of the lines of writing. It should be noted that this stroke indicated the close of a passage, and therefore belonged to the paragraph just concluded, and did not stand for an initial sign for the new paragraph which followed. The dividing stroke was also used to mark off the different speeches of a play. Besides the stroke, a wedge-shaped sign or tick might be used. But to make every paragraph stand distinctly by itself would have entailed a certain loss of space. If the concluding line were short, there would remain a long space unfilled. Therefore, when this occurred, it became customary to leave only a short space blank to mark the termination of the paragraph, and then to proceed with the new paragraph in the same line, the παράγραφος at the same time preventing possible ambiguity. The next step was to project the first letter of the first full line of the new paragraph slightly into the margin, as a still further distinction; and lastly to enlarge it. The enlargement of the letter gave it so much prominence that the dividing stroke could then be dispensed with, and in this form the new paragraph was henceforward indicated in Greek MSS., it being immaterial whether the enlarged letter was the initial or a medial letter of a word. As early as the 5th century there is evidence that the παράγραφος was losing its meaning with the scribes, for in the Codex Alexandrinus of the Bible it is not infrequently found in anomalous positions, particularly above the initial letters of different books, as if it were a mere ornament.
  Encyclopedia Britannica - Manuscript entry 

  
  

  Quote:The paragraph mark, enlarged initial, and disposition of text on the page formed part of an integrated system for indicating textual articulation. Medieval scribes indicated divisions in a text by combining graphic devices such as enlarged initials, paragraph signs, and the arrangement of lines on the page. These visual cues enabled readers to recognise the structure of the text without relying solely on punctuation. Malcolm B. Parkes — Pause and Effect p.65

  
  

  Quote:Colometry. A modification of the practice of writing the text continuously was allowed in the case of certain works. Rhetorical texts, such as the orations of Demosthenes and Cicero, and the text of the Bible, might be broken up into short clauses or sense-lines, apparently with the view of assisting reading aloud. Instances of MSS. so written are still extant. This system, to which the name of “colometry” has been given, is the arrangement by cola and commata referred to by St Jerome in his preface to Isaiah. It will be found more fully explained under the heading of Stichometry; where also is described the mechanical computation of the length of a text by measured lines, for the purpose or calculating the pay of the scribe. Encyclopedia Britannica - Manuscript entry

  
  Medieval scribes were extremely reluctant to waste expensive parchment, so paragraph identification was almost always redundant. They combined several cues:
  

  • new line,
    
  • enlarged initial,
    
  • rubrication,
    
  • paragraph mark,
    
  • marginal projection.
    

  
  A new line by itself was generally considered "too subtle" unless for the reason of Colometry.
  
  The Voynich often signals a paragraph by:
  

  • beginning on a fresh line,
    
  • using an enlarged "gallows" glyph,
    
  • leaving a visibly short final line in the previous paragraph without bothering about justification or waste of parchment.
    

  
  Notably, it does not employ coloured initials or rubricated pilcrows, which were among the commonest medieval paragraph markers and which would have been instantly identifiable to any medieval reader. That makes its paragraphing visually simpler than many contemporary manuscripts while still conforming to the broader medieval practice of marking new textual units through line breaks and paragraph-initial emphasis.
  
  What am I getting at?
  
  If we discard the idea that the Voynich was designed to be read aloud - clearly most of it was not - then what influence caused the authors to choose and stay with this particular layout throughout the whole of the book?
  
  I think the closest structural comparators are not illuminated or library books but plain working manuscripts—medical recipe books, university notebooks, and practical handbooks copied between about 1400 and 1450. We often see new-line paragraphing with minimal decoration and no attempt at justification.
  
  What style could the scribes have been influenced by?

  • Medical recipe books (Receptaria) 
    
  • Astrological almanacs with prognostications 
    
  • Practical herbals – especially those copied by working physicians rather than produced as luxury manuscripts
    

  
  These genres routinely consist of dozens or hundreds of short, self-contained entries beginning on a new line, and they are among the closest surviving medieval layouts to the Voynich's "recipe" section. We also see many clues to the Voynich being influenced by these working books, for example, many years ago we chased down examples of the Zodiac being influenced by the German hausbach calendar tradition, especially the crossbowman. This forum contains many examples.
  
  In short, the layout and visual clues in the Voynich points to the authors being influenced more by working books than by library books. 
  
  However, in many ways the Voynich has a much higher "production value" than these working books. It is much longer than most working books, many of which would have been produced by just one scribe. 
  
  The images are of a higher quality. The layout of the text is much clearer and more professional. There appear to have been a team of production scribes working on the book. The quality of the parchment is higher and there is no real attempt to maximise the use of the parchment real estate. Multiple colour inks are used with care and attention to detail.
  
  We are, once again, faced with a paradox. The Voynich layout and style is influenced by working books; its use of materials and multiple scribes suggests high end resources were available for its production.

• RE: Paragraph layout

  ololololo > Yesterday, 09:49 PM

  (Yesterday, 09:20 PM)davidjackson Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.using an enlarged "gallows" glyph

  Well, perhaps the role of the gallows is not limited to a paragraph. For example, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. begins with qocseedy. Gallows only appear in the next paragraph.
  It is possible that the encryption algorithm itself placed the gallows and the words associated with them closer to the beginning of the paragraph.
  

  (Yesterday, 09:20 PM)davidjackson Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Notably, it does not employ coloured initials or rubricated pilcrows

  They are there, but they are written in an "economical" style, i.e., the style of the entire manuscript:
     
     
     
  Perhaps some of them are meaningless. I suspect. that p may be one of them.
  

  (Yesterday, 09:20 PM)davidjackson Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.In short, the layout and visual clues in the Voynich points to the authors being influenced more by working books than by library books.

  This is logical. They simply didn't need to try. And why would you decorate an encrypted book? It could provide a clue to an attacker or pose a challenge for the decrypter.
  In general terms, the simplicity of VMS doesn't seem surprising. It was probably not written by highly skilled scribes, and their goal was to create this book.

• RE: Paragraph layout

  oshfdk > Yesterday, 10:02 PM

  (Yesterday, 09:20 PM)davidjackson Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.If we discard the idea that the Voynich was designed to be read aloud - clearly most of it was not

  
  Why not?
  

  ---

  (Yesterday, 09:49 PM)ololololo Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.They are there, but they are written in an "economical" style, i.e., the style of the entire manuscript:

  
  All these examples are page initial characters.

• RE: Paragraph layout

  ololololo > Yesterday, 10:12 PM

  (Yesterday, 10:02 PM)oshfdk Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.All these examples are page initial characters.

  Yes, just to point out that the initials are there
  The initials of paragraphs, and not just the first character of the page, appear several times in balneology. Mostly there "decorates" p.

• RE: Paragraph layout

  oshfdk > Yesterday, 10:50 PM

  (Yesterday, 10:12 PM)ololololo Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Yes, just to point out that the initials are there

  
  I don't think page initials can be used as examples when talking about the styling of paragraphs
  
  

  (Yesterday, 10:12 PM)ololololo Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.The initials of paragraphs, and not just the first character of the page, appear several times in balneology. Mostly there "decorates" p.

  
  "Several times" is key here. Overwhelmingly, paragraphs have no distinct initials, as far as I can see.

• RE: Paragraph layout

  davidjackson > Today, 08:35 AM

  (Yesterday, 10:02 PM)oshfdk Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

  (Yesterday, 09:20 PM)davidjackson Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.If we discard the idea that the Voynich was designed to be read aloud - clearly most of it was not

  
  Why not?
  

  ---

  (Yesterday, 09:49 PM)ololololo Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.They are there, but they are written in an "economical" style, i.e., the style of the entire manuscript:

  
  All these examples are page initial characters.

  
  Because the layout of the text is not set out to be vocalised. Medieval manuscripts that were designed to be read alound - psalms or even special copies of the Bible, for example - had a different layout. I do not mean you cannot read the Voynich aloud, I mean that the layout is not a format that medieval readers would recognise for that purpose.

• RE: Paragraph layout

  ololololo > Today, 10:37 AM

  (Today, 08:35 AM)davidjackson Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I mean that the layout is not a format that medieval readers would recognise for that purpose.

  Maybe it's easier to decipher in this form?

• RE: Paragraph layout

  ololololo > 11 hours ago

  (Yesterday, 10:50 PM)oshfdk Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I don't think page initials can be used as examples when talking about the styling of paragraphs

  My examples do not apply to this, by any means. The practice of initials for VMS is not foreign.
  As for paragraph marking, the situation is somewhat different, but it is related to the gallows. After a quick scan of Herbal A and Herbal B, I noticed that the letter p often appears at the beginning of the first paragraph, while the letter t appears at the beginning of the second paragraph. However, I do not believe this to be a consistent pattern.
  The letter p often appears at the beginning of paragraphs in balneology, with some exceptions such as f77v, where the letter t is used instead. 
  In fact, it makes sense to use them as markers because of their size. Maybe the author enjoyed making these loops

• RE: Paragraph layout

  Jorge_Stolfi > 9 hours ago

  (Yesterday, 09:20 PM)davidjackson Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.The Voynich often signals a paragraph by:

  • beginning on a fresh line,
    
  • using an enlarged "gallows" glyph,
    
  • leaving a visibly short final line in the previous paragraph without bothering about justification or waste of parchment.
    

  
  The VMS also highlights paragraphs by increased use of "puffs" (p and f gallows) in the parag's head (first) line.  
  
  These puffs are almost certainly fancy forms of other glyphs, although it is not yet certain which ones.  They may be the ordinary gallows k, t and/or their modified forms ke, te, or some other combinations.  The correspondence may not consistent.  I remember someone posting a manuscript where the text was sprinkled with similar (but more complicated) "gallows", with the mapping from gallows to the ordinary letters they replaced not being one-to-one. 
  
  On the VMS, the "puffing" does not occur just on the first word; although, when it does, that puff is usually ornate.  
  
  The puffing does not seem to be applied to the first sentence, because it extends for the whole first line, but never spills over the second line.
  
  Within the head line, it is quite possible that not every occurrence of a puffable glyph or glyph cluster gets puffed.  Conversely, on rare occasions puffs are used on lines other than the head line.  Maybe those are proper names ("this herb was used by Merlin to seal a leak on the roof of his cave")
  
  I once found You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (apparently a student's copy of an Oresme textbook) that used a somewhat similar style for paragraphs, namely special calligraphic treatment for the whole head line of every paragraph.  Surely there must be more examples?
  
  All the best, --stolfi

• RE: Paragraph layout

  davidjackson > 8 hours ago

  Quote:I think the latter would make business sense for a pay-per-page hired copyst. (Is anyone old enough to have had a paper typed by a hired typist?) You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

  
  Purely as speculation, image a scenario where an older, now wealthy hedge doctor or herbalist gathers up his life's work and puts them into order. He tidies them all up and makes lots of notes to the scribes. He's old, he's got cash. So he gets scribes to copy out his notes into a book as a keepsake. He personally oversees the design of each page before breakfast and then wanders off for the day while the boy with a quill gets busy and does the day's work. 
  
  He's not too worried about the wasted parchment, it's going to be a family heirloom like the fancy local Lord has. Our hero has seen such works and is impressed, but of course he's spent his life with "working books", notebooks and almanacs and the like. So the influences of his design are naturally from what he's familiar with, but with an eye towards "fancy" works with one image per page like the books of hours etc. He even oversees the font he wants and every time he changes scribes he orders them to imitate the master font and page templates. 
  
  The old chap gets his life's work into a nice book. We get a weird book with strange influences and lots of different scribal hands.
• Next Oldest Next Newest