Too long, didn't read: I have abandoned the venus flytrap after inconclusive results, and my current lack of interest.
Since I use quotes extensively, they are key to these notes. If I am missing quotes anywhere, please let me know, as I take great effort to ensure quotes are always demarcated. Occasionally quotes will be featured within other quotes, and I may not always change the internal quotes to single apostophe, but the quotes are usually no more than a few paragraphs, so it should not be ambiguous as to where the quotes are from. If I had more time, I would indent every place where I am quoting or not quoting with a more visible marker such as boldfont and "Quote:" and "Me::" etc.
A portable copy of this readme file can be downloaded from my dropbox: (299MB)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vzd8heqs5g6va4t/Portable%20copy%20of%20Voynich%20Analysis.pdf?dl=0
Analysis, notes, resources, and theories about the unsolved Voynich Manuscript
Jost von Silenin analysis begins at this link: https://github.com/hatonthecat/Voynich-Manuscript/blob/main/README.md#1024-pm
"The Voynich manuscript is an illustrated codex hand-written in an unknown script referred to as 'Voynichese'.[18] The vellum on which it is written has been carbon-dated to the early 15th century (1404–1438). Stylistic analysis indicates it may have been composed in Italy during the Italian Renaissance.[1][2] The origins, authorship, and purpose of the manuscript are debated. Hypotheses suggest that it is a script for a natural language or constructed language; an unread code, cypher, or other form of cryptography; or a meaningless hoax."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript
https://collections.library.yale.edu/catalog/2002046
Direct PDF download link: https://collections.library.yale.edu/pdfs/2002046.pdf (114MB), 214 pages
Since there are many different theories, a list of some of the many theories will be analyzed. A comprehensive analysis would be needed, as several languages are used as substitution ciphers.
Some of the theories.
One person suggests the alphabet is "Bulgarian cirilic[cyrillic]":
"Voynich alphabet is Bulgarian, cirilic based.V.M.language is Middle Bulgarian hybrid. Hybrid part is Ottoman Turkish.Words shtovam,dyadov,harachi,yanyavar,spanak,varyavar can not be disputed. Who is going to be first to locate and confirm my findings. To help you out 8=V,9=E,2=R,C=S,X=H,4=SHT.The rest of the alphabet I am unable to type on this device. Thank you for your kind consideration. Sahbaz Bajrektarevic, peace." https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Voynich_EVA.svg
Another, suggests it uses a pre-800 AD form of encoding"
"https://ciphermysteries.com/2020/06/02/sad-news-mary-dimperio-has-just-died#comment-405769
"Milo Rea Gardner on June 3, 2020 at 2:09 pm said: Thank you for posting Mary’s clearly written book. Having excelled in cryptanalytics in the late 1950s , and freshly decoding Fibonacci’s 1292 AD ‘”Liber Abacl” 15 years ago, thanks to L.E Sigler, several number based attack approaches come to mind,:
First, infinite series problems were written by Fibonacci in finite arithmetic to 2-term and 3-term unit fraction series by subtracting LCM 1/m from n/p considered :
(n/p – 1/m) = (mn – p)/mn
- 2-term series (mn – p) = 1
Example ( 3/11 – 1/4) = (12 – 11)/44 meant 3/11 = 1/4 + 1/44
2/ 3-term series subtracted a second LCM m
Example
(4/13 – 1/4) = (16 – 13)/52 = (3/52 – 1/18) = (54 – 52)/((18)(52)) = 1/468 meant
4/13 = 1/4 + 1/18 + 1/468
Encoding systems of this type date to 2050 BCE Egypt that scaled n/p by LCM m in a multiplication context such that
n/p x (m/m) = mn/mp
Found the Best divisors of mp that summed to mn …
created 2-term, 3-term, 4-term , and 5-term unit fraction series
Further encoding each numeral into Greek letters , Ionian or Doric, until 800 AD when Arabs ended the ciphered numeral step, and mentored Fibonacci to only write 2-term and 3-term series using numerals imported from India.
Bacon, Dee and other great medieval scholars, cryptographers , would have been aware of the older ciphered numeral to any available set of alphabetic characters … and used it to encode numeric data …hence minimal or virtually no actual language data may.be reported .
That is , only inventories may be reported, a type of message that also has been proven to be very difficult to break.
Milo"
http://milorgardner.blogspot.com/
from Wikipedia: " The first confirmed owner was Georg Baresch, a 17th-century alchemist from Prague. Baresch was apparently puzzled about this "Sphynx" that had been "taking up space uselessly in his library" for many years.[9] He learned that Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher from the Collegio Romano had published a Coptic (Egyptian) dictionary and claimed to have deciphered the Egyptian hieroglyphs; Baresch twice sent a sample copy of the script to Kircher in Rome, asking for clues. The 1639 letter from Baresch to Kircher is the earliest known mention of the manuscript to have been confirmed.[16]"
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-26198471
"In February this year, a paper published in the journal of the American Botanical Council said one of the plant drawings suggested a possible Mexican origin for the manuscript."
"He said he had managed to find the word for Taurus, alongside a picture of seven stars (seen as part of the zodiac constellation of Taurus) and the word Kantairon alongside a picture of the herb Centaury."
"Now, Bedfordshire University's Stephen Bax says he has deciphered 10 words, which could lead to more discoveries."
Some background on early philosophical thinking: https://iep.utm.edu/gnostic/#H2 https://www.currentaffairs.org/2021/02/satanic-panics-and-the-death-of-mythos
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript#Ciphers : However, the presence of many tightly grouped shapes in the Voynich manuscript (such as "or", "ar", "ol", "al", "an", "ain", "aiin", "air", "aiir", "am", "ee", "eee", among others) does suggest that its cipher system may make use of a "verbose cipher", where single letters in a plaintext get enciphered into groups of fake letters. For example, the first two lines of page f15v (seen above) contain "oror or" and "or or oro r", which strongly resemble how Roman numerals such as "CCC" or "XXXX" would look if verbosely enciphered.[70]
The Catalan Wikipedia page for the Voynich Manuscript (translated using Google Translate)
"Statistical patterns The text consists of more than 170,000 characters, [20] with spaces dividing the text into approximately 35,000 groups of variable length, usually referred to as "words" or "words of words" (37,919); 8,114 of these words are considered unique "word types" . [21] The structure of these words seems to follow certain phonological or orthographic laws ; for example, certain characters must appear in every word (like English vowels ), some characters never follow others, or some can be doubled or tripled, but others cannot.
The distribution of letters within words is also quite peculiar: some characters only occur at the beginning of a word, some only at the end, and some always in the middle section. [22] Professor Gonzalo Rubio, an expert on ancient languages at Pennsylvania State University , stated: "the things we know as 'grammatical markers': things that usually occur at the beginning or end of words, such as 's "or" d "in our language, and which are used to express grammar, will never appear in the middle of "words" in the Voynich manuscript. This is unheard of for any Indo-European, Hungarian or Finnish language." [23] Many researchers have commented on the very regular structure of the words. [24]
The distribution of letters within the text is also strange. Stephan Vonfelt studied some statistical properties of the distribution of letters and their correlations (properties that can be loosely characterized as rhythmic resonance, alliteration, or assonance) and found that, in this sense, Voynichese is more similar to Chinese than to European languages, although the numerical differences between the Voynichès and the Chinese seem greater than those between the Chinese and European languages. [25]
Almost no word has fewer than two letters or more than ten. [20] Some words occur only in certain sections or on only a few pages; others occur throughout the manuscript. There are few repetitions among the thousand or more labels attached to the illustrations. There are cases where the same common word appears up to three times in a row [20] (see Zipf's law ). Words that differ by only one letter also repeat with unusual frequency, causing single-substitution alphabet decipherments to produce gibberish-like text"
"In 2014, a team led by Dr. Diego Amancio, from the Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Computing at the University of São Paulo, goespublish a paper detailing a study using statistical methods to analyze word relationships in text. Instead of trying to find meaning, Amancio's team used complex network modeling to look for connections and groups of words. Using concepts such as frequency and intermittency, which measure the occurrence and concentration of a term in the text, Amancio was able to discover the key words in the manuscript and create three-dimensional models of the text's structure and the frequencies of the words Their conclusion was that in 90% of cases, the Voynich systems are similar to those of other known books such as the Bible, indicating that the book is a real piece of text in a real language, and it's not good planned gibberish. [58]'
My first thought, after reading some of these ideas, was that to read the complete page on the Wikipedia entry on the Voynich Manuscript is to read all the 61 language pages it has been translated in, and hope that there is some information inferred or not incldued inthe other translations. That is, a computer AI did not automtically translate the 61 pages- those were coplted by Wikipedia volutneers. This is just the start of a resource, and ertainly there are many other places to begin, but it reflects more on the reader's biases to think only one language will have a better understanding.
Thusm my theory is, what if the author of the Voynich Manuscript wanted to include other languages to intentionally require translators to understand other languages and not give preference to any specific one?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Babel#Themes
"The Tower of Babel (Hebrew: מִגְדַּל בָּבֶל, Mīgdal Bāḇel) narrative in Genesis 11:1–9 is an origin myth and parable meant to explain why the world's peoples speak different languages.[1][2][3][4]" Themes The story's theme of competition between God and humans appears elsewhere in Genesis, in the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.[13] The 1st-century Jewish interpretation found in Flavius Josephus explains the construction of the tower as a hubristic act of defiance against God ordered by the arrogant tyrant Nimrod. There have, however, been some contemporary challenges to this classical interpretation, with emphasis placed on the explicit motive of cultural and linguistic homogeneity mentioned in the narrative (v. 1, 4, 6).[14] This reading of the text sees God's actions not as a punishment for pride, but as an etiology of cultural differences, presenting Babel as the cradle of civilization."
I think that, if there was a need to encrypt a script (as it would be unlikely a language would use so many unique characters natively), it wold arise out of the need to hide a potentially persecutable belief, which could be an early religion, such as Judaism or Gnosticism.
If a language were banned, it would be a clear target. If a language was not banned, it would not have much of a threat in its era, at least. By writing a hard-to-decipher script, some possible value could be ascribed to it until a supposed Inquisitorial body could determine its affiliation. That is the pessimisstic view.
The mundane view is that it is is a doodle notebook of a botanist who had an eye for natural biological architecture, which does not preclude the ability to have an interest in cipher/cryptography.
This was the Rennaissance, after all, when well-rounded scholars such as Leonardo Da Vinci were considered doctors, inventors, philosophers, things that could not be claimed with even a PhD and post-doc. The thesis approval process back then was non-existent, yet did not prevent great thinkers from influencing successful businessmen years ater.
The Codex Leicester, for example, was purchased by Bill Gates in 1994, for $30.8 million (and is now worth $130 million). https://www.businessinsider.com/look-inside-the-codex-leicester-which-bill-gates-bought-for-30-million-2015-7#:~:text=In%201994%2C%20he%20purchased%20Leonardo,to%20select%20museums%20this%20summer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript#Gerard_Cheshire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85YcMMhvvoQ (Though in many ways is worth more than that)
Good presentation https://github.com/joaoperfig/voynichstudies/blob/master/voynich.pdf :
"There is not a single instance of a word being erased or corrected (which suggests the book might be a copy) but some words have been retouched"
This doesn't mean that a copy is a forgery, but rather that whoever wanted a copy - perhaps a king wanted an original, but the original was in such bad shape, or that there was something encoded in the original that he did not want left in. I prefer to start with the least plausible, so it should be relatively simple to examine more plausible reasons for making a copy. Photocopy machines didn't exist then, so would it be out of the ordinary to have no corrections? perhaps a wealthy buyer did not want any errors, and required his scribes to rewrite any pages that contained errors. Its not as if the pages had to be bounded before they were written.
https://www.reddit.com/r/voynich/comments/jkjomc/reintroducing_a_vanished_romance_language_dr/
https://www.athensjournals.gr/reviews/2020-4049-AJHA.pdf
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26881734
"One of the most common tropes in the history of forgery is that of a rare book dealer "discovering" previously unknown manuscripts. Voynich is known to have had just this "magic" touch. He is also said to have acquired a supply of vellum and to have used his knowledge of chemistry gained at the University of Moscow to replicate medieval inks and pigments. "
"But until forensic tests are done on the ink and pigments - so far, only the vellum has been carbon dated to the 15th Century - the riddle of this mysterious book will continue to exert a powerful magnetic pull on present and future Voynichologists."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript#Ink
To take a contrarian view, what suggestion is there that the manuscript must have any meaning? There could be multiple reasons why the manuscript cannot be decoded with just one language, or at all. Since the story of Babel is in Genesis, which is in the Old Testament (everything I learned from the Old Testament I learned from Lewis Black: https://www.facebook.com/beststandupcomedy/videos/658478987635564/ at 2:30), what if the inability to decode it is due to the unwillingness for different languages to cooperate? Short of holding hands and singing Kumbaya around the Tower of Babel, the Man in the Sky may not have wanted to signal any help in decoding this manuscript. Thus, this puzzle is like a punishment for those who spent their entire lives having never decoded it, unless everyone trying to decode it is doing something wrong (something other than trying to decode it, assuming it is not a fatal knowledge). One article suggests it is the "venus flytrap" of brilliant minds. I would think that, the original author could not have foreseen that it would take so long to decode because he or she lived in a completely different time, but one where different types of knowledge were not dismissed. Perhaps, it is our willfull ignorance in ancient ways of thought that would constrain the ability to contextualize the meaning. In many ways, the Rennaissance appears more of a utopia compared to the present. Perhaps not in medical technology, but in many other cultural ways.
Maybe no one is right if a higher order planted the truth in every language, so as not to give preference to any language, unless they all cooperated. An academic, and empath wouldn't need to believe in the same religion to understand why this manuscript was written, not is that relgion necessarily knowable, but to consider the context of the era, the manuscript could have been written to hide from heresy, but if it was the last in a language, then it might have been a translation attempt, or some pagan text. That said, it is not possible to rule out any particular subject, despite the obvious botanical and pharmacopeiac illustrations. I call it Much ado about Botany.
I wonder why some think it was written by Roger Bacon- the paper appears too "new" to have been from 1200s (but it's not much newer if it carbon dating suggests the 1400s). Another idea is, the original might not have had all the doodlings- what if the original author wrote mainly the text, but other artisans added more drawings later on? This wouldn't be unprecedented- large churches were built for continuous expansion- they were not built with one vision in mind- a new wind here, a new bell and tower later on- nothing suggests the book had to be written in one sitting- that said, it could have been continued by just a handful, as the scribes have been estimated to be 6 or less. It would be interesting if it were a book from Norse travels from NewFoundland (which could have taken tales all the way from South America) but I think that far less likely. Perhaps Marco Polo transcribed a phonetic account of a middle-eastern language. Any traveller since then could have too.
There are a lot of interesting theories that many of them can sound very plausible, but also the fact that many centuries have added to the obfuscatory nature of the any hidden etchings and re-transcribings adds to the complexity.
I find the fact that some words were found in High German from the early 13th century interesting (https://web.archive.org/web/20111018025101/https://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/tech_journals/Voynich_Manuscript_Mysterious.pdf), but also some parallels that are not particularly related but interesting nonetheless:
"Kalush and Sloman posit that the only reason Houdini would abruptly leave the United States in 1900, when he had finally achieved notoriety—and a paycheck equivalent to $45,000 a week—was because he was engaged in espionage. Houdini was rumored to be providing the German police with information about wanted criminals, as well as unspecified information to Scotland Yard Superintendent William Melville, monitoring anarchists in Russia, and helping the U.S. Secret Service with their anti-counterfeiting mission." from: https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/was-houdini-a-spy/
Melville also worked with Schlomo Rosenblum (Sidney Reilly):
"In the next ten years, Melville embarked on a large series of well-publicized raids against anarchists. He went to Victoria Station to personally arrest bomber Théodule Meunier.[1] In 1896 Melville recruited Shlomo Rosenblum (later known as Sidney Reilly) as an informer in an organization he suspected to be involved with Russian anarchists.[1]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Melville
Reilly was aquainted with Ethel Voynich, who was Wilfrid Voynich's last wife (from 1902-1930); https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Reilly#The_Gadfly
Granted, anti-counterfeiting was probably a standard job duty of the Scotland Yard and something a bookseller like Wilfrid Voynich needed to be acquainted with to ensure he wasn't purchasing a fake manuscript, but whether or not the availability of 500-year old blank parchment paper would be plausible is certainly extraordinary but not impossible, thus a rare opportunity to fabricate text with gibberish (or at least a convenient way to delay decoding of a cipher by including alongside other ancient texts on a shelf). That said, the ink would also need to have been carbon dated that far back (presumably also a rare case of having been stored in a container for 500 years without evaporating).
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript#Early_history:
"Marci's 1665/1666 cover letter to Kircher says that, according to his friend the late Raphael Mnishovsky, the book had once been bought by Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia for 600 ducats (66.42 troy ounce actual gold weight, or 2.07 kg). (Mnishovsky had died in 1644, more than 20 years earlier, and the deal must have occurred before Rudolf's abdication in 1611, at least 55 years before Marci's letter. However, Karl Widemann sold books to Rudolf II in March 1599.)
Wellcome Library, oil Ernest Board's portrayal of Bacon in his observatory at Merton College According to the letter, Mnishovsky (but not necessarily Rudolf) speculated that the author was 13th-century Franciscan friar and polymath Roger Bacon.[6] Marci said that he was suspending judgment about this claim, but it was taken quite seriously by Wilfrid Voynich, who did his best to confirm it.[16] Voynich contemplated the possibility that the author was Albertus Magnus if not Roger Bacon.[63]
Mathematician John Dee may have sold the manuscript to Emperor Rudolf around 1600. The assumption that Bacon was the author led Voynich to conclude that John Dee sold the manuscript to Rudolf. Dee was a mathematician and astrologer at the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England who was known to have owned a large collection of Bacon's manuscripts.
Edward Kelley might have created the manuscript as a fraud Dee and his scrier (spirit medium) Edward Kelley lived in Bohemia for several years, where they had hoped to sell their services to the emperor. However, this sale seems quite unlikely, according to John Schuster, because Dee's meticulously kept diaries do not mention it.[16]
If Bacon did not create the Voynich manuscript, a supposed connection to Dee is much weakened. It was thought possible, prior to the carbon dating of the manuscript, that Dee or Kelley might have written it and spread the rumor that it was originally a work of Bacon's in the hopes of later selling it.[64]: 249
Fabrication by Voynich Some suspect Voynich of having fabricated the manuscript himself.[7] As an antique book dealer, he probably had the necessary knowledge and means, and a lost book by Roger Bacon would have been worth a fortune. Furthermore, Baresch's letter and Marci's letter only establish the existence of a manuscript, not that the Voynich manuscript is the same one mentioned. These letters could possibly have been the motivation for Voynich to fabricate the manuscript, assuming that he was aware of them. However, many consider the expert internal dating of the manuscript and the June 1999[52] discovery of Baresch's letter to Kircher as having eliminated this possibility.[7][16]
Eamon Duffy says that the radiocarbon dating of the parchment (or, more accurately, vellum) "effectively rules out any possibility that the manuscript is a post-medieval forgery", as the consistency of the pages indicates origin from a single source, and "it is inconceivable" that a quantity of unused parchment comprising "at least fourteen or fifteen entire calfskins" could have survived from the early 15th century.[27]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dee
"Dee eventually left Elizabeth's service and went on a quest for additional knowledge in the deeper realms of the occult and supernatural. He aligned himself with several individuals who may have been charlatans, travelled through Europe and was accused of spying for the English crown. Upon his return to England, he found his home and library vandalised. He eventually returned to the Queen's service, but was turned away when she was succeeded by James I. In 1583, Dee met the impoverished yet popular Polish nobleman Albert Łaski, who, after overstaying his welcome at court, invited Dee to accompany him back to Poland.[19] With some prompting by the "angels" (again through Kelley) and by dint of his worsening status at court, Dee decided to do so. He, Kelley and their families left in September 1583, but Łaski proved to be bankrupt and out of favour in his own country.[34] Dee and Kelley began a nomadic life in Central Europe, meanwhile continuing their spiritual conferences, which Dee detailed in his diaries and almanacs.[32][33] They had audiences with Emperor Rudolf II in Prague Castle and King Stephen Báthory of Poland, whom they attempted to convince of the importance of angelic communication. The Bathory meeting took place at the Niepołomice Castle (near Kraków, then capital of Poland) and was later analysed by Polish historians (Ryszard Zieliński, Roman Żelewski, Roman Bugaj) and writers (Waldemar Łysiak).[citation needed] While Dee was generally seen as a man of deep knowledge, he was mistrusted for his connection with the English monarch, Elizabeth I, for whom some thought (and still do) that Dee was a spy."
Ok, so it is known that John Dee associated himself with charlatans, and Voynich believed Dee sold it to Rudolf. That doesn't mean Dee sold Rudolf a forgery, nor would Voynich be interested in purchasing a forgery (had he somehow concluded that and that the manuscript still had value), but he was interested enough that ciphers were one of his other posession: :
"Voynich relocated his London bookshop to 175 Piccadilly in 1917.[12] Also in 1917, based on rumors, Voynich was investigated by the FBI, in relation to his possession of Bacon's cipher. The report also noted that he dealt with manuscripts from the 13th, 12th, and 11th centuries, and that the value of his books at the time was half a million dollars. However, the investigation did not reveal anything significant beyond the fact that he possessed a secret code nearly a thousand years old.[4]"
https://www.colinmackinnon.com/attachments/The_US_BOI_File_on_Voynich_p.pdf <-[4] As for "thousand", Francis Bacon developed the cipher in 1605 (400 years prior), so it is unclear whether the 57 page report refers to an earlier cipher, or that is incorrect. Unless it implies that he was merely not in posesssion of the "newer" Bacon cipher.
Book stores and antique stores are not all above selling counterfeits, at least in popular portrayal:
"And then we learn that some of these antiques are more like "antiques." We never know how many of Childan's antiques are actually clever forgeries, which definitely connects these antiques to issues of deceit and uncertainty. Add to that the fact that some of these fakes are made by "Frank Frink," who is himself kind of a fake, since he changed his name and nose to survive. (It's like the paper writes itself.)
Now, Childan doesn't know about his "antiques," but Wyndam-Matson clearly knows, since many of them come from his store. W-M has his own idea about authenticity and historicity, which is that it's all in the eye of the beholder. So for him, fakes are as real as authentic antiques as long as the person thinks it's real." https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/man-in-the-high-castle/analysis/authentic-american-antiques
https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/man-in-the-high-castle/frank-frink
Which isn't to say anything about legitimate stores, but definitely an exploitable trade.
Update: After reading 1/2way through I found the answer:
The BOI report is fascinating- Voynich's mention of a Bacon cipher briefly got mixed up for Francis Bacon's cipher, when the mentions in other documents that Voynich was unambiguously referring to Roger Bacon (p.15):
On p. 22, The BOI leter further adds: "If he thought he could be of any service to the Department, it was only because it appears to be an excellent cipher, in as much as it has for several years defied the efforts of experts to decipher it, and he thought it might be, as it undoubtedly would, of value to the War Department to posess so valuable a system, but obviously it can not be placed at the disposal of the Government until we succeed in ascertaining what the system is.
If Mr. Voynich said that he was acquainted wiht the army cipher, he said nothing more than any non-military man could have said who had read the published statements to the effect that the army was using the cipher disc[overy?]. This has been a matter of common knowledge for many years)."
6:26PM
This does make me wonder, for someone who was able to acquire many manuscripts, that German castles weren't exactly garage sales like in the U.S., thus the availability of certain rare texts could have been made available through less honest and surreptitious means-visting estates, pretending to be distant family, etc.
7:20PM
p.44
File detailing Cleveland Art Museum director and Cleveland Public Library assistant's impression of Voynich's loyalty. 9/25/1919
p.45
7:56 PM About those "garage sales"
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/FeaturesEurope/EasternPoland_Voynich01.htm
"Wilfrid was a regular visitor to the Continent, in particular to Italy (during which he became friends with Achille Ratti, at that point a librarian, who would eventually become Pope Pius XI). He was able to buy large quantities of old books and manuscripts, from religious houses and other places, on one occasion persuading the religious in question to take what he considered to be modern tat in exchange for some wonderful old texts. In 1912 he visited the Villa Mondragone, Frascati, at the request of the Jesuits there - who wished to sell some of their books in order to raise funds (this being done, apparently, without the knowledge of their superiors)."
As I suspected, he purchased some heavily discounted texts using questionable practices, then marking them up in the UK and U.S:
"Following up on the advice of Garnett, Wilfrid became a regular visitor to the Continent, in particular to Italy. He was able to buy large quantities of old books and manuscripts from religious houses and other places. On one occasion he visited a convent in Italy and the monks showed him their library of early printed books and codices. He reportedly told the monks they could have a most interesting and valuable collection of modern theological works to replace their dusty rubbish. Within a month he owned the whole valuable library in exchange for a lot of modern garbage (K.7). On another occasion he visited Corsica and reportedly came back with 600 incunabula (K.8)."
Buying rare books on the cheap and marking them up is certainly a way to make a living, but I would recommend those in posession of such valuable goods to hold on to them, try to digitize them carefully(some require expensive equipment to prevent it from crumbling/fading), and ensure they stay in good hands- certainly a musuem could make a business out of it, but so can a private collector:
http://www.voynich.nu/curricula.html#wvoynich Obviously some things do belong in a museum, though if something is priceless then it should not have a price tag (other than the effort for it to change hands)
Interestingly, Voynich's will was released within the past 6 months: https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3313/paper14.pdf (2022)
"Among the books he acquired as a result of this transaction was a peculiar volume, of some age and obviously written in code, which was to provide him with a more than contemporary notability. (There are some arguments that the volume did not originate in the stated location - inter alia he said that he had acquired it from 'a castle' - and used the Villa as misdirection.)"
p.50 
p.52 
"intellectual vagrant"
An antiquated term, not often used.
https://books.apple.com/us/book/thoreau-beyond-borders/id1546666826
"Henry David Thoreau spent his life as an intellectual vagrant, jumping fences, pushing boundaries, and crossing borders. How, why, and to what end are the questions asked by contributors to this new volume of essays, whose work crosses national and disciplinary borders to think about Thoreau anew."
According to Google N-Gram viewer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Ngram_Viewer
The phrase vagrant has decreased but cannot be found often adjacent "intellectual"
An Austrian website claims to have decoded the Voynich Manuscript, and published a German and English translation -
https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20230310_OTS0148/sensationen-zur-schweizer-garde-im-vatikan-und-zu-den-habsburgern-der-voynich-code-ist-geknackt-anhaenge "The Voynich Silenen Comedy: The Voynich Manuscript, now the greatest mystery in human history, has been deciphered as a bishop's memoir!"
3rd copy: https://www.dropbox.com/s/a7iz8g9kd8m8w0q/PDF_20230310_OTS0148_0.pdf?dl=0
The English part starts on p. 44 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jost_von_Silenen and his ancestor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Alban#On_the_Continent (I was able to download the PDF, no subscription needed: https://www.ots.at/a/PDF_20230310_OTS0148_0) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_XVI_Philosophical-Theological_University
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegard_of_Bingen
Notes, ideas and thoughts on the Silenen Codex:
The lecturer who wrote the article has a PhD, works at a Cistercian theological university, not just any theological university but with a parent organization as the Catholic Church. In the 1400s, when this manuscript is believed to have been written, the Catholic church authorities- the popes and bishops, were considered infallible.
"Because of the complexity in defining infallibility, some Protestant and non-denominational views confuse papal infallibility with impeccability, as if the Pope were immune from sin."
Viewed through the lens of philological analysis, as with scholar-priests such as Lorenzo Valla, the Catholic Church is arguably one of the most non-promotional institutions still in existence:
“Valla is “best known for his historical-critical textual analysis that proved that the Donation of Constantine was a forgery, therefore attacking and undermining the presumption of temporal power claimed by the papacy.[1] Lorenzo is sometimes seen as a precursor of the Reformation.[2][3]”
Only an institution committed to pursuing the truth, regardless of promotion, contradiction is capable of achieving that aim.
Furthermore,
In Centuries after Aristotle, in “Perspectives on Early Modern and Modern Intellectual History (Gates and Marino, 2001), on p.39:
“Erasmus has recourse to Jerome's auctoritas again in rebutting Poggio's other accusation at Valla-that by emending the Vulgate, Valla desecrated the most venerated text of Western Christianity. On this point too, Erasmus is clear and firm. In reality, Valla had completed the task begun by Jerome's, was intended to combat the errors and superficiality of biblical exegesis flawed by insufficient command of Latin and Greek. While Valla brought to bear on the New Testament his linguistic skills and literary erudition, he did not forget that these texts were fundamental for Christianity. Moreover, asserts Erasmus, Valla's research was in conformity with the norms established by the Council of Vienne (1311-12) and later included in the Constitutiones Clementinae. These norms imposed the study of biblical language on the students of theology, in order to secure a correct understanding of the Holy Scriptures.”
"This was the first instance of modern, scientific diplomatics. Independently of both Cusa and Valla, Reginald Pecocke, Bishop of Chichester (1450–57), reached a similar conclusion." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donation_of_Constantine Though the Donation of Constantine ended up on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, the Index was formally abolished on June 1966 by Pope Paul VI.
Thus, while the Church has not always become more transparent and more self-correcting, the effort by Dr. Bernhart-Königstein can be seen in the same light as Valla and Erasmus, in that it seeks to shed light on the philological mysteries of an era undergoing significant change, not just in Switzerland, but in Valois, Hapsburg and Italian kingdoms.
When I examine the veracity of something, the first thing I look for is, why would someone make something up, when the truth is more interesting than fiction? Not everyone is dishonest, regardless of interest. From p.46 of the Voynich-Silenen Comedy,
“The family, and thus also the Voynich-Silenen manuscript, gained special importance through the founding of the Swiss Guard, whose first captain was the nephew and son of Albin von Silenen's brother, Kaspar von Silenen. At that time, secular and spiritual principalities still formed a unit. In the Confederation and also in Valais, however, the power of the prince-bishop was severely restricted by the state council. In Switzerland, the bourgeoisie had taken power early on.
In diplomatic circles, the Silenen manuscript helped, the memoirs of Jost von Silenen possibly helped as a memorandum in the formation of the Swiss state. But it certainly became the ideological founding document, the charter of the Swiss Guard in the Vatican, whose captain was the nephew of Bishop Kaspar von Silenen. When he dies - a son followed him as captain - it falls into oblivion and is used as an alchemy book by Emperor Rudolf ll. and re-enter history as the Voynich Manuscript, until rediscovered by its readability as the Silenen Manuscript.
In fact, this discovery also contributes something to the history of Switzerland's national hero, Wilhelm Tell, but in a humorous way and with hints, there is no doubt about the intended reference to Tell, as he is perhaps the second great hero of Switzerland that has been underestimated (conditio sine qua non) and as the Creator of this manuscript also personally connected with the legend of Tell.'
If a story is bursting with humor, there is no need to embellish. The truth works for you, rather than the other way around.
Page 53: “III. An almost moral bishop”
In the manuscript, the bishop appears honest, but not impeccable. I think the ability to accurately assess this manuscript requires, at the very least, empathy in in the subject matter. If someone believes honesty is valueless, then they value appearance over substance. The question appears to be, not whether Jost di Silenen had anything to gain from writing this, of which there is important historical value, but what he had to lose in not writing. If he were religious, he may have preferred to write his conscience in the eyes of God, even (or in such a way) if no one else could decode it in his life time. As for the aforementioned memorandum of formation, that too may have been decipherable only to his dynasty.
Another point of context is this particularly unfalsifiable part:
“You can't really say it's written, rather it's designed, maybe sketched, co-organized as a client, because there is no example of this kind of art before him. And yet, as the humanist behind the work, Jost of Silenen himself should be considered. The references are too individual, the continuous connection with the biography is too unusual, the educational path, yes, the origin.
And finally, the work of self-panegyric clearly embodies the philosophy of life and the political mission expected of it. Not so rare in the Renaissance, but also typically Italian, that in diplomats, politicians, even more so in church people, artistic qualities such as Eneas Silvius Piccolomini, Gulio de Medici, would come to mind spontaneously.”
Certainly the illustrations of the Voynich manuscript are unique- not quite high-art, but not quite outsider art either, unless a Bishop's art is categorically considered sub-par. Rather, I think the uniqueness of the Rennaissance era, its foreignness in terms of religious values, pre-industrialization, pre-commercialization are moreso explanations of its “alien-ness” than anything specifically extraordinary to its contemporary era, other than the fact that Switzerland's founding was especially unique- in its supranational character. All this contributes to requiring a very extraordinary understanding of an era far removed from the current, and one that has many lessons that can be learned from. As they say, “it takes one to know one” may be unfair to say here (it is not possible to claim to understand or self-identify with a 500+ year old contemporary era - not even a Ren-Faire attendee could make that claim).
Memoirs have been written since ancient times, says Wikipedia, but how fitting it would be that one founder of the Old Swiss Confederacy would mix personal with state events, being unique. While many claims to unfalsifiable theories can appear impossible to prove, the Dr. Bernhard-Konigstein claims, or should I say teases, with hints that Jost of Silenen is betrayed by minor errors (p.52):
“All the details in the manuscript are important, To correctly interpret his message. There who wrote his fingers sore, But it is proclaimed here as a miracle With what many thousands of variants The same glyphs got mixed up. Even if it were a waste An eternal joke in every turn. But where I read the opaque text, Little by little he betrayed his nature, Also to understand botany I had to go into history.”
“The author was known to us for a long time He is already mentioned as a patron! He left us a breviary It is also historically easy to grasp! Yes, his knowledge of the last things Towers over the Hildegard of Bingen.”
But the doctor's own poem becomes more poetic, which is key to deciphering its origin:
“Yes, the Voynich, may we guess
Is as a picture a secret Morgarten.
Are also text and root in splendor,
They point us to this battle
Because even in the moor from time to time
Even the root likes to stand free.
Even if the soot is without a picture,
Enough of that are in world chronicles.
Every stalk in the global garden
Bears witness to Swiss semispecies.
However, if you are often in a group,
Impaled a flower head."
The “semi-species” is in reference to Switzerland's four national languages- German, French, Italian, and Romansh (Half-Swiss/Half-German, Half-Swiss/Half-French, Half-Swiss,Half Italian, etc), and the flowers petals with 4 heads connected, as well as diverse ethnic makeup, thus the plants with separately colored roots and stems pays homage to Switzerland's historical foundings. How poetic. Just a week ago, I gave a quick look at the many languages in the manuscript- what appeared to be Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic, and thought, whoever wrote this might have had a biblical interpretation of languages- something like the Tower of Babel, but there was nothing I could connect to a contemporary event (which isn't to say a real tower of babel once existed in ancient times, but the story itself was metaphorical).
I rate this claim highly inspired by religion, but no less implausible, since religion was the norm back then. In other words- all the more so due to its religious subtexts (glyphs, symbols), can be seen to match its contextual era. It was also, as the author points out, not yet separated from all of the following: stately, secular matters and nature.
12:13AM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript#Statistical_patterns
" As noted in Bowern's review, multiple scribes or "hands" may have written the manuscript, possibly using two methods of encoding at least one natural language.[45][46][47][48] The "language" Voynich A appears in the herbal and pharmaceutical parts of the manuscript. The "language" known as Voynich B appears in the balneological section, some parts of the medicinal and herbal sections, and the astrological section. The most common vocabulary items of Voynich A and Voynich B are substantially different. Topic modeling of the manuscript suggests that pages identified as written by a particular scribe may relate to a different topic.[45]"
Dr. Bernhart-Königstein's claims that it was written by Jost von Silenen and his family, including his nephew, Kaspar von Silenen, would support the statistical analysis that two/multiple scribes contributed to it (perhaps in two different sections/topics as previously theorized).
[45] Bowern, Claire L.; Lindemann, Luke (14 January 2021). "The Linguistics of the Voynich Manuscript". Annual Review of Linguistics. 7 (1): 285–308. doi:10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011619-030613. S2CID 228894621. Retrieved 30 August 2021. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011619-030613
[46] Currier, PH; Zandbergen, R. "Papers on the Voynich manuscript. The Voynich Manuscript". Retrieved 30 August 2021. http://www.voynich.nu/extra/curr_main.html
[47] Davis, Lisa Fagin (2020). "How many glyphs and how many scribes? Digital paleography and the Voynich Manuscript". Manuscr. Stud. 5: 164–80. doi:10.1353/mns.2020.0011. S2CID 218957807. Retrieved 30 August 2021. https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1082&context=mss_sims
[48] Reddy, Sravana; Knight, Kevin (2011). "What we know about the Voynich manuscript". Proceedings of the 5th ACL-HLT Workshop on Language Technology for Cultural Heritage, Social Sciences, and Humanities. Stroudsburg, PA: Assoc. Comput. Linguist. pp. 78–86. https://aclanthology.org/W11-1511.pdf
8 months ago, a Redditor compared the drawings of the buildings in the Voynich manuscript to buildings in Basel, Switzerland, circa 1436: https://www.reddit.com/r/voynich/comments/wgqzv6/architecture_from_voynich_rosettes_page_and/
https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/ca49c07b-cfb5-41cc-ab66-c215e1268a05/surfaces/b8707371-4f8d-4cc1-9482-0473676bf88d/ Italy and France, Basel
These links are aggregated here for convenience, not to confirm yet that it is related, but to be supplementary information.
[1:30 pm retro edit
Having zero prior information on this recent non-exhaustive, non-comprehensive search, I begin constructing a timeline of events- The Reddit post was 8 months ago. Could the Austrian doctor have seen that post, and, acting on that tip [edit [2ndary retro edit at 2:50pm- "hunch" - p51]., travelled to Switzerland shortly after, and decoded it by February of 2023, which is the date of the pre-print?]
What is the difference between a hoax and a comedy?
Hoax:
"A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into putting up the highest possible social currency in support of the hoax.[1]
Whereas the promoters of frauds, fakes, and scams devise them so that they will withstand the highest degree of scrutiny customary in the affair, hoaxers are confident, justifiably or not, that their representations will receive no scrutiny at all. They have such confidence because their representations belong to a world of notions fundamental to the victims' views of reality, but whose truth and importance they accept without argument or evidence, and so never question.
Some hoaxers intend eventually to unmask their representations as in fact a hoax so as to expose their victims as fools; seeking some form of profit, other hoaxers hope to maintain the hoax indefinitely, so that it is only when sceptical persons willing to investigate their claims publish their findings that at last they stand revealed as hoaxers."
Comedy:
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term originated in ancient Greece: In Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in theaters.[1] The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance pitting two groups, ages, genders, or societies against each other in an amusing agon or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old".[2] A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions posing obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth then becomes constrained by his lack of social authority, and is left with little choice but to resort to ruses which engender dramatic irony, which provokes laughter.[3]"
That Dr. Bernhart-Königstein chose to name the manuscript a "Comedy" is revealing in itself. It suggests familiarity with the topic, and possibly historical knowledge going as far back as the Ancient Greek definition of Old Comedy.
On p. 47:
"The family, and thus also the Voynich-Silenen manuscript, gained special importance through the founding of the Swiss Guard, whose first captain was the nephew and son of Albin von Silenen's brother, Kaspar von Silenen. At that time, secular and spiritual principalities still formed a unit. In the Confederation and also in Valais, however, the power of the prince-bishop was severely restricted by the state council. In Switzerland, the bourgeoisie had taken power early on.
In diplomatic circles, the Silenen manuscript helped, the memoirs of Jost von Silenen possibly helped as a memorandum in the formation of the Swiss state. But it certainly became the ideological founding document, the charter of the Swiss Guard in the Vatican, whose captain was the nephew of Bishop Kaspar von Silenen. When he dies - a son followed him as captain - it falls into oblivion and is used as an alchemy book by Emperor Rudolf ll. and re-enter history as the Voynich Manuscript, until rediscovered by its readability as the Silenen Manuscript.
In fact, this discovery also contributes something to the history of Switzerland's national hero, Wilhelm Tell, but in a humorous way and with hints, there is no doubt about the intended reference to Tell, as he is perhaps the second great hero of Switzerland that has been underestimated (conditio sine qua non) and as the Creator of this manuscript also personally connected with the legend of Tell.'
The "amusing" aspect is that Jost of Silenen appears to have been a clever negotiator of peace, even though he faced quite a bit of competition.
p.52 "But where I read the opaque text, Little by little he betrayed his nature, Also to understand botany I had to go into history."
p.45
"And we have to turn it up a notch ourselves: in the Silenen Swiss comedy, the people of Switzerland are given something belatedly that unexpectedly strengthens their identity like it hasn't since Friedrich Schiller. What came together through battles and demarcations, what was strengthened by a common tradition and alliances, always threatened to break apart through the differences in languages, denominations and cultures in the mountains and valleys. What is astonishing about Swiss patriotism, which runs counter to all European nationalisms, is its supranational character. This Helvetic construction, which could actually only have come about in a supranational world of the Middle Ages, seems to have formed a stable community that has endured and shaped the Alps to this day.
Even if the Sonderbund war has long since been settled, no one should assume that the neutral cohesion of such a diverse people, especially in today's centralized European Union, does not require a new, further unifying document at any time. So it would also be a special joy for all European citizens if such a new document of stability and peace, as the democratic model, had been found, especially in the most unexpected unpeaceful times in Europe a new message of peace comes at the right time. History shows that peace can succeed if there are good diplomats like Jost of Silenen.
Jost of Silenen is little known today, but that could change very quickly. In 1482 he was made bishop of in Wallis. He is quite a successful historical figure, politically and also as a patron of the arts, even if he was deposed as a bishop at the end of his life. But he was even more successful than we previously knew, namely as a Swiss patriot. Who would have guessed that 500 years later he would be remembered for a very special reason. Apart from his political commitment, he himself had made a significant contribution to his spiritual monument and its indicated impact. In the work that we still call the “Voynich Manuscript” for the time being.
p.46
"It was his merit that he negotiated the first enduring peace treaty with Ferdinand of Habsburg, the so-called Eternal Direction, which guaranteed the Confederation of the time its first independence and secured the status it had fought for as a free, democratic nation, which was unique in Europe and which thought ahead to neutrality and so on can also be used for all times as a model for peace in Europe and indeed in the world. At that time still officially called Unification, but it was the first peace treaty around 1474 that set this eternal direction and made peace possible even after the Swabian Wars. The Habsburgs were to give up their territory in Alsace for a fee and in return receive a promise of support for military service from the Confederates. Certainly, Charles the Bold's urge to conquer made the parties move closer together. But there were now peaceful paths between two archenemies who have Not spared themselves, which brought a lot of suffering to the population. However, it was not only about territories, but also about civil liberties, which were guaranteed for the first time and at the crucial moment. So Switzerland had resources free for the Burgundian wars, otherwise Switzerland might not exist today. The French king Louis XI, who pulls the strings in the background and was an enemy of Charles the Bold, made Jost of Silenen the bishop of Grenoble as a thank you until he was appointed to the bishopric of Sion in 1482."
A workhorse, of diplomatic gruntwork. Jost of Silenen would have been powerless, had he not invented a meritable solution for Swiss patriotism. Many of us are familiar with under-appreciated statesmen, such as Richard Holbrooke, who had a post-mortem biographical documentary made by his son, called The Diplomat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diplomat_(2015_film)
And the undervalue of diplomacy is also highlighted in the humorous Norwegian music video tribute by Yvis - Jan Egeland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn-oemgzlEU
Thus, the joke is on those who do not value peace.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor
"Occam's razor, Ockham's razor, or Ocham's razor (Latin: novacula Occami) in philosophy is the problem-solving principle that recommends searching for explanations constructed with the smallest possible set of elements. It is also known as the principle of parsimony or the law of parsimony (Latin: lex parsimoniae). Attributed to William of Ockham, a 14th-century English philosopher and theologian, it is frequently cited as Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem, which translates as "Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity",[1][2] although Occam never used these exact words. Popularly, the principle is sometimes inaccurately[3] paraphrased as "The simplest explanation is usually the best one."[4]"
The analysis encourages the reader to consider all the information on page 52:
"All the details in the manuscript are important, To correctly interpret his message. There who wrote his fingers sore, But it is proclaimed here as a miracle With what many thousands of variants The same glyphs got mixed up."
Parsimonious and holistic considerations are not mutually exclusive, rather, they are like a Venn Diagram for comparing the explanation of a solar system within a larger, suspected, but yet undetermined (contemporary to the era) galaxy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_knowledge_about_galaxies,_clusters_of_galaxies,_and_large-scale_structure For example, the concept of heliocentricism, while not directly related to the concept of galaxies, was not apparent in the 1400s, thus geo-centricism would have grouped stars and planets alike. (not distant galaxies have some of their own heliocentricism, which revolve around Earth, or, "as long as they ultimately revolve around earth"- no, it seemed to assume all planets and distant stars orbited around earth, period)
In other words, the Swiss Bishop theory of authorship is a tiny interpretation, but no less impossible- one that requires at least some inspiration at looking at the stars, even if in a geocentric mentality, to eventually correctly re-orient one's mirror neurons to a different axis, and to be the first to hypothesize heliocentricism.
By "tiny", I am referring to p.45:
"The references are too individual, the continuous connection with the biography is too unusual, the educational path, yes, the origin."
and (I know some of the quotes are repeated, but) p.46:
"It was his merit that he negotiated the first enduring peace treaty with Ferdinand of Habsburg, the so-called Eternal Direction, which guaranteed the Confederation of the time its first independence and secured the status it had fought for as a free, democratic nation, which was unique in Europe and which thought ahead to neutrality and so on can also be used for all times as a model for peace in Europe and indeed in the world."
When one thinks of Europe on a map, it one might first think of the outward, shoreful countries- Spain, France, Italy, and those that jut out, like Jutland. It is often easy to overlook Switzerland- not only because of its uniquess, but its landlocked, and while beautiful mountainous, difficult terrain. Thus it sometimes paradoxically is more common to overlook something potentially hiding in plain sight- it is not always obvious of course, but as he poetically references Newton- "standing on the shoulders of giants" (p.49), and, that it was sitting not far from Switzerland for much of its life, although, not without incident: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript#History "No records of the book for the next 200 years have been found, but in all likelihood, it was stored with the rest of Kircher's correspondence in the library of the Collegio Romano (now the Pontifical Gregorian University).[16] It probably remained there until the troops of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy captured the city in 1870 and annexed the Papal States. The new Italian government decided to confiscate many properties of the Church, including the library of the Collegio.[16] Many books of the university's library were hastily transferred to the personal libraries of its faculty just before this happened, according to investigations by Xavier Ceccaldi and others, and those books were exempt from confiscation.[16] Kircher's correspondence was among those books, and so, apparently, was the Voynich manuscript, as it still bears the ex libris of Petrus Beckx, head of the Jesuit order and the university's rector at the time.[12][16]
Beckx's private library was moved to the Villa Mondragone, Frascati, a large country palace near Rome that had been bought by the Society of Jesus in 1866 and housed the headquarters of the Jesuits' Ghislieri College.[16]
In 1903, the Society of Jesus (Collegio Romano) was short of money and decided to sell some of its holdings discreetly to the Vatican Library. The sale took place in 1912, but not all of the manuscripts listed for sale ended up going to the Vatican.[62] Wilfrid Voynich acquired 30 of these manuscripts, among them the one which now bears his name.[16] He spent the next seven years attempting to interest scholars in deciphering the script, while he worked to determine the origins of the manuscript.[4]"
Abductive reasoning, Inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning, all play a significant role, though not in any order of decreasing importance.
I am reminded of a scene where in Peter Seller's Being there (1979), the president who becomes alerted to the suspicious new character of the gardener, meets with advisors who believe he is working for the FBI or CIA (due to some details such as the clothing he has was made from a garment factory from the 1930s and no longer exists). This kind of post-hoc fallacious reasoning leads many to assume that post-15 century methods of encryption and beliefs could explain the "real" meaning of something which, if its carbon dating is to be believed, and I have every reason to believe that, then it would have to be interepreted from the era it came from, not from high-tech RSA encryption, which wasn't an idea back then.
p.48 "However, there is no historical chronology, but a regional arrangement. In this respect, the term chronicle is not entirely appropriate. It is the bishop's personal choice, and often more present than thought of retrospectively, the deciphered text tells us."
Some interesting background:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazze
"The matzah is an object and the popular uprising named after it, which was triggered in a ritualized form in medieval Valais .
The object of matzah was usually a wooden trunk with a carved human face with grotesque features.
The seizure of the matzah was the beginning of a popular uprising. It went something like this: the matzah was usually hung on a tree in a village square overnight. The following morning the residents gathered and waited for an initiate to seize the matzah and carry it away. The people followed this man, the matzah master, until he put the matzah on the ground. The residents gathered around the matzah and began to ask her questions such as: "Mazzah, what do you want?", "Mazzah, what is wrong with you?" etc. The matzah, of course, remained silent, whereupon the people demanded a lawyer for the matzah . An eloquent initiate offered himself as advocate to the crowd and also began questioning the matzah. To make it exciting, he first asked trivial questions, whereupon the matzah master shook the matzah in the negative, until after some time, in a heated mood, the lawyer made the right assumptions and accusations. The matzah master now performed a wild, joyful dance with the matzah. The lawyer turned to the people and shouted: "You have heard the complaints of the matzah, now discuss what to do!" So the conspiracy began, everyone present who agreed with the decisions drove a nail into the matzah .
The best-known case of the matzah seizure in Valais history took place in 1496, when the pro-France and therefore unpopular bishop Jost von Silenen was relieved of his office by the rebellious people and chased out of the country within a few days, which, after a brief interlude by his uncle Nicolaus Schiner, made him the declared France enemy Matthäus Schiner came to the bishopric.'
"As a politician, Georg Supersaxo (* around 1450; † 1529 in Vevey ; also Jörg auf der Flüe ) held the various offices of Zehndenmeier of Mörel , Grand Kastlan of Anniviers , provincial clerk of the Valais , secretary of Matthäus Schiner . As head of the Milan party and tribune of the people, he carried the matzah against Jost von Silenen according to customs and developed into the antagonist of his pupil and later bishop Matthäus Schiner."
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Supersaxo
"His campaigns in the Val d'Ossola failed, finally the Confederates were defeated by the Duchy of Milan at the Battle of Crevola , which led to a peace in 1495. Without power and reputation and under pressure from Georg Supersaxo , Jost von Silenen withdrew to Lyon and was deposed as bishop by the Pope in 1497; most recently he was titular bishop ofHierapolis . Attempts to recapture him failed." from https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jost_von_Silenen
https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/016548/2009-11-24/ Translated from German using Google Translate: "Version from: 24.11.2009 The word is derived from the Italian mazza (mace, mace) and denotes a symbol. Item used in riots in Valais in the 15th and 16th centuries. The M. appeared in various forms: first as a large wooden club, then as a carved human. Face with disfigured features placed on the burl of an ash tree, and finally as a human wearing a linen shirt. Shape. She was the main character of the matzah game and was played by the members of the matzah society on a bridge, at a fountain or on a public street. Place erected ( Customs). An intercessor prompted them or their bearer, the matzah master, to designate the person who was actually or alleged hated despotism and called on the spectators to a punitive expedition. Those who wanted to take part hammered a nail into the M. The matzah master carried the M. from village to village. As soon as enough conspirators were assembled, the game turned serious. The crowd moved to the accused's residence, expelled him and divided his belongings (see Social conflicts). The chroniclers of the 16th century wrongly saw the uprising against the Friars of Raron in 1414 as a matzah. The M. was first documented in 1488. Its most prominent victims were Bf. Jost von Silenen in 1496, Cardinal Matthäus Schiner in 1517 and the mercenary leader Georg Supersaxo in 1527. In 1550 the Zenden vowed not to use matzah or violence in the future, and in 1560 the district administrator issued a formal ban. M. was last mentioned in his farewells in 1572. In 1986 the custom of protesting against air pollution and in 1994 against the acceptance of the Alpine Initiative was revived. Conversely, the productions of 1989, 1995 and 2007 stood for the expansion of the Saint-Maurice-Saint-Gingolph railway line, the Olymp. 2002 Winter Games and the rehabilitation of the Saint-Gingolph-Evian railway line.
The head of the "wild man". Illustration by Christoph Silberysen in the Schweizer Chronik, 1576 (Aargauer Kantonsbibliothek, Aarau, MsWettF 16: 1, p. 470; e-codices).
The symbolism of the M. is interpreted in different ways: positively as a symbol of the rights and freedoms of the people or the right to resist tyranny; negative in the brief of Pope Alexander VI. from 1500 as an idol, in the farewells as a sign of violence and in folklore. Literature as a symbol of death or a wild man. The matzah game is accordingly regarded as a conspiracy against the freedom of the Church, as superstition , as a means of popular justice, an instrument of revolution or a ritual of rebellion and is associated with the Heischezüge, the Wilder-Mann game, the Charivari and the carnival activities ( Fasnacht ) of the fraternities and the aspirations of the emerging bourgeoisie after emancipation from the world. Violence of the bishop linked."
By the way, I am not celebrating anything yet- I am speculating as if this were already true- like printing Championship t-shirts for both Superbowl teams.
Some pictures of Sion/Sitten
Sion in 1572, from Beschreibung vnd Contrafactur der vornembster Stät der Welt, Köln 1582 Georg Braun; Frans Hogenberg - Georg Braun; Frans Hogenberg: Civitates Orbis Terrarum, Band 1, 1572 (Ausgabe Beschreibung vnd Contrafactur der vornembster Stät der Welt, Köln 1582; [VD16-B7188) Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg http://diglit.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/braun1582bd1 Sion / Sitten
Sion in 1640, from Topographia Helvetiae, Rhaetiae et Valesiae, 1642 Matthäus Merian - Topographia Helvetiae, Rhaetiae et Valesiae, 1642 View of the city of Sitten/Sion in Valais, Switzerland around 1640.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Merian_Sitten.jpg (LARGE format)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sion
Pictures of Lucern
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Merian_Luzern_1642.jpg (LARGE)
Matthäus Merian - Topographia Helvetiae, Rhaetiae, et Valesiae. Das ist/ Beschreibung unnd eygentliche Abbildung der vornehmsten Stätte und Plätze in der Hochlöblichen Eydgenossschafft / Graubündten / Wallis / und etlicher zugewandten Orthen: In dieser andern Edition mit sonderm fleiß durchgangen/ und von virgen Fehlern corrigirt / vermehrt und gebessert. Franckfurt am Mayn 1654. The City of Lucerne 1642
Some other cities in Switzerland by same engraver, Matthäus Merian the Elder (1593-1650):
The castle and the town of Regensberg in Topographia Helvetiae, 1645.
I. Ziegler und Matthäus Merian; upload by sidonius 19:34, 10 April 2008 (UTC) - Topographia Helvetiae, Rhaetiae, et Valesiae. Das ist/ Beschreibung unnd eygentliche Abbildung der vornehmsten Stätte und Plätze in der Hochlöblichen Eydgenossschafft / Graubündten / Wallis / und etlicher zugewandten Orthen: In dieser andern Edition mit sonderm fleiß durchgangen/ und von virgen Fehlern corrigirt / vermehrt und gebessert. Franckfurt am Mayn 1654.
Die Stadt Regensberg im Kanton Zürich, Schweiz, in der Topographia Helvetiae von Matthäus Merian. Ca. 1650
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matth%C3%A4us_Merian_the_Elder
The value of examining these 1500 and 1600 renderings is that some of the buildings in the picture had a possibility, if not a likelihood of having been constructed in the 1400s, thus could be compared to in the drawings of the manuscript.
Battle of Crevola / by Luzerner Schilling, 1513 Diebold Schilling the Younger - Luzerner Schilling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luzerner_Schilling
http://www.e-codices.ch/en/list/one/kol/S0023-2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diebold_Schilling_the_Younger
"Diebold Schilling the Younger (before 1460 - 3 November 1515(?)) was the author of the "Luzerner Schilling", one of the Swiss illustrated chronicles, which he presented to the city council of Lucerne on 15 January 1513 (but which remained incomplete). He was the nephew of Diebold Schilling the Elder of Bern. The younger Diebold was a somewhat scandalous figure, not unlike his father Hans, brother to the elder Diebold, an adventurer who had sought his fortune at the court of Matthias Corvinus, and returned destitute in 1488. Diebold was a secretary in Lucerne from 1479, and received the priesthood in 1481. His behaviour was so unpriestly, however, that the city council locked him into the tower in 1487, where he remained imprisoned for two years before he was released on parole of exhibiting more appropriate behaviour in the future. After his release he was soon back to his old ways, and after he had killed a man after a tavern brawl, he was fined and obliged to read a mass for his victim every year. Diebold was fiercely anti-French, and he accused the Bernese in particular, as well as his fellow chronicler Petermann Etterlin because of their friendly attitude towards France. Diebold's own sympathies lay with the German emperor Maximilian I, who personally invited him to the Reichstag in Konstanz in 1507. As an author, Diebold's most important contribution to the historiography of his times is his account of the years 1507–1509, the events of which he tells in his own words as an eye-witness."
https://web.archive.org/web/20070311102726/http://www.faksimile.ch/werke/werk.php?l=e&show=2&nr=21
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diebold_Schilling_the_Elder
"Diebold Schilling the Elder
In 1460 Schilling the Elder entered the services of the Chancellery of Bern. Before he had been working in Lucerne, but left the position as a scribe to his brother Hans, father of Diebold Schilling the Younger and author of the Lucerne Chronicle."
https://web.archive.org/web/20070311102800/http://www.faksimile.ch/werke/werk.php?l=e&show=2&nr=18
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Crevola (1487)
"The Battle of Crevola was fought in the spring of 1487, between a marauding Swiss army from the Valais and Lucerne[1][12] and troops from the Duchy of Milan,[1] for the supremacy of the Val d'Ossola (Eschental) .
Prelude In the year 1487, for unknown but petty reasons, Bishop Jost von Silenen entered into dispute with the Count of Arona,[2] whose seignory was the Duke of Milan.[13] The Knight Albin von Silenen, brother of Bishop Jost von Silenen, was appointed the leader of this military expedition.[8] As soon as the Simplon pass was passable, the Swiss crossed into the Val d'Ossola; here they were joined by another 1,000 Swiss, who were returning from Savoy.[9]
Battle The Swiss besieged Domo, occupied the castle of Mattarella, and terribly ravaged the impoverished valleys.[1] The Duke of Milan, however, ordered the Ossolani to keep the Swiss inactive with false peace negotiations, until the duchy could dispatch a sufficient army.[13] Once the troops were assembled, they were split into three separate corps under the command of Renato Trivulzio, Count Borromeo, and Gio. Pietro Bergamino.[5] The Swiss were once again marauding in the villages of the Valle Vigezzo, when they were assaulted by the Milanese troops from three sides.[13] The Swiss formed a square and a murderous combat ensued, in which the Swiss lost 800-1000 men and all their baggage.[9][5] The rest of the Swiss troops were allowed to flee into the impassable mountain range.[12] "
[1] Iselin, Jacob Cristof (1742). Neu-vermehrtes historisch- und geographisches allgemeines Lexicon, Volume 3. Basel.
[2] Vögelin, Johann Konrad (1855). Geschichte der Schwizerischen Eidsgenossenschaft: Vol I-II. Zürich.
[3] Historischer Verein der fünf Orte Luzern,Uri,Schwyz,Unterwalden & Zug (1838). Der Geschichtsfreund: 16.Band/Vol.14-15. Einsiedeln.
[4] Historischer Verein des Kantons Bern (1926). Archiv des Historischen Vereins des Kantons Bern. Bern.
[5] Bianchini, Francesco (1828). Le cose rimarchevoli della città di Novara: precedute da compendio storico. Novara. https://archive.org/details/lecoserimarchevo00bian
[6] Ehrenzeller, Wilhelm (1913). Die Feldzüge der Walliser und Eidgenossen ins Eschental und der Wallishandel, 1484-1494. Zürich.
[7] Fink, Urban (2006). Hirtenstab und Hellebarde. Zürich.
[8] Büchi, Albert (1923). Kardinal Matthäus Schiner als Staatsmann und Kirchenfürst: Vol.1. Zürich.
[9] Furrer, Sigismund (1850). Geschichte von Wallis. Sitten. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_tjVCAAAAcAAJ
[10] Rudolf, J. M. (1847). Die Kriegsgeschichte der Schweizer. Baden.
[11] Società storica lombarda (1889). Archivio storico lombardo: Giornale della Società storica lombarda, Volume 16. Milan.
[12] Fäsi, Johann Conrad (1768). Staats- Und Erd-Beschreibung, Vierter Band. Zürich.
[13] Pfyffer, Kasimir (1850). Geschichte der stadt und des kantons Luzern, Part 1. Zürich.
https://vslibre.wordpress.com/tag/jost-von-silenen/
This blog contains quite several posts on Jost von Silenen (around 2013-2014) and the related parties. (see attachments for portables)
The Abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agaunum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continual_prayer
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Saint-Maurice_%28VS%29_-_juillet_2022.jpg (Large) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Maurice,_Switzerland
"It celebrates its 1500 years . It was founded in 515 by the future Burgundian king Saint Sigismund on the site of an older sanctuary housing the remains of Maurice d'Agaune , a 3rd-century martyr, erected by Théodore d'Octodure , the first known bishop of Valais.
The city of Agaune has also taken its name… The abbey has played a major role in regional history and is today the oldest abbey in Western Europe in activity to have been permanently occupied. The first king of Transjurane Burgundy, Rodolphe , was crowned there.
Originally and until the 9th century, it was the laus perennis that applied. The monks were then replaced by canons who adopted the rule of Saint Augustine in 1128. Since then, the congregation of regular canons of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune has been in place in the abbey.
Saint-Maurice is one of the stages of the Via Francigena , a pilgrimage route leading to Rome. It is mentioned as such by Sigéric , in 990, with the mention LI Sce Maurici (stage number starting from Rome)."
https://histoiresduniversites.wordpress.com/2015/08/08/labbaye-fete-ses-1500-ans/
Rudolf II was known to have purchased the manuscript for 600 ducats. Rudolph I was also known as Rudolph II:
"Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the House of Habsburg."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor
p.46 "Jost von Silenen comes from one of the oldest noble families in the canton of Uri, although not from one of the great Swiss families, such as the Toggenburgs and the Kyburgs. The Sileni were not yet counts, not princes like himself, but they were at least a minor nobility who had worked their way up to service nobility - probably through the office of Meyerei. This is suggested by the name Albin Meyer von Silenen, an ancestor of the bishop, who is often mentioned as a well- known figure in the history of the founding of Switzerland, and who could also have been one of the three swearers on the Rütli.
This ancestry alone must have been an initial motivation for Jost not only to become a Swiss diplomat, but also to leave behind an important written work on the formation of the Swiss state. Yes, it would be best to combine both at the same time, to create a work that praises his achievements for Switzerland as a diplomat, but is also a community-building sermon at the same time. On his mother's side, Jost von Silenen came from a much more important noble family from France, the Chrevon family. 4
After he received benefices at the St. Leodegar Abbey in Lucerne early on, many suspected an earlier date of birth, but it has not been finally clarified to this day. 1435 is mostly accepted. Perhaps more important is his place of birth. He grew up in Küssnacht in the Gesslerburg from the Wilhelm Tell Legend. Then went to Pavia to study law and came to Rome to study languages as secretary to French cardinal Guillaume D'Estouteville, who was a splendid patron of the Renaissance and certainly a role model for Jost von Silenen in terms of promoting the arts. Then it went to the French court until he was appointed abbot of Beromünster. Together with Nikolaus von Diesbach he is the French king's negotiator. However, it was mainly Jost of Silenen who negotiated with the Habsburgs.
It was his merit that he negotiated the first enduring peace treaty with Ferdinand of Habsburg, the so-called Eternal Direction, which guaranteed the Confederation of the time its first independence and secured the status it had fought for as a free, democratic nation, which was unique in Europe and which thought ahead to neutrality and so on can also be used for all times as a model for peace in Europe and indeed in the world. At that time still officially called Unification, but it was the first peace treaty around 1474 that set this eternal direction and made peace possible even after the Swabian Wars. The Habsburgs were to give up their territory in Alsace for a fee and in return receive a promise of support for military service from the Confederates. Certainly, Charles the Bold's urge to conquer made the parties move closer together. But there were now peaceful paths between two archenemies who have Not spared themselves, which brought a lot of suffering to the population. However, it was not only about territories, but also about civil liberties, which were guaranteed for the first time and at the crucial moment. So Switzerland had resources free for the Burgundian wars, otherwise Switzerland might not exist today. The French king Louis XI, who pulls the strings in the background and was an enemy of Charles the Bold, made Jost of Silenen the bishop of Grenoble as a thank you until he was appointed to the bishopric of Sion in 1482."
These links are being juxtapose for personal analysis of any confluence of information not previosuly deduced.
12:31 AM
Just realized Google Translate allows feeding entire documents in, so I was able to get better formatted translations of the Captions and German sections into English and relevant languages as a priority. The files begin with "MACHINE TRANSLATED_YOUR LANGUAGE" I encourage English readers to use this one instead (at least as a supplement) of the original one psoted by the doctor, since there is some information not completetly translated in the original. Currently, translations have been generated for English, French, Italian, and Spanish.
2:57 AM
Added several languages from A-C, plus other common languages around the world Link to the original is https://github.com/hatonthecat/Voynich-Manuscript/blob/main/PDF_20230310_OTS0148_0.pdf for German. The benefit of using the translated one is that the original only translates the poem section, whereas using the translation reveals additinal info around the captions, including more information about the websites, which will also be traced for additional references.
3:14 AM Some additional pictures of Sion/Sitten:
6/16/2022 Basilique de Valère Tourbillon Castle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sion,_Switzerland#/media/File:1_sion_panorama_2022.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val%C3%A8re_Basilica
p.158 for Comparison to church-castles in Sion and other towns in Valais annd Switzerland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourbillon_Castle#/media/File:Val%C3%A8re_et_Tourbillon.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourbillon_Castle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marignano
"The Old Confederacy was created as a loose alliance of three valleys in central Switzerland: Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. They were rebelling against the governors of the Counts of Habsburg. The sought a recovery of old rights of autonomy and not a disengagement from the German Reich." from: https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/planning/about-switzerland/history-of-switzerland/rise-of-the-swiss-confederation/
Further quoting above link:
"Increasing territory, static membership
For over a century no new members joined the Confederation while the territory of the Alliance increasingly grew in size.
In 1415, the Confederates conquered Aargau, which up until then was part of Austria. Most of the Aargau was then divided up between Bern, Zurich and Lucerne, with the remainder being managed as "common lordships". The same fate befell the Austrian Thurgau, which was acquired in 1460 by seven of the Confederate Places and was subsequently managed by bailiffs.
Appenzell and Toggenburg (the latter is now part of Canton St. Gallen), the monastery and city of St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, Fribourg, Biel and Solothurn came under Confederate control as so-called Associated Places.
Subjects and allies
Relations between the Confederates and the other parts of what is now Switzerland took several different forms, ranging from subjection to freedom of choice and a great deal of power.
The least amount of freedom was enjoyed by the areas administered as "common lordships". Specifically, this meant that the Confederation members took it in turns to appoint a bailiff. The urban members of the Confederacy also had their own subjects. For example, towns in the surrounding rural areas. These subjects (Landschaft in German) often enjoyed a considerable amount of autonomy, with some even being able to appoint their own local authorities. Other places were gradually incorporated under the terms of a Burgrecht alliance with a town, monastery or individual nobleman. In general, the ally provided troops in exchange for access to town markets. Bern used this system to extend its power westwards. Finally, there were areas known as "Associated Places" whose status varied considerably. Some eventually joined the Confederation as full members, while others became protectorates."
compared to Sitten / Sion, using Large (full wikipedia file & link uploaded yesterday as well)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Merian_Sitten.jpg
4:47 AM
Interesting Valais history, just decades prior to Jost von Silenen's era: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raron_affair
Added a drobox link for the machine translated English one: https://www.dropbox.com/s/24wekmo6itrldlg/Machine%20Translation%20-%20English%20PDF_20230310_OTS0148_0.pdf?dl=0
Quite a few interesting pages on Josse de Silenen (his French spelling).
I've also machine translated a German text on Silenen: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/20652913.pdf [Original German]: (15 pages) Jost/Josse is mentioned on page 1,2, and 8, though other figures from that era are mentioned- possibly mixing up his nephew Kaspar for one of the other calligraphers.
The raw extracted English version, pasted into OpenOffice: https://github.com/hatonthecat/Voynich-Manuscript/blob/main/Machine%20Translation%20of%20Konrad%20Blochinger's%20bio%20on%20Valais%20Calligrapher%20i.e.%20Jost-Josse.pdf
This file is the Google machine translation of Konrad Blochinger's bio on Jost von Silenen. It is not designed for legibility, but shows were the superimposed overlaps of the OCR translation fit. I have attached the extracted English translations in .odt, .doc, and .pdf format unformatted-for expediency, it is not a document I have time right now to properly clean up the extraneous characters such as "• «•" and "**• '" There are several other documents that I will be translating from German into French, so that some of the experts in French can compare to von Silenen and the unidentified author.
(RAW FILE- Please check the above two links for German and English legibility)- this is just for reference and location of text: https://github.com/hatonthecat/Voynich-Manuscript/blob/main/20652913%20Machine%20Translation%20English%20Overlap.pdf
https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=gen-001%3A1963%3A11%3A%3A610 (FRENCH) (I was unable to use OCR at the moment to translate this)
p.158 of the Voynich manuscript vaguely resembles the Hajj in Mecca, replacing minarets for turrets, although I am have not yet been able to identify any Swiss figures who were at the time inspired by Islamic art. The historically revered Saint Maurice, the latter of which is located in Saint-Maurice, Canton of Valais (pictured and linked above), was a Coptic Egyptian (he also predates Islam by nearly 400 years. However, Switzerland is referred by Dr. Bernhart-Königstein as "supranational", and perhaps at least for cryptological/metaphorical purposes in the 15th century, Islam was known to be too and could have been used as a supranational substitute cipher for Switzerland. But if you look at the turrets/minarets, they have been cut off, which is intriguingely reminiscient of Swiss power(to a time where the literal was more common, but also analagous in the figurative, present sense-"an-archic" means "no arch" or "no-head" and the Old Swiss confederacy, with roots in the 1300s, certainly meets that qualification). The secular capos of state (in the French, German and Italian regions, not yet called that) warred against the cantons' Bishop-Princes like Jost-de-Silenen in the Swiss regions.
There is an important difference- an-archic can mean absense of any government, which can be interpreted as chaotic. Many interpretations of the term involve some form of non-hierarchical structure: "Anarchists seek a system based on the abolition of all forms of societal hierarchy, in particular the state, and many advocate for the creation of a system of direct democracy, worker cooperatives or privatization.[5][6]"
Thus when one thinks of Switzerland, they do not think of it being exactly "anarchic," as the term is used in some Western countries to portray a certain "group" or "groups" (being a partial contradition when used to identify a group of any), but
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Swiss_Confederacy
History
• Death of Rudolf I 15 July 1291
• Rütlischwur, Burgenbruch 1291
• Charles IV's Golden Bull 1356
• Battle of Marignano 13–14 September 1515
• Wars of Kappel 1529 and 1531
• Formal independence from the HRE 15 May/24 October 1648
• Swiss peasant war January–June 1653
• Collapse 5 March 1798
In the 1400s, Switzerland was fiercely fighting for what would later become its confederation of small, independent states.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Switzerland
"Switzerland has a tradition of direct democracy. For any change in the constitution, a referendum is mandatory (mandatory referendum); for any change in a law, a referendum can be requested (optional referendum). In addition, the people may present a constitutional popular initiative to introduce amendments to the federal constitution. The people also assume a role similar to the constitutional court, which does not exist, and thus act as the guardian of the rule of law."
https://vslibre.wordpress.com/ <-This Swiss-Canadian writer further explains in a post I came across yesterday (early this morning) that when he explains to others how swiss government works, they have a puzzled look. If I locate the exact post, I will link it (there are many posts, from 2012-2023 and he is a journalist and former canton secretary: https://vslibre.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/elections-federales-2015-ii/)
"Saint Maurice (also Moritz, Morris, or Mauritius; Coptic: Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲙⲱⲣⲓⲥ) was an Egyptian military leader who headed the legendary Theban Legion of Rome in the 3rd century, and is one of the favorite and most widely venerated saints of that martyred group. He is the patron saint of several professions, locales, and kingdoms."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Maurice (See above paragraph for analysis)
At the time, the Ottoman empire had a caliphate, and Sosse Silenen was appointed titular Bishop of Hierapolis, which was in Turkey! When searching "Hierapolis, one of the first results was a tourist page
https://turkeytravelplanner.com/go/Aegean/Pamukkale/sights/hierapolis.html highlighting Turkish attractions- but seeing the blue domed Mosque on the banner, which I didn't immediately realize was not in Hieropolis- did a reverse image search with Tineye.com to locate it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Mosque,_Istanbul Whether or not he travelled there I don't know, but it is possible someone had sketches of an early mosque. the Blue Mosque began construction in 1609, completed in 1616, thus it is unlikeley someone drew inspiration from that (assuming the Voynich illustrations pertaining to the micelles/lipids/dendrites/plant "organs" were drawn in the 1400s).
from the page:
"It is also known as the site where the Apostle Philip was supposedly martyred and buried. Notable archaeological structures include one of the largest surviving necropoleis in Turkey, two Roman baths, colonnaded streets, Byzantine gatehouses, a massive theater, a Gate to the Underworld, the Martyrium of Philip, as well as an Archeological Museum. Hierapolis is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site!"
Baths were common in Roman outposts, so there is no suprise there. yet, being entrusted with the role of an ancient city in ruins, it partly reflected his downfall, thus suggests the title was a consolation prize (like being appointed ambassador of a tiny island country or city-state, no offense). For reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titular_bishop He was not in charge of a diocese, and virtually all bishops no longer carry any jurisdictional power outside the Vatican except for some uniqe microstates such as Andorra: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Urgell, where there remains a Co-Prince Bishop- and is technically a joint-head-of-state. Towards the end of Josse de Silenen's role as a Prince-Bishop, his role was tranferred to titular.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val%C3%A8re_Basilica#Val%C3%A8re_organ "Valère organ The organ on the west side of the Valère basilica, believed to have been built in 1435, is one of the oldest functioning in the world. It was probably brought to the church by Guillaume de Rarogne, who eventually ended up as the bishop of Sion. Its pipes are arranged to form a rough outline of a church; the larger pipes form two towers, and the smaller ones create a triangular church roof. The organ was modified in the 1700s to play Baroque music, but otherwise remains essentially unchanged.[9] It was renovated in 1954, around the time that another famous early model – the Rysum organ – was repaired."
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/a-magic-sound-across-the-centuries/7897614
"A modest organ in the Valère basilica in southern Switzerland claims a proud record: that of “the oldest organ in the world still in continuous use”.
This content was published on December 21, 2009 December 21, 2009
Constructed around 1430, this unique instrument is the focal point of a Gothic organ festival that has been held each year for 40 years in Sion, capital of canton Valais."
'Contrary to what the uninitiated might think, gothic organ music can be very cheerful and is reminiscent of folk dances. The organist began by playing the “Music for Organum Antiquum, from the Robertsbridge Codex”, compiled between 1330 and 1448 and kept at the British Museum. According to Voeffray, this is possibly the world’s oldest preserved organ music. After this he went on to Spanish baroque music and concluded with a few 19th century folk dances. There’s no doubt that the historic instrument is a box of surprises despite its small keyboard.
And how do we know that the organ dates from 1430?
“From the murals in the church”, Patrick Elsig of the Valais Museum of History explained. “We know that they were commissioned in 1435 and the same person painted the decorations on this instrument. This fact, which is well documented, allowed us to date the organ accurately".
The wooden "hull" which looks like the prow of a ship (which you can see in the gallery accompanying this report) was added in 1630.
As Elsig explained, it should be emphasised that at that time an organ was “an almost inconceivable luxury”. This instrument would have been brought to Valère at the expense of Guillaume de Rarogne, a powerful figure who ended up as the bishop of Sion."
Played by Bishops in the time of Jost von Silenen!
3:24 PM
William II Raron passed in 1417, before the arrival of Josse: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_II_de_Rarogne (see Raron attachments as well)
Regarding the organ, it is possible the music was inspirational to the composition of the Voynich manuscript- while not the first organ of its kind, the cheerful music would seem to reflect the mirthful quality of the penmanship- in the drawings, and as previously record, Jost von Silenen had breviaries made:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breviary
"A breviary (Latin: breviarium) is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times.[1][2]
Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such as Aberdeen Breviary,[3] Belleville Breviary, Stowe Breviary and Isabella Breviary, although eventually the Roman Breviary became the standard within the Roman Catholic Church (though it was later supplanted with the Liturgy of the Hours); in other Christian denominations such as the Lutheran Churches, different breviaries continue to be used, such as The Brotherhood Prayer Book.[4][5]"
Well, the Voynichese probably isn't an attempt at hymn/sheet music, but one can wonder: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymn#Western_church
Edit: The Master of the Breviary: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meister_des_Breviers_des_Jost_von_Silenen
https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/de/list/one/psle/0003a
"The unknown miniaturist got his notname from his researcher Albert Jörger for his main work, a Latin breviary from 1493. This book of hours was provided with magnificent miniatures for the at times powerful diplomat and church prince Jost von Silenen (* 1435/1445, † 1498). has been kept in the Landesmuseum Zurich since 1899 .
Thirteen works can be attributed to this illuminator. His oldest dated work from 1488 is a Latin antiphonary ( Antiphonale ) with musical notes for the book owner Rudolph Stos (alias Roletus Stoss, frater OFM, fl. 1483/1500), now preserved in Friborg (Switzerland), Franciscan monastery (Cordeliers, library Ms. 6)."
I imagine it was more likely used to store more important diplomatic, historical foundings of Swiss Confederacy, and constitutional charters, him being a Prince-Bishop.
4:16PM
The base of these turrets/minarets get narrower, suggesting a metamorphosis into a plant, as part of the confederationization of Switzerland- they share roots or heads, but not both (at least at the same time?) THey also could be a hybrid of Swiss and Coptic/Islamic architecture
Slightly resembles the Mamluk type, but not exactly
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/422353271315443349/?mt=login
https://funci.org/the-minaret-symbol-of-a-civilisation/?lang=en https://www.ilahirahmet.com/uploads/posts/2017-05/medium/1494759098_drawing-pencil-karakalem-dini-bina-nisanboard-10.jpg https://www.ilahirahmet.com/uploads/posts/2017-05/medium/1494759151_drawing-pencil-karakalem-dini-bina-nisanboard-2.jpg https://www.ilahirahmet.com/karakalem-cami-medreese-resimleri/amp/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque-Madrasa_of_Sultan_Hasan
Not necessarily based on it, but it was completed in 1363.
The topless towers appear somewhat like plants that haven' yet been uprooted. It suggests the plants are cut before they are pulled out and laid bare.
A comparison of the original, early three cantons (referred to as the "Growth"
There were 16 cantons by 1513 (Kaspar survived Jossse after 1498 and could have etched in the blackish (erase marks?) for Appenzell Innerrhoden, which, while they may not have been a member at the time of drawing, may have had sufficient promises (a loyalty oath for example- though it is something I will examine more) and no new ones until 1803: (update 4/1/23: "Eidgenossen (literally: comrades by oath" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland#Etymology suggests no written record of the earliest membership)
The coat of arms color of Appernzell Innerrhoden is black, and, while not an unprecedented color- Berne, Uri, Friborg, Basel-Stadt, and Schaffhausen have half of their colors that, may have been added between 1513-1517, as the 16th blue flower (bulb) before Kaspar von Silenen died in 1517. It's clear none of the other cantons display any other colors, thus Blue would appear to be the unifying color of all the cantons, regardless of coat of arms differences (while common knowledge, I have not seen any Voynich theories before Dr. Gregor Bernhart-Königstein make this claim, although I am new to this and it is possible someone suggested it at some time. That said, viewing all of the information in this light/perspective could increase the possibility that this theory receives more consideration.
The green leafed branches also would appear to reference Suchy of Savoy, Suchy of Milan, Republic of Venice, Burgundy, Swabia (one branch could denote more than one Duchy.)
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_of_the_Old_Swiss_Confederacy#Consolidation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantons_of_Switzerland#List https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_of_the_Old_Swiss_Confederacy#Expansion_to_the_Acht_Orte https://www.jasondavies.com/voynich/#f26v/0.633/0.38/5.00
5 of the cantons were added after Jost von Silenen died from 1501-1513- thus their entry into the Confederacy may have been anticipated or known, considering there are minimal erasure marks on the upper blue "flowers"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_(heraldry)
Etymologically I am going to look into whether canton has any floral origin- whether it refers to any bulb. If you have an OED subscription, please let me know what you find pre-1500. This is what I've been able to find:
https://www.etymonline.com/word/cant?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_677
https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=canton
"cant (n.2)
"slope, slant," late 14c., first in Scottish writing and apparently meaning "edge, brink," a word of uncertain origin. "words identical in form and corresponding in sense are found in many languages, Teutonic, Slavonic, Romanic, Celtic" [OED]. It was rare in English before c. 1600. Meaning "slope, slanting or tilting position" is from 1847.
Perhaps via Old North French cant "corner" (itself perhaps via Middle Low German kante or Middle Dutch kant), from Vulgar Latin *canthus, from Latin cantus "iron tire of a wheel," which is possibly from a Celtic word meaning "rim of wheel, edge, brim" (compare Welsh cant "bordering of a circle, tire, edge," Breton cant "circle"). The ultimate connections of these are uncertain. Greek kanthos "corner of the eye," and Russian kutu "corner" sometimes are suggested, but there are difficulties (see Beekes)."
"
"
Iron tire of a wheel ^ canton bishops are represented as quarters of a wheel, there being 3-4 early on.
canton (n.) 1530s, "corner, angle," from French canton "angle, corner (of a room); piece, portion of a country" (13c.), from Italian (Lombard dialect) cantone "region," especially in the mountains, augmentative of Latin canto "section of a country," literally "corner" (see cant (n.2)).
From 1570s as a term in heraldry and flag descriptions. From c. 1600 as "a subdivision of a country;" applied to the sovereign states of the Swiss republic from 1610s.
Related entries & more"
In this sense, the illustrations reflect the history:
on p.37V, you can see the original three cantons: Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Swiss_Confederacy#Cantons
While it is said that there were 13, I am currently reading why there are 16 listed. This research follows release early, release often philosophy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Release_early,_release_often
because I prefer my ideas be reviewed as they are conceived rather than delaying what can quickly be corrected, if I am not entirely wrong.
these are the 5 cantons post 1498 and pre-1798 collapse:
12 Coat of arms of Basel-City
BS Basel-Stadt Basle-City / Basel-City / Basel-Stadt 1501 (as Basel until 1833/1999) Basle / Basel 37,168 189,354 201,156 37 5,444 3 German 13 Coat of arms of Basel-Country
BL Basel-Landschaft Basle-Country / Basel-Country / Basel-Landschaft 1501 (as Basel until 1833/1999) Liestal 20,567 70,866 292,955 518 566 86 German 14 Coat of arms of Schaffhausen
SH Schaffhausen Schaffhouse / Schaffhausen 1501 Schaffhouse / Schaffhausen 7,244 87,569 83,107 298 278 26 German 15 Coat of arms of Appenzell Ausserrhoden
AR Appenzell Ausserrhoden Appenzell Outer-Rhodes / Appenzell Ausserrhoden 1513 (as Appenzell until 1597/1999) Herisau[note 7] 3,190 57,601 55,309 243 228 20 German 16 Coat of arms of Appenzell Innerrhoden
AI Appenzell Innerrhoden Appenzell Inner-Rhodes / Appenzell Innerrhoden 1513 (as Appenzell until 1597/1999) Appenzell 1,043 64,358 16,293 172 94 6 German
(12) Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft are considered two different cantons, with capitals in Basel and Liestal. Similarly Appenzell-Ausserrhoden and Appenzell-Innerrhoden have two capitals- Herisau and Appenzell, suggesting their capitals may not have considered at one point different cantons (aspirational or not), thus including more bulbs was not necessarily a doctrine, but a strategy, as 16 capitals are listed, even though 13 cantons were in effect.
11:43PM
Voynich Manuscript: An Elegant Enigma Publication date 1978
https://archive.org/details/VoynichManuscriptAnElegantEnigma/page/n49/mode/2up
The PDF files are properly formatted from the Archive.org site- the files converted into PDF and Text have margin issues, though the source can be viewed in the html version for extraction
12:38PM
Valais Wikipedia article uploaded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valais
Some important details, for Sion/Sitten, and (Jost/Josse):
"In 1529, Valais became an associate member of the Swiss Confederation. After having resisted the Protestant Reformation and remained faithful to the Roman Catholic Church, it became a republic under the guidance of the prince-bishop of Sion in 1628. In 1815, Valais finally entered the Swiss Confederation as a canton. In 1878, the Simplon Railway connected most of Valais with the cities of the Swiss Plateau. The canton was further opened up by the Lötschberg Railway in 1913."
In 1400s Valais was fighting for this memebership, and the nature of the manuscript appears quite fierce in many regards- why would someone go to such lengths to protect the information, suggests that these notes protected the conspirators/patriots.
"By the late 14th century, the counts of Savoy acquired the bishopric of Sion. The Zenden resisted his attempts to gather both spiritual and secular power in the valley. In 1375–76, Zenden forces defeated the army of the house of La Tour-Chatillon, and in 1388 routed the forces of the bishop, the count, and his nobles at Visp. The German-speaking Zenden spread further into the valley. Starting in 1384 the Morge stream (a little below Sion) was recognized as the boundary between Savoyard, French-speaking Lower Valais and German-speaking episcopal Upper Valais.
During the Raron affair rebellion from 1414 to 1420, some cantons of the Swiss Confederation took sides in the conflict. Lucerne, Uri and Unterwalden supported the Upper Valais rebels, while Bern supported the noble Raron family. The uprising was successful in driving out the Rarons and almost brought the Confederation to civil war.[6]
Following the Raron affair, the canton was the location of the Valais witch trials between 1428 and 1447 in which at least 367 men and women were put to death. This event marks one of the earliest witch scares in late medieval Europe. The phenomenon later spread to other parts of the continent.
Earliest known map of Valais, drawn by Johannes Schalbetter in 1545.
Looking south, only the lower portion of the valley from Leuk to Saint-Maurice is depicted.
With the election of Walther von Supersax of Conches as bishop in 1457, the German-speaking part of the valley finally attained supremacy. At the outbreak of the Burgundian Wars in 1475, the bishop of Sion and the Zenden made a treaty with Bern. In November of the same year, they seized all Lower or Savoyard Valais up to Martigny. In March 1476, after the victory of Grandson, they advanced and captured St Maurice, Évian, Thonon and Monthey. They had to give up the last three districts in 1477 but won them again in 1536. In the treaty of Thonon in 1569, Monthey, Val-d'llliez, and Le Bouveret were permanently annexed to Valais. These conquered districts in the Lower Valais were ruled as subject lands by the bishop and the Tithings of the Upper Valais until 1798. On March 12, 1529, Valais became an associate member (Zugewandter Ort) of the Swiss Confederation.[5]"
The goat/deer: 
compared to contemporary illustrations (decades after Kaspar, but not impossible to have known each other, or copied regional sketches:)
f.70V (This appears to be an Ibex, based on the antlers horns, and this is a female, based on the size of horns" "It is a sexually dimorphic species: males are larger and carry longer, curved horns than females.")
from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_ibex https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Bouquetin01.jpg/330px-Bouquetin01.jpg
f71v (the rest of these drawings aren't the same kind of antlerhorn)
f72r2
f72r3 (said to be Cancer crab, but also seems symbolic for the hidden story)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valais_witch_trials
"The influence of the Valais on the much larger phenomenon of the witch trials in the early modern period, lasting throughout the 16th and 17th centuries in much of Western Europe, may have been amplified by the Council of Basel which took place during the same period, during 1431–1437. Here, theologians discussed the evidence for the new phenomenon of witchcraft and collected the court proceedings from the Valais, Vaud, and Savoy region. These documents were perused by the first generation of authors on witchcraft, such as Johannes Nider, the author of Formicarius (written 1436–1438).[12]"
The Ibex hunt suggests a reference to the earlier witch hunts, which Jost de Sion would have been aware of, having occured when he was less than 10 years old, but not necessarily a part of (he was born in Knussnacht)
"Ibex (Capra ibex) The Alpine ibex is a mountain goat instantly recognizable by the male's large scimitar-shaped horns which are ridged in the front. Females grow a pair of smaller, thinner horns which develop considerably more slowly than those of the male. The ibex ranges in height from 27 to 43 inches at the shoulder and weighs between 200 to 270 pounds. Ibex are related to domestic goats and will mate with other goats if they are unable to find a mate in the wild. Ibex were hunted to extinction in the early 19th century. By 1856 only 60 Alpine ibex remained on a royal hunting reserve in the Grand Paradiso region of Italy. Some of these ibex were smuggled into Switzerland around 1900 in an effort to reinstate ibex in the Swiss Alps. Under protection, there are now over 40,000 ibex in the Swiss Alps. Ibex are frequently sighted in the most rocky and wild regions of the Swiss Alps along the Haute Route, especially on the Sentier de Chamois in the Upper Val de Bagnes Nature Reserve, where they were reintroduced in 1926, and around the Col de Louvie and the Col de Prafleuri."
"The Swiss ibex live mainly in the high mountains of two southern regions (cantons) - Valais and Graubünden
Valais (also called Wallis) now includes foreigners in its strict quota of ibex hunting licences. But Graubünden (Grisons) only allows locals to hunt ibex."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50303932
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanton_Wallis
" King Rudolph III of Burgundy handed over the County of Valais with all rights and privileges to the Bishop of Sion in 999. From the second half of the 15th century until 1798, Valais was divided into seven tenths and was therefore also called the Republic of the Seven Tenths . This republic asserted its independence from the bishops of Sitten in the 16th century."
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_du_Valais
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_Vallese
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Florence
"The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in the context of the Hussite Wars in Bohemia and the rise of the Ottoman Empire. At stake was the greater conflict between the conciliar movement and the principle of papal supremacy.
The Council entered a second phase after Emperor Sigismund's death in 1437. Pope Eugene IV translated the Council to Ferrara on 8 January 1438, where it became the Council of Ferrara and succeeded in drawing some of the Byzantine ambassadors who were in attendance at Basel to Italy. Some Council members rejected the papal decree and remained at Basel: this rump Council suspended Eugene, declared him a heretic, and then in November 1439 elected an antipope, Felix V.
After becoming the Council of Florence (having moved to avoid the plague in Ferrara), the Council concluded in 1445 after negotiating unions with the various eastern churches. This bridging of the Great Schism proved fleeting, but was a political coup for the papacy. In 1447, Sigismund's successor Frederick III commanded the city of Basel to expel the Council of Basel; the rump Council reconvened in Lausanne before dissolving itself in 1449."
Adding " Eidgenossen (literally: comrades by oath)" to yesterday's entry on theory that more than 13 cantons were recognized unofficially prior to their associate status in the 1500s (14-16)
The origin of the cross from the flag and coat of Arms of Switzerland:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Switzerland#Middle_Ages
While a cross is a very common figure, it's prominent and strong prominence on p. 16V suggests a veiled, but important assertion of Swiss patriotism, what would later metamorphose into its cross.
Other instances of the original 3 cantons (Zürich (ZH), Bern / Berne (BE), Luzern
on the main stem/branch are as follows:
Pre-canton, or pre-bloomed:
(Page) 1V Image ID: 1006077
2V shows the first, upclose blooming of the first canton (in blue),
(LU)) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_of_the_Old_Swiss_Confederacy#The_nucleus (this indicates that each of the three bloomed, not to suggest one was first- as it was a pact, after all, not a unilateral proclamation of independence for a single microstate/region)
(Page) 9V 1006093
2R
4R
Still following a pattern of 3 branches and bulbs:
5V
An alternate rendering of three cantons, with 2 on the main stem, suggesting imbalance and "weaker" from separated stems (though not top heavy)
"slope, slant," late 14c., first in Scottish writing and apparently meaning "edge, brink," a word of uncertain origin. "words identical in form and corresponding in sense are found in many languages, Teutonic, Slavonic, Romanic, Celtic" [OED]. It was rare in English before c. 1600. Meaning "slope, slanting or tilting position" is from 1847."
7R
The Proto-typical Swiss Cross
7V
The burgeoning three cantons up top and the cross at the stem:
8V
4th canton: if, if using this Wikipedia source, would be Lucerne:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Swiss_Confederacy#List_of_territories
14th century: expansion to the Achtörtige Eidgenossenschaft following the battles of Morgarten and Laupen: Lucerne-coat of arms.svg Lucerne, city canton, since 1332
9V Lucerne and Zurich now present (1351):
10R
The wilting or browing of the leaves can military setbacks, and/or a convenient cloak using perrenial leaf falling:
13V and 14V- 3 Cantons
15V
The Swiss Cross:
17r - 3 Cantons
19r- 3 cantons depicted as leaves to a single flower; 19v- three cantons:
20r
3 cantons atop, though a natural growth too:
20v
Interestingly, one of the blue cantons appears slightly darkened, similar to to the other illustration depicting 16, suggesting the last canton had a black coat of arms, or, merely that it was overcolored:
21v
Additional cantons added:
tri-canton growth normalized
22r
3 cantons
22v- 3 cantons
23V
24V -5 cantons
28 & 29V
Remarkably, the 29V appear to show swiss monasteries/castles of the Swiss Prince Bishops:
And here: 
The building is referring to a tower with 3 windows in a vertical orientation, possibly in Lucerne or other original cantons' location outside of Sion & Valais.
Additional three flowers seen on p.31r, 32r (above 2 flanking ), 32V, 33R (as unbloomed and in green, not blue), 33V, with one wilted/down, 34r, 34v (3 prominently, 2 background). More to be added.
Josse von Silenen grew up in Silenen, before becoming bishop of Sitten/Sion. Thus, as he was from one of the oldest families in the Uri province/region, he may have been referring to a castle using a design different from later iterations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attinghausen_Castle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silenen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eidgenossenschaft
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unterwalden#/media/File:Braun_Dreizehn_Orte_Unterwalden_UBHD.jpg
Changing gears, reviewing the machine translated German section of Dr. BernhartKonigstein's paper, as he covers the early Swiss history in detail, and I have not checked all the references, but I wanted to annotate names that I have not familiarized before:
by Schiller, he is referring to the early 1800s playwright, who wrote a famous story on Wilhelm Tell:
p. 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tell_(play) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Schiller "In September 2008, Schiller was voted by the audience of the TV channel Arte as the second most important playwright in Europe after William Shakespeare."
possible reference to the Valais coat of arms- between 8 and 10 stars, although (10, 8, 8) - perhaps Jost, Albin and Kaspar
3:11 PM
Codexes I imagine were common in the early Rennaissance, and I was reminded at times of Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man (1490), who lived in the same time as von Silenen, 1452-1519, while on a different topic, but no less inspired:
By the way, my upload early last week on the SIGBOVIC was written prior to my 3/28 Google Search on recent news or claims of the Voynich manuscript, subsequent discotvery of the OTS publication by the Austrian dr., thus I began my examination of the Swiss Bishop theory in earnest after that date. In the SIGBOVIC paper, I made a joke about the Rennaissance leading to inventions, one of which I said was the "winged man", which was a tongue in cheek reference to Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. So if I had led you on a goose hunt (on that detail), I didn't want to waste too much of your time as I too have redirected my efforts towards understanding more of the contemporary era's clues, which includes all aspects of medieval history- recent Counsel of Florence/Basel (1431-1449), the boundless mountain Ibex which were not yet extinct, and how religion was seriously viewed at the time. Thus, viewing these clues within the context of the era can help triangulate the location and increase probability of Dr. Dr. Gregor Bernhart-Königstein's claims being strongly correct.
p.6 of OTS:
Albin Meyer von Silenen is suggested to have rootsshrine/relics in Silenen: [39] Baker op.cit. pp. 212, 250
p. 211 in Baker, E. P. (1938) "The Cult of St Alban at Cologne", in 'The Archaeological Journal' 94.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Alban#On_the_Continent "On the Continent There has also been an extensive cult of Saint Alban on the Continent from an early date such as in Mainz, Cologne and Basel on the Rhine as well as a number of other localities in Switzerland and Italy and a notable concentration in the French Alpine regions and the Rhone Valley.[36] Sometimes, the 'Saint Alban' concerned is regarded as a separate figure, other times, he is alternatively called Albinus (and often identified with 6th c. bishop, Saint Albinus of Angers), and at other times he is identified with the British martyr.
Stained-glass window in Lancaster Priory designed by Carl Almquist Saint Pantaleon's Church, Cologne holds relics said to be those of the British martyr Alban (as noted above). In fact, although identified with the British martyr, he was locally known as Albinus. His relics were said to have been brought from Rome by Empress Theophanu and placed in St Pantaleon's church in about 984:[37] the relics were miraculously saved from destruction in an accident on the way at a place that a later version of 1502, was identified as Silenen, Switzerland.[38] The original record was in a 12th-century manuscript that alleged that the relics were actually those of the British martyr, having been delivered to Ravenna by Germanus himself and taken from there to Rome.[39] Another church at Cologne is known to have been dedicated to the British Alban from the 12th century.[40]
The Saint Alban of Basel is recorded in the Berne recension of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum of circa 800: "Basilea civitate sancti Albani martyris", where he would appear to be an independent local figure, being celebrated on 24 August but later identified with the Saint Alban of Mainz.[41]
St Alban of Mainz is recorded from 756.[42] He was regarded as a separate figure in sources from Raban Maur's early 9th century martyrology, including a 10th-century Life by Gozwin of 1060–2[43] However, Hippolyte Delehaye suggested that he very probably represents, in origin, a localised version of the British martyr since his feast date was recorded as June 21 in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum (just a day before that of the British one, who actually appears on the 21st and 22nd in early recensions).[44]
The story in Raban Maur associates Alban of Mainz with a martyred bishop, Aureus of Mainz and two other martyrs, Ursus and Theonestus[45] the latter of whom is said to have originated on the Greek island of Naxos, together with Alban. A Saint Alban of Burano (near Altino, Italy), meanwhile was associated with one Domenicus in a legendary tale reminiscent of one told about Dionysus.[46]"
While the shrine of Alban was temporarily on the continent (now in England), it is unlikely this is the same ancestor referred to, who existed 1000 years later. That said, it is mentioned of another local Alban:
"The Saint Alban of Basel is recorded in the Berne recension of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum of circa 800: "Basilea civitate sancti Albani martyris", where he would appear to be an independent local figure, being celebrated on 24 August but later identified with the Saint Alban of Mainz.[41]"
"Baker op.cit. p. 254; G.Allmang, 1366 in "Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Geographie Ecclesiastique", ed A . Baudrillart, Paris 1912; G.B. Villiger, 655 in Bibliotheca Sanctorum, Istituto Giovanni XXIII, Pontificale Universate Lateranense"
That was also 500 years prior, thus there is probably another Albin from 1300. I will examine the Rutli claim later" "The Rütli Oath (German: Rütlischwur, German pronunciation: [ˈryːtliˌʃvuːr]) is the legendary oath taken at the foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy (traditionally dated to 1307)" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCtli_Oath
"The Rütli Oath is first mentioned in the White Book of Sarnen (written 1470, based on a source dated c. 1420).[1] The account in the White Book of Sarnen mentions how Beringer von Landenberg, the reeve of Unterwalden, ordered the confiscation of oxen from the farmer at Melchi (Sachseln). "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Book_of_Sarnen
"The White Book of Sarnen was composed in 1474 by a country scribe called Hans Schriber.[1]"
"The only surviving copy of the White Book of Sarnen, which was long believed to be lost, was accidentally discovered in 1856.[3] However, researchers disagree on whether the White Book of Sarnen, which is preserved in the public record office of the canton of Obwalden, is merely a copy of an older manuscript written around 1426.[4]" "This second part, 25 pages in length, makes mention of the Rütli oath (German: Rütlischwur), the Burgenbruch, and William Tell’s heroic deeds.[1]"
The Deutsch version has a lot more information, and recently edited too: https://github.com/hatonthecat/Voynich-Manuscript/blob/main/Weisses%20Buch%20von%20Sarnen%20%E2%80%93%20Wikipedia%20-translated%20to%20Eng.pdf https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weisses_Buch_von_Sarnen
https://www.ow.ch/_docn/57539/Text_und_Uebersetzung_Chronik_Weisses_Buch.PDF (German, 28 pages)
Excerpt of the White Book translated and overlapped in attachment. Extracted text will be uploaded in a separate attachment.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Chevron (this was all I could find- doesn't list a family but a residence.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury,_Savoie
"The inhabitants are called Chevronnais."
from p.6
p.7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_d%27Estouteville (attachment) https://github.com/hatonthecat/Voynich-Manuscript/blob/main/Guillaume%20d'Estouteville%20-%20Wikipedia.pdf
This Guillaume sounded like quite a teacher's pet, more loyal to Rome than his home of France:
"Bishop The Bishop of Angers, Hardouin du Brueil, died on 18 January 1439.[14] Guillaume D'Estouteville, who was ambitious for the post, immediately rushed to Rome and obtained bulls from Pope Eugene IV on 20 February[15] naming him to the bishopric. '
"King Charles VII of France was angered at the interference of the Pope in French church affairs and threatened, in support of the Gallican church, to apply the Pragmatic Sanction and exclude the Pope's bulls.[16] Pope Eugene escaped from the danger by giving d'Estouteville the bishopric of Digne in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, a suffragan of Embrun.[17] "
"The Cardinal's hat probably softened the disappointment of losing the bishopric of Angers. Pope Eugene probably derived a bit of satisfaction at granting a red hat to a member of the French royalty without the request or consent of the King."
I should really quiet down when I complain of how long it takes to get a doctorate: "He shortened the course leading to the Doctorate in theology from fifteen to fourteen years, and he removed the requirement that Doctors of Medicine be in holy orders.[32]" Denifle (1897), Chartularium IV, no. 2690, pp. 713-734.
Jost/Josse born around 1435, did not venture out to Rome to be mentored under Cardinal Estoutville until late 1469 (being ~34 years old, having been in Pavia since 1459 for 10 years and 24yro), after the latter's exoneration of Joan of Arc, thus he probably influenced Jost on his historical retelling of any Valais Witch trials symbolism in the Voynich Manuscript.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCssnacht_SZ
[7] " «The coat of arms of Küssnacht, a pillow, represents a folk etymological reminiscence. This can only be explained by the fact that mda. Chüss- to schwzdt. Chüssi 'cushion' remembered. The attempts to connect the name Küssnacht with an OHD PN *Kusso and OHD aha 'Bach, flowing water' are not valid." Viktor Weibel: Schwyzer name book. The place and field names of the canton of Schwyz. 6 volumes. Schwyz 2012, quoted from ortsnamen.ch ; Schweizerisches Idiotikon , volume III, columns 329 f, article Chüssi ."
[8] Hans Kläui : The municipal coat of arms of Küsnacht. In: Küsnachter Jahresblatt 1970, pp. 5-14. https://www.ortsgeschichte-kuesnacht.ch/pdf/1967-1970/Kuesnachter-Jahrheft-1970-Gemeindewappen-von-Kuesnacht.pdf
English- Machine translated: https://github.com/hatonthecat/Voynich-Manuscript/blob/main/English%20Das%20Gemeindewappen%20von%20K%C3%BCsnacht.pdf
https://digital.idiotikon.ch/idtkn/id3.htm#!page/30529/mode/1up
There doesn't appear to be any significant information of Jost von Silenen's Kussnacht am Rigi's hometown's coat of arms information from this translated paper, although I included it in case any early influence went into the design of his later manuscript, such as the stars or other features that could have been present in the 14th and 15th century.
https://search.ortsnamen.ch/de/record/802001331/
Update: I had the cantons pictured above in the wrong order- sorted year by official membership for historical context (this may or may not not indicate associate memberships as in those from 1501-1513:
The red checkmarks indicate the birth place (Schwyz) and region where Josse last presided over (Sitten) (Click on chart for full list, as some are cut off- i only included 25, because my monitor didn't allow me to snip it without shrinkng the text- the last canton was in 1900, but clicking the chart for viewers of the PDF version with internet connection allows you to see the Valais checkmark at 23, as the PDF cuts off past ~22)
chechmarks are not comprehensive list of cantons where he had resided in, merely a personal reference.
Language of Kussnacht SZ canton in early 1400s: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%BChneuhochdeutsche_Sprache
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldst%C3%A4tte
"The inclusion of Lucerne as a "fourth" Waldstätte is first mentioned in an addition dated to the 1450s in the Silver Book of Egloff Etterlin."
More probable in the second of the following two:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egloff_Etterlin
"Silver Book , begun in 1433 ( Lucerne State Archives, Cod. 1080, Fol. 3r ; e-codices).
The initial I in the form of a bird forms the beginning of the introductory text "In nomine sancte et individue trinitatis ...", in which the author gives his name, origin and titles."
Translated from Latin to mean, "In the name of the holy and individual Trinity"
https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/014113/2005-11-22/ Author: Gregor Egloff between 1469 and 1477 Lucerne, from Brugg. Probably son of the aarg. Landscribes Rudolf. 1 ) Agnes Stutzenbergin ( 1439), probably a sister of the long-distance merchant Klaus Stutzenberg from Basel, with whom E. worked together in trading via the Gotthard, 2) Mechthild von Löwenbach. E. came to Lucerne as a baccalaureate and scribe and acquired citizenship in 1422. 1427 election as town clerk, 1452 resignation. Nurse to Franciscans. teacher. Ambassador to diets and foreign courts, especially to Milan. From 1458 on in the small council, E. served as council judge from 1458-59. Already during the Council of Basel he cultivated relationships with Veronese merchants, then in the interests of Klaus Stutzenberg, later Hans Irmis of Basel and other merchants also with the Duke of Milan. E. was one of the correspondents of the humanist Niklaus von Wyle. In 1431 he received the monopoly for writing letters of tenure, with which both the magistrate control of the notarial system and the income of the town clerk was secured. As the author of the "Silver Book" from 1433 (a magnificently designed cartulary from 1505 with an introductory section, translations of Latin documents and notes on the location of the documents), he initiated a reorganization of the Lucerne Chancellery's central accounting system. The introduction of double-entry bookkeeping based on the Italian model made it easier to keep track of the growing volume of state financial transactions and financial control over stewards and officials. For this administrative reform, Lucerne was forced to hold a daily council, administer an enlarged territory and as a federal To be able to serve office and suburb. The expansion of the law firm's activities made it possible for E. to train both his sons (Petermann) and people like Hans Fründ as chancellery clerks, which benefited their chronicling. It is disputed whether E. himself wrote a (lost) chronicle.
So as it may be apparent for any of my lurkers, this is a live, open-source crash course into early Swiss history- I am posting/live-blogging/micro-tweeting the snippets of information from any coincidental events during this period and region which I may find relevant. All this information is being researched in an improvised manner- very few assumptions are being made about "unrelated" cantons, as all regions, spanning from Western France, to Hapsburg, to Kingdoms of Italy are being examined- as Josse de Sion was a diplomat and travelled much of the lower continent, he certainly was well-rounded and exposed to many aspects of world-class events, placing no minor emphasis on any of his encounters or influences.
"Ancient historiography made the forest cantons the starting point and the nucleus of the Confederation. This vision persisted until very recently, helped to form the historical consciousness of the Swiss and became, in the form of a myth, an essential part of Swiss identity." https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/007465/2014-12-27/ Well, true, but there's a lot more uncovered in this manuscript, apparently!
https://dbpedia.org/page/Johannes_Fr%C3%BCnd
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tschachtlanchronik
Covering almost anything that happened in Valais in the 1400s:
https://doc.rero.ch/record/22050/files/I-N-268_2005_10_00.pdf German (but machine translation uploaded in English-quick and dirty (Q&D hereafter) selection missing info probably: https://github.com/hatonthecat/Voynich-Manuscript/blob/main/Machine%20Translation%20of%20Hans%20Frund%20account%20of%20Valais%20Witch%20Trials.pdf)
Berner Chronicles 232MB -1,123 Pages in Full color, German, OCR/GT unfortunately won't be able to convert this- but a text version might exist somewhere:
https://www.e-manuscripta.ch/zuz/doi/10.7891/e-manuscripta-85723
For reference, "The Tschachtlanchronik of 1470 is the oldest of the still existing Swiss illustrated chronicles, compiled by Bendicht Tschachtlan and Heinrich Dittlinger of Bern. The chronicle is now kept in Zentralbibliothek Zürich, where a facsimile can be viewed."
Thus even if Jost von Silenen was not aware of this book, it most certainly reflects what some of the towers and buildings looked like in his era.
Lots of illustrations of Swiss towers with red colored roofs, either because red was a more common pigment, or they used a different roof to indicate perhaps Burgundy or German rule (I'm sure there's someone knows)
On page 30 of OTS, I am astounded by this plant- it suggests that Josse von Silenen's blue flowered drawings appear in another volume:
possibly this breviary: https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Br%C3%A9viaire-Josse-Silenen-1493-%C3%A9v%C3%AAque-Sion/22803199669/bd#&gid=1&pid=2
The Zion & byzantine reference is quite similar to the Egyptian & turkish mosque idea- with Judaism and Gnosticism being hypothesized early last week (3/23 or so), but not as a Catholic source written.
The shape of this building looks quite similar to the large square in the foldout: (p.226 of Berner Chronicle)
<moie torberge , vomMine, voonet (I'm probably way off, as it's German, not french)
The names appear different- Bruggs, kungfeld(?), Hapsburg? Just wanted to juxtapose these for later analysis:
It could have been a convention, and economy to shrink three hills for single-page storytelling. Objects in rear may be closer than they appear.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6nigsfelden_Monastery#/media/File:Ermordung_Albrecht_I.jpg
1:09 AM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammotrectus_super_Bibliam#cite_note-Franout-1
https://godieu.com/doc/samuelberger/la_bible_16e_siecle.html#Chapitre2 from Age of Erasmus
1:29AM
"Adam Driver as Francisco Garupe.[15] Both Driver and Garfield went through a 7-day Jesuit silent prayer vigil arranged with the help of the Jesuit scholar Martin to prepare them for their roles in the film. Garfield, in an interview with Stephen Colbert, stated that both actors felt emaciated in preparing for their roles and that Driver lost close to 50 pounds in preparation to play his role in the film.[14]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silence_(2016_film)
If I had to choose between reading everything I can for 7 days straight on Josse von Silenen and losing 50 pounds, this reading effort is a breeze by comparison. https://www.etymonline.com/word/stove (p.10 OST)
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2011&version=NIV
"Isaiah 11 New International Version The Branch From Jesse 11 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— 3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. 9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush,[b] from Elam, from Babylonia,[c] from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.
12 He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. 13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish, and Judah’s enemies[d] will be destroyed; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim. 14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east. They will subdue Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them. 15 The Lord will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea; with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates River. He will break it up into seven streams so that anyone can cross over in sandals. 16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt.
Footnotes Isaiah 11:6 Hebrew; Septuagint lion will feed Isaiah 11:11 That is, the upper Nile region Isaiah 11:11 Hebrew Shinar Isaiah 11:13 Or hostility"
2:34AM
I've googled Melchior Ross, and found a higher res image of the page with blue flowers:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melchior_Russ -every single reference is astounding
"Initial from his chronicle, around 1482 ( Lucerne Central and University Library, special collection, Ms. 1a fol., p. 23 ).
The red opening line reads: "How a slaughter at Buchennans [Buonas ZG] is beschechenn." According to Russ, the meeting between the Confederates and Austria took place in 1333."
" Due to his incorrect behavior in the trial of Bishop Jost von Silinen from Lucerne, who was expelled from Valais by Der Matze, he was involved in a lengthy injury trial with the influential mayor Ludwig Seiler of Lucerne in 1496 and on May 18, 1498 for a long time, if not forever Time banned from the Lucerne area. R. , who first moved to Valais and then to Uri, tried to initiate a revision of the process in 1498 by arguing that he had accidentally put the documents in his favor instead of the files in his beret. When the Confederates' war against the German Empire broke out in 1499, R.under the banner of Uri as a simple mercenary on the field. On March 28, 1499 he was occupied at Rheineck. From there his comrades-in-arms, even Mayor Seiler, applied to the Council of Lucerne for a pardon for the impoverished, unfortunate knight. On July 20, 1499, Count Itelfritz von Zollern attacked Rheineck and R. was killed. The Diet honored the memory of the unfortunate by paying off the debts that R. had contracted in Rheineck during the war.
literature A. Bernoulli, Die Luzerner Chronik des Melchior Ruß, Basel 1872. — Leaves of the Society for Regional Studies of Lower Austria XIII, 393 to 397. — Hungerbühler, Étude critique sur les traditions , 60—62. — Kleissner, The Sources of the Battle of Sempach, 57-63. — Kopp, Documents on the history of the eidgen. Bünde I, 22. — Historical Journals from Switzerland II, 351-353. — Th. Liebenau, Knight Melchior Russ. Swiss Journals for Science and Art, 1870. — R. v. Liliencron, historian. Folk songs I, 145. - O. Lorenz, historical sources of Germany, 2nd edition, I, 103 to 106; II, 336. — New Year's Journal of the City Library of Zurich, 1817. — Rilliet, Swiss origin. Confederation (German by K. Brunner), 226 ff ., 345 ff. A.Ph.v. Segesser, Relations of the Confederates to M. Corvinus, Lucerne, 43 ff., 87-113; Segesser, Collection of Small Writings II, 209, 217, 252 ff., 393-397. — W. Bischer, The legend of the liberation of the forest site. 49-55.
author v. Liebenau" from https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/gnd100960154.html
Deep in history and religion- the past couple days I was thinking, those who will first understand the story are of the faith, but I will not limit myself to that idea. That said, it would not be the first time that this attitude would be understood by only the truly pious.
p.16
Coat of Arms 78V
80V
The Chapel Bridge in Lucerne was constructed in 1339, although there is only one of this kind- the pillars of the bridge appear to be the sticks on the Voynich page Ros, rotated 180 degrees although they resemble more the background walls
https://chapel-bridge.ch/hintergruende/water-tower/
https://chapel-bridge.ch/hintergruende/water-tower/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapellbr%C3%BCcke
I had missed 85V section in the last crop- I had only the page to the right- as Dr. Bernhart-Konigstein suggests on p.17, it is the Lucerne lookout point, but I have not been able to locate any present buildings- likely they are some of the current towers along the bridge:
Quite a few results (26) found, many which have striking resemblance to the Voynich manuscript:
appears to be a cameo in his breviary:
compare to:
The beady circles are a recurring aspect of both the breviary and the manuscript:
Voynich Manuscript: Size ≈ 23.5 cm × 16.2 cm × 5 cm (9.3 in × 6.4 in × 2.0 in) (Source: Wikipdia)
Voynich.nu: "The Voynich MS is a parchment codex measuring approximately 225 x 160 mm (1). It is about 5 cm thick. It has a parchment cover without any indication of its origin (year, title or author). This cover, which is a later addition and has its own story to tell, is described at the bottom of this page." https://www.voynich.nu/descr.html
Original binding:
New binding, side view:
While probably not intended for a polished edition, the length, width, and thickness of the pages, including the vellum, binding material, and ink of the Voynich manuscript could reveal much about whether the some or all of the same components were used or sourced from the same region and the Silenen Breviary.
Breviary of Jost von Silenen: length: 21.6cm:
https://www.e-codices.ch/en/snm/LM004624-2/bindingRulerS/0/
https://www.e-codices.ch/en/thumbs/snm/LM004624-2/ Click 4 rectangles to view all 450 pages 
from https://voynich.nu/illustr.html
"As an envoy of the Confederation, he stayed at the court of King Louis XI in 1472, among other things. and in 1474, on his behalf, made a significant contribution to the conclusion of the eternal direction between the Confederates and Duke Sigismund von Habsburg." from https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/012798/2011-11-25/
"He became a supporter of the French cause in Switzerland 1 . King Louis XI of France made him his delegate to the Swiss Confederation between 1473 and 1480 4 ." from French wiki entry: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jost_von_Silenen
Louis XI, who ruled from 1461-1483, probably tasked Jost von Silenen with some errands in Paris even if he was not in Paris himself when me met/appointed him.
Locations of King Louis XI circa 1472: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XI#Le_duel_avec_Charles_le_T%C3%A9m%C3%A9raire
p.169r of Breviary
While not resembling the faces of the Voynich females, the infiniteness of their queueing appears similar (f81r)
428r
compare to f71r
It was mentioned that Jost von silenen employed an artist as well for his breviary, who was itinerant, thus the characters in the breviary may not have been drawn by the same person, considering the shape of the faces, as seen in the figure in the foreground on the left, with black and gold cap, has finer contours than the wide chiseled faces.
This also suggests an earlier rendering- Kaspar was born in 1467, thus he was only 20 years old in 1487, it is unlikely his drawing skills were as good as they were in 1493, at 26 and at 31: "LM 4624.2 Manuscript Title: Breviary of Jost von Silenen, pars aestivalis Caption: Parchment · I + 438 + II ff. · 21.6-22 x 15-15.3 cm · 1493 Language: Latin Manuscript Summary: Breviary in two volumes, created in 1493 for Jost von Silenen († 1498), the Bischop of Sion from 1482 until his dismissal in 1497. Richly decorated, the miniatures are the work of an itinerant artist active in Fribourg, Bern and Sion during the final decades of the 15th century and known by the name Master of the breviary of Jost von Silenen. At the beginning of the 16th century, he continued his work in Aosta and Ivrea, where he took the name Master of George of Challant. (ber) Standard description: Description edited and bibliography added by Marina Bernasconi for the internet, 2016; based on: Jörger Albert, The miniaturist of the breviary of Jost von Silenen. An anonymous illuminator around 1500 and his works in Fribourg, Bern, Sitten, Ivrea and Aosta, Sitten 2001 (supplement to Vallesia 6), especially 509-627. Show standard description Additional description: Mohlberg Leo Cunibert, Catalog of the manuscripts of the Zurich Central Library I, Medieval Manuscripts, Zurich 1952, pp. 298-300. Show additional description"
" He participated in the Naples campaign of Charles VIII of France in 1494. He was reeve of Ebikon from 1497 to 1499, and member of the Lucerne city council from 1497 until 1503, when he was convicted of the illegal recruitment of mercenaries on behalf of France."
Working theory:
So the 1st edition, released in 1493, was before his Naples campaign in 1494, thus he was at home in Lucerne or in the vicinity, visiting his uncle, who told him, "hey! can you draw these figures?" Then he returned to Lucerne in 1497, where his uncle was still alive, but had not yet fled to Lyon perhaps, and gave kaspar his books to complete, for both the breviary and the secret manuscript. By 1506 he was stationed in the Vatican as the 1st Swiss guard commander, and may have taken his books with him, but got stored in church repositories for some time until the purchase by Rudolph. As he died in Rimini, unexpectedly due to an ambush from his troops' hangover, it is unclear whether he secured the books ahead of time.
To be continued:
constructed 1610: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblioteca_Civica_Gambalunga (no information suggests this library was a repository for Kaspar's secret manuscript, as it began construction 93 years prior his death. Picture was chosen for aesthetics.
Although, this location is quite an interesting place to begin a search:
"The collection holds 226,000 books, including 60,000 rare books (among which are 380 incunabula and nearly 5,000 16th-century editions), 1,350 codices, 6,000 prints, ca. 2,400 periodicals (330 current serials), music scores, cd-roms, audiocassettes, and films. An 11th-century Evangelarium and an early 12th-century codex of Honorius Augustodunensis and a codex by Hugh of Saint Victor are examples of the Beneventan script."
350 prior to 1500, and 5,000 16th century editions-perhaps some indicate more information on the records as to what Kaspar was carrying at the time of his ambush, and what possibly happened to his belongings? Assuming these records are not all digitized yet, it is possible that some of the records might have some information as to what books transferred, perhaps from a sale record.
4:02PM
Murten coat of arms:
https://www.e-codices.ch/en/list/one/snm/LM004624-2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murten
p 132 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilisk p.2?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visconti_of_Milan
https://www.europediaries.com/mythslegends-and-folklore-from-switzerland-mythicalmondays/ 5.The dragons of Mt.Pilatus– Mount Pilatus in the Lucerne region is a hotspot for tourists.However, interesting stories and legends stem from there. For instance, one legend says that dragons with healing powers lived in the crevices of the mountain. Another story also details how a young cooper was stuck on Mount Pilatus, but stayed safe in a dragon’s cave through the winter. A different legend also stems from the region, according to which, the body of Pontius Pilate was sunk in the Lake Oberalp on Mount Pilatus,after trying to sink the body in other rivers.The ghost of Pilate appeared to cause thunderstorms in the area. People believed that it rose every year on Good Friday, ‘to wash the blood of Christ from its hands’. He is said to have ultimately found peace in Pilatus.
"In the early morning hours of 26 May 1499 there was a wondrous spectacle in Lucerne. After a terrible storm a gigantic, wingless dragon emerged from the tumultuous waters of the Reuss river near Spreuer bridge. The storm had probably caught the Lindworm by surprise and swept it from the Pilatus into Krienbach stream, which flows into the Reuss downriver of the Jesuit church. Several honorable and educated citizens vouched for the authenticity of this story."
This Legend coincides around the time that Kaspar was on the Lucerne council, and possibly in charge of the tourism department :)
https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=basel+basilisk&asset_id=40666332
http://basel.all-about-switzerland.info/basilisk-fable-heraldic-animal.html
https://www.basellife.com/basels-basilisks/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilatus_(mountain) (Dragon ride)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuL1C5D1ejM Dragon World https://www.pilatus.ch/en/discover/dragon-world
https://abookofcreatures.com/2017/12/18/the-mysterious-dragon-of-lucerne/
"I’m going to tell you a story. The marvelous tale of Vietor, the cooper of Lucerne. His adventures are told in Kircher’s Mundus Subterraneus. Scheuchzer copies the story and adds the image you see above in his Itinera Alpina.
Vietor was a humble cooper (that is, he makes barrels) who lived in Lucerne around 1420. He set out one day to fetch wood on the slopes of Mount Pilatus, only to fall through a deep pit. The cave Vietor ended up had no exit save the one he fell in from, and the walls were too steep and dangerous to scale. Somehow this situation got even worse when two hideous dragons showed up!
Fortunately for Vietor, his prayers were answered and the dragons were not allowed to harm him (or maybe they were already harmless? The text makes it clear that it’s a miracle though). They weren’t much help either. The dragons spent their time sleeping or eating a sort of oozy liquid that came out of the rocks. Vietor followed their example. On this meager diet and in the slithery companionship of the dragons he survived from November 6 to April 10 – 6 months. On the last day the dragons took to the air to find greener fields, and Vietor held on to the second dragon’s tail as it took off.
Thus Vietor escaped his imprisonment in the cave and returned to Lucerne, where he had long been thought dead. But his liquid diet had ruined his digestive system, and he died two months later.
I bet you’re wondering what the dragon image has to do with all this. Well, before Vietor died he had the dragons and himself embroidered on a chasuble, which was presented to Saint Leodegarius’ Church in Lucerne. Scheuchzer reproduces the image of one of the dragons.
And that’s where Scheuchzer gets sassy about it, pointing out that it looks a lot like an imperial Chinese dragon. So what exactly happened? My guess is that a piece of far Eastern embroidery somehow ended up in Lucerne*, and the story of Vietor grew around that piece of cloth long after its origin was forgotten. At any rate all records of the event were destroyed in a fire.
*Now there’s an Indiana Jonesesque adventure plot if I’ve ever seen one.
Which just goes to prove how much cultural cross-pollination was constantly happening. Folklore and mythology doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
Vietor’s dragonscapades were also colorfully retold in Usborne’s Stories For Young Children by Christopher Rawson and Stephen Cartwright. It’s also where I first read the story, long before embarking on ABC. Here he has the more common name of Victor."
Kircher, who wrote Mundus Subterraneus book, is said to be one of the owners of the Voynich Manuscript:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mundus_Subterraneus_(book) So does this mean there is a connection? Or that Kirchner added the dragons in the margins after the fact, having been aware of Lucerne's folklore? Or did he do his own research and later tell the story of the Pilates dragons, seeing Kaspar or Jost's dragon on page 1R? The full book is available at internet archive: PDF is 150MB, larger size formas avaialble:
https://archive.org/details/mundussubterrane00unse/page/n9/mode/2up
https://archive.org/download/mundussubterrane00unse
There is another dragon on f25v
For the time being, this information is being presented, without any claim to chronological order. It is merely acknowledging that Kirchner wrote about dragons in Mundus Subterraneus, whether from the Voynich Manuscript or other source. In a sea of information, I can sort out the sequence (navigation) later.
For reference, p 1R
p.18 by doctor, suggests they are initials- they look like V, dragon, and/or or serpent, esp the one on the top right of 1r and the bottom left of 1R
Also, based on the age of the red dragon ink, and even though I am not an expert, appear to be part of the text and not added later. i.e as an initial, or the technical word for a non-historiated (or obliquely historiated) letter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initial
I will return to the dragon later- somehow Kirchner knew of the Lucerne folklore- either by being able ot decipher the text, or having been told it from a previous owner. Basing it on the above information saying he tells a of a tale from Lucerne.
6:25PM
Switching gears, yesterday I located a Wikipedia entry mentioning Jost's father, Christian, and that he was the bailiff. As a note, not all wikipedia pages include all the information in each summary, thus toggling between the two and from external link sources reveals quite a bit. I had been curious of the Valais witch trials, and it now reveals p.20 how much of a role his father had:
"He is the son of Christophe de Silenen, first vice-bailiff/lieutenant of the grand bailiff of Valais (or Landeshauptmann Statthalter ) (1426) and grand castellan of Sierre (1428), and Isabella de Chevron 1 , 3 ."
Wolff, 1963 , p. 433. [3] Son of Christoph, lieutenant of the grand bailiff of Valais (1426)
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jost_von_Silenen
p.22
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leuk&oldid=1146709347 "The town's first church dates from the 6th or 7th century and probably originated from a Roman building. This church was replaced in the 9th century by a larger building. It was replaced again in the 11th and 12th centuries. The romanesque bell tower of the current church is from this third building. The current church was built by Ulrich Ruffiner in the gothic style. It was richly furnished with altars and sculptures and was consecrated in 1494 as St. Stephan's Church by Bishop Jost von Silenen. "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leukerbad
"In 1501, the Bishop and Cardinal Matthäus Schiner acquires the rights for the baths and speaks highly of the health resort during his visits; the thermal tourism develops. By that time, German (Walser German, brought by the Walser migrations) is spoken locally." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matth%C3%A4us_Schiner
Valsch aBvey (Valais Abbey) According to the Dr. on p.26, he says the last page 116v refers to St. Maurice's Abbey in Valais(pictured above a few days ago)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_of_Saint-Maurice_d%27Agaune
It has taken me a while to figure out what tower it is in the center fold out, but I had not read the entire translation- it does appear to resemble Sforza castle much more:
Of course it is!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castello_Sforzesco
Built 1360–1499
"German engraving from the 16th century, taken from the cabinet of M. Alfred Gérente." The main tower could have been damaged after the rendering, most likely, which would explain why the battlement is not conical and pointed
"The original construction was ordered by Galeazzo II Visconti, a local nobleman, in 1358 – c. 1370;[1] this castle was known as the Castello di Porta Giova (or Porta Zubia), from the name of a gate in walls located nearby.[2] It was built in the same area of the ancient Roman fortification of Castrum Portae Jovis, which served as castra pretoria when the city was the capital of the Roman Empire. It was enlarged by Galeazzo's successors, Gian Galeazzo, Giovanni Maria and Filippo Maria Visconti, until it became a square-plan castle with 200 m-long sides, four towers at the corners and up to 7-metre-thick (23 ft) walls.[2] The castle was the main residence in the city of its Visconti lords, and was destroyed by the short-lived Golden Ambrosian Republic which ousted them in 1447.
In 1450, Francesco Sforza, once he had shattered the republicans, began reconstruction of the castle to turn it into his princely residence. In 1452 he hired the sculptor and architect Filarete to design and decorate the central tower, which is still known as the Torre del Filarete. After Francesco's death, the construction was continued by his son Galeazzo Maria, under the architect Benedetto Ferrini. The decoration was executed by local painters. In 1476, during the regency of Bona of Savoy, the tower bearing her name was built."
though it is unclear if it was meant to conceal complete similarity:
Perhaps this is Sion
p.26 he suggests: 
p.73V as he says, it sure looks like William Tell to me!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tell#/media/File:Hodler_Tell_1897.jpg
Here is wearing a blue hat here, although it's unclear what is meant by the long tube-like hat in the Voynich drawing. It could be a ribbon of sorts.
from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Piatnik_Tell_Vilmos_1864.jpg
https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/2017/10/kuessnacht-hohle-gasse-geschichte-raus-mythos-rein/
I am still on page 32 of 42 of the machine translated German section (the first part) of the Doctor's summary. I can completely understand why he wrote the summary, as, if he began this research as early as 2020, I can see how long it could have taken to research all this, and, may have been also just recently cracked within a matter of months. In any case, tracking each reference takes quite a bit of time, and, I initially skimmed most of the material in my first read. I imagine completing the references from 32-42 will take me another day, and while I already skipped some, may return to those later, as I have just focused on the recognizeable clues and the more central events, such as the Rutli oath and the cantons' coat of arms. I plan to post more tomorrow but may post more tonight as well.
I continue to be amazed by this "summary" it is so packed with clues, that I have been able to see many of the hints in a convincing new light.
p.32
Starting with the middle picture, which is easier to point out:
Background:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_League
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chur
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grisons
"The Grisons (/ɡriːˈzɒ̃/,[3] French: [ɡʁizɔ̃]) or Graubünden (German: [ɡraʊˈbʏndn̩] (listen)),[note 1] more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton of Graubünden,[4] is one of the twenty-six cantons of Switzerland. It has eleven regions, and its capital is Chur. The German name of the canton, Graubünden, translates as the "Grey Leagues", referring to the canton's origin in three local alliances, the Three Leagues. The other native names also refer to the Grey League: Grischùn in Sutsilvan, Grischun in the other forms of Romansh, and Grigioni in Italian. Rhaetia is the Latin name for the area. The Alpine ibex is the canton's heraldic symbol."
By Marco Zanoli, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2050250
F1V
f52 appears similar to
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thun
p.34
p.35, refrence to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Morgarten
p.36
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egloff_Etterlin (born in Brugg)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brugg
Out of context, a missing letter would certainly throw off intelligible reading of Brugg (AG), the northern Swiss municipality in the canton of Aargau, prompting me to think of that Monty Python scene in the Quest for the Holy Grail, The Caves of Caerbannog where they read about "here may be found the last words of Joseph of Arimathea he who is valiant and pure of spirit may find the Holy Grail in the castle of Aaargh...." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEcvSq4SDkc
This is just a higher resolution comparison of the coat of Arms identified by Dr. Bernhart-Konigstein on p.35 to be referred to on the top left margin of 8v:
p.37 footnnote https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_Chronicle_of_the_95_Rulers https://fedora.phaidra.univie.ac.at/fedora/objects/o:856796/methods/bdef:Book/view#
p.39
By for kind concession of the site http://www.ngw.nl, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=618551
p.40
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_of_Fl%C3%BCe https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Benedikt_von_Hertenstein_(Hans_Holbein_der_J%C3%BCngere_-_Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alruna https://www.wga.hu/html_m/h/holbein/hans_y/1518/index.html
similarity to brothers in sky:
p.22-23 of Dr Bernhart (p.55 in English backsection)
85r2
Albin Murtens (Elder brother), Jost, Kaspar, and Christopher?
Congratulations to Gregor Bernhart-Königstein for finding this discovery, I am his first supporter!
This is a project where fewer, to no search filters are going to help more than too many, because of the breadth of topics. I do not know how much of the Voynichese he has decoded, but this is certainly an example where individual disciplines are too overfitted for analysis. Unravelling this manuscript requires a constant play between metaphorical and literal meanings, and knowing the contemporary folklore of the 1400s.
In a way, since the industrial age (the 1800s onwards), we've all been a little overfitted! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overfitting The specialization of labor has led to many lost knowledge, even if production gains improved: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_of_labour
p.22
And too, we have lost our geniuses and Rennaissance men. See this wonderful article by Erik Hoel: https://erikhoel.substack.com/p/why-we-stopped-making-einsteins
With the 100 years war ending in the 1450s, Valais witch trials, internal civil war in Switzerland, and Papal challenges, it is no surprise this thorny book made its way throughout the annals of history imperceptably to virtually everyone.
Jost had a difficult father, which doesn't mean he himself was destined to be the same, but the saying, "https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/the_apple_does_not_fall_far_from_the_tree#:~:text=(file)-,Proverb,behavior%20and%20in%20physical%20characteristics." probably had more meaning back then, with family ties being much stronger. That isn't to say Jost became a terrifying bailiff and Grand Inquisitor of Sion, but that he channeled much of his reaction to the history of Valais into his codexes.
Part of this was a struggle not only for his own survival, but the survival and establishment of the Swiss state!
I have added all the remaining available translations available from Google Translate- the original document has been translated into over 125 languages- all 133 or so and are in the Translations Folder. There are 61 language pages on for the Wikipedia entry on the Voynich Manuscript, thus it can be useful for those who do not have a native translation available yet. French, Spanish, and Italian translations are listed in the main directory.
A presentation by Lisa Fagin Davis from 2022 has been posted on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqnaMRdBJ4U, and I referenced her early on in my 3/30 post ( https://github.com/hatonthecat/Voynich-Manuscript#3302023) when I read Dr. Bernhart-Konigstein's mention of Kaspar von Silenen being suggested as one of the family scribes, along with Jost von Silenen (or according to Swiss archives, an intinerant master breviary.
Interestingly, one Wikipedia entry suggests, Egloff Etterlin, secretary of Lucerne who also drew in the margins of his cartularies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egloff_Etterlin "It is uncertain whether Egloff himself was the author of a (lost) chronicle. Egloff died at some point between 1469 and 1477." Thus perhaps there are records of a different chronicle, unless
In many ways, Egloff and Jost had similar roles, as county clerks (and probably got bored at their desk jobs, thus resorted to doodling in their notebooks ; just kidding).
https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/014113/2005-11-22/ I really don't kow if Egloff had a role- he died in 1470, while Sitten was still in Rome, but he at least had an influence on the style or tradition in the Valais region, but this edit was made three years ago:
around the time Dr. Bernhart-Konigstein's Windows folder shows VV file modifications/creations (which also suggests he has been quietly at work on this for nearly 3 years): 
While I have been critical of some of the hype surrounding new AI products, I have been aware of the use of AI in several products for many years. One of them is Google Translate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Translate#Google_Neural_Machine_Translation Google Neural Machine Translation Main article: Google Neural Machine Translation In September 2016, a research team at Google announced the development of the Google Neural Machine Translation system (GNMT) to increase fluency and accuracy in Google Translate[2][110] and in November announced that Google Translate would switch to GNMT.
Google Translate's neural machine translation system uses a large end-to-end artificial neural network that attempts to perform deep learning,[2][111][112] in particular, long short-term memory networks.[113][114][14][115] GNMT improves the quality of translation over SMT in some instances because it uses an example-based machine translation (EBMT) method in which the system "learns from millions of examples."[111] According to Google researchers, it translates "whole sentences at a time, rather than just piece by piece. It uses this broader context to help it figure out the most relevant translation, which it then rearranges and adjusts to be more like a human speaking with proper grammar".[2] GNMT's "proposed architecture" of "system learning" has been implemented on over a hundred languages supported by Google Translate.[111] With the end-to-end framework, Google states but does not demonstrate for most languages that "the system learns over time to create better, more natural translations."[2] The GNMT network attempts interlingual machine translation, which encodes the "semantics of the sentence rather than simply memorizing phrase-to-phrase translations",[111][90] and the system did not invent its own universal language, but uses "the commonality found in between many languages".[116] GNMT was first enabled for eight languages: to and from English and Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish.[2][110] In March 2017, it was enabled for Hindi, Russian and Vietnamese,[117] followed by Bengali, Gujarati, Indonesian, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu in April.[118]
If I could employ several graduates well versed in French, German, and Italian I might not need Google Translate. But since I do not have funds for that, I am using Google Translate.
AI software will continue to make independent research easier and cheaper, for one-man crews:
"Making inference cheaper and more efficient is perhaps the most important reaction to the AI spring we’re currently enduring. In a follow-up text, I will outline what I think is at stake, but to summarise here, democratising the means of digital production is the difference between a dystopian authoritarian future and an empowered (and admittedly chaotic) humanity.
Such a mission calls out to no slouches. Artificial Intelligence is hard. Large Language Models are more than glorified autocorrect. They are hard. Making them efficient is hard. It is also not in the immediate interests of large corporations and well-endowed research labs that can afford several thousands of dollars of compute, storage and mass deployment." https://github.com/ggerganov/llama.cpp
My path of research doesn't follow a straight line. I sometimes bounce from topic to topic, either running into a wall from being unable to comprehend something, or losing interest. Some topics I embrace eagerly, only to take a break, which only neems natural. While I don't have a PhD, I try to approach any topic with the same level of academic rigor, as I once hoped to become a scholar. Of course, the typical reaction to reading a sentence like this is to discard a sub par statement. The problem with this is that even the experts have been wrong at times. While many academics tend to err on the side of caution, there are different ways of viewing this issue. One might see it as a reductionist issue- something that encodes just a single story. Others see it as a chronolongical issue. But there is no reason assume that, and can be part of the problem in deciphering.
Deleuze believed in Rhizomatic thinking: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizomatic_learning In it, there is no hiearchical view of concepts, as present in most Western thinking. This is crucial, because, as Dr. Bernhart-Konigstein points out, the story begins in the middle, and, pictures tell only of regional proximities (Milan, Switzerland/Lucerne), not of chronological events (a circle is a classic example of this, as is a wheel);
Anachronism order as an encipherization method, as well as a Bishops way of life. The only time that the Bishop probably needs to think about is that the world was created in six days, even though they were well aware of conventional time. Prochronism, metachronism, parachronisms, variants of one the other, all tools of the encipherer, but it is our parachronisms, if the clues to the authorship were hidden in plain sight, but we attributed more of our worldview to that of the Voynich manuscript's author.
Time as assumed device for storytelling in chronological is the first error of typical narration. Narration is not synonymous with chronology. While liniguistic relativity theories such as Sapir–Whorf were made much later (see this also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirah%C3%A3_language#Unusual_features_of_the_language), the expectation of of chronological storytelling is significatly more corellated to the industrial revolution when clockmaking was mass produced:
"Origins and specialities The earliest use of the term clokkemaker is said to date from 1390, about a century after the first mechanical clocks appeared.[1] From the beginning in the 15th century through the 17th century, clockmaking was considered the "leading edge", most technically advanced trade existing. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clockmaker#Origins_and_specialities
Even though clocks did exist in the 1400s (and certainly in Rome and Switzerland), they were considered rare, leading edge, something a bishop was probably not too pre-occupied with, although Sion's first church organ (and oldest operational) was also a leading edge (see above). Scholars from the 19th, 20th, and 21st century century are all too accustomed to the normalization of all things clockwork. But at the turn of the 15th century, clock making was probably only becoming a thing in most medium sized cities of the time:
"By 1290, Lucerne had become a self-sufficient city of reasonable size with about 3000 inhabitants. About this time King Rudolph I von Habsburg gained authority over the Monastery of St. Leodegar and its lands, including Lucerne. The populace was not content with the increasing Habsburg influence, and Lucerne allied with neighboring towns to seek independence from their rule. Along with Lucerne, the three other forest cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden formed the "eternal" Swiss Confederacy, known as the Eidgenossenschaft, on November 7, 1332.
Later the cities of Zürich, Zug and Bern joined the alliance. With the help of these additions, the rule of Austria over the area came to an end. The issue was settled by Lucerne's victory over the Habsburgs in the Battle of Sempach in 1386. For Lucerne this victory ignited an era of expansion. The city shortly granted many rights to itself, rights which had been withheld by the Habsburgs until then. By this time the borders of Lucerne were approximately those of today.
From city to city-state (1386–1520) In 1415 Lucerne gained Reichsfreiheit from Emperor Sigismund and became a strong member of the Swiss confederacy. The city developed its infrastructure, raised taxes, and appointed its own local officials. The city's population of 3000 dropped about 40% due to the Black Plague and several wars around 1350.
In 1419 town records show the first witch trial against a male person."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucerne
Sion is even smaller. Today, it has 35,000 residents, while Lucerne has over 200,000. While Switzerland today is known among many thing for its watches, you can count at least one early resident as almost anti-watch. The first foil, chronology has been unravelled.
The second, as mentioned earlier, is the complete originality of the claim- to call it original is almost against the premise of what it is- a discovery. Something original implies creation of knowledge, in a way, whereas finding facts where they have remained elusive is a different ordeal.
When I took an improv class in late 2007 in Chicago, one of my teachers taught us the concept of a gift in improv acting. When someone declares something to a partner actor, the expectation is that the actor is supposed to accept that gift to construct the scene:
"Divide students into pairs and ask one person to be Player A and one to be Player B. Player A names and pantomimes a non-stop series of imaginary gifts that they give to player B. Player B’s job is to receive each of these gifts with as much enthusiasm as possible, no matter how strange or unexpected, and explain how they will be helpful. For example, Player A might shape their arms into a large circle and pantomime lifting a large, heavy basket as she says, I’m so thrilled to be able to give you this extra, extra large box of old banana peels. Player B would accept the gift–using the same physical gestures as A–saying, Thank you, thank you! This extra, extra large box of old banana peels is exactly what I need to put in my garden to make my plants grow. After a set time, switch roles and repeat. Encourage students to use descriptive language and pantomime skills to show the size, weight, and shape of the object being given."
From https://dbp.theatredance.utexas.edu/content/gift-giving
Relevance: An improv actor cannot pick and choose which gifts he wants once the scene begins (save fo extreme scenarios of real violence). In order to create a believable scene, he or she must accept all the gifts and statements made, so that the audience doesn't need to take their word for it. Unfortunately, I have moderate significant hearing loss from an early age, and I was not able to hear every proposition in my scenes, so I appeared often times as an unwilling/reticent actor (in some cases I did hear the statement and was ambivalent, however, most of the time, I had done everything I could to hear the words, and contrary to scripted acting, it is much harder to improvise if you can't hear what was said and have to make up something that is a non-sequitur. Thus having good hearing is much more important in improvising.
Relevance (Part 2): In order to consider the validity of Dr. Bernhart-Konigstein's claim, imagine you are an improviser and the teacher says to accept every statement that your acting partner tells you. In that sense, you begin using method acting to train yourself that everything claimed is positively true, without question, to picture yourself in the situation that is being presented. In this way, it allows the reader to teleport to the era of the 1400s much more thoroughly. One can't imagine it from the point of view of Jost's enemies, for they perhaps were ideologically opposed to his interest in strengthening Switzerzland:
Again, re-reading this paragraph reveals much:
"By 1290, Lucerne had become a self-sufficient city of reasonable size with about 3000 inhabitants. About this time King Rudolph I von Habsburg gained authority over the Monastery of St. Leodegar and its lands, including Lucerne. The populace was not content with the increasing Habsburg influence, and Lucerne allied with neighboring towns to seek independence from their rule. Along with Lucerne, the three other forest cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden formed the "eternal" Swiss Confederacy, known as the Eidgenossenschaft, on November 7, 1332." above from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucerne#History
Is a Catholic going to be more biased in supporting Jost von Silenen? I would say that an impartial Catholic is still going to be more motivated to find more facts while digging out a plethora of information to ascertain the veracity of that information. Much of the historical knowledge of Jost-von-Silenen is well established, in that he was not an unknown figure in the Swiss archives, which have extensive records on him. However, if it can be confirmed that that some Voynich calligraphy can be definitively linked to his Breviary author(s), then it should not be hard for impartiality to be the dominant form of claim. The centuries past are too distant for there to be any specific bias in the case of a priest (who can be said to be responsible for writing it, even it it somehow contains a confession that makes Catholics and/or Swiss look bad). Rather, the strongest impedance to determining the veracity of this claim would be a bias against the implications of the claim itself. While a Catholic community can be expected to moderate and vet itself, I believe the correct, historical probability that this claim gets readily embraced by even its own groups is slim. This isn't to say he is wrong. Quite the contrary! History has a tendency of labelling dissenters heretics, unjustly, of course (and sometimes they get exonerated or rehabilitated centuries later).
Where do start? First, if the person made this claim belonged to your favorite sect, it is likely you would be more motivated to uncover everything you could about him, even if in secret (in case some dirt were found on him). Second, this kind of claim can be made without any expectation of fame or wealth, if one is already independently wealthy and/or secure in their life. To assume a claim is made to be with some ulterior motive-fame/fraud, is only to imply that most claim-makers are poor, or in an unstable part of their lives. Neither of these assumptions can be made when reviewing a document. The level of rigour required certainly benefits from a graduate degree, but not just of one subject. One's field of expertise must rest on the entire era that spanned the subject matter: The Rennaissance.
"Curriculum vitae: Self-employed work in the publishing industry, including consulting for Neue Welt Verlag Speaker on art and philosophy at the ITI – Trumau, KTU – Linz, among others Reserve of research results on Renaissance painting at Literar Mechana Before that: Worked at the Ministry of Science – Academic Exchange Service Establishment of scholarship programs for lecturers in history, art and music history Doctorate 2006 at Univ. Prof. DDr. Floridus Röhrig on the painter Raffael - with distinction Title: Raffael's world transfiguration - the most famous painting in the world, 2007, Michael Imhof Verlag, plus: letter of appreciation from Pope Benedict XVI. Graduation 2004 on Raffael, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci Title: Raffael - The universality of an artistic genius Studied art history and philosophy at the University of Vienna, cand. law"
p.10
p.48 "Even if many natural scientists were involved in the manuscript, and the alchemy and cosmology are very typical of the Renaissance, which does not yet distinguish between religion and nature, the work is now assigned more to the humanities. It would be interesting to find out Jost von Silenen's date of birth and whether there is a specific star constellation. While specialist journals dominate in the natural sciences, monographs are still the highest scientific standard in the humanities."
What this also suggests is, that while the scientific experts of Silenen's era probably had a role in creating the book, the humanities today are tasked with deciphering something that may be lost due to modern scientific methods:
"One modern scholar, Alan Cutler, described Kircher as "a giant among seventeenth-century scholars", and "one of the last thinkers who could rightfully claim all knowledge as his domain".[4] Another scholar, Edward W. Schmidt, referred to Kircher as "the last Renaissance man". In A Man of Misconceptions, his 2012 book about Kircher, John Glassie wrote "many of Kircher's actual ideas today seem wildly off-base, if not simply bizarre,"[5] but he was "a champion of wonder, a man of awe-inspiring erudition and inventiveness," whose work was read "by the smartest minds of the time." ... [4] Cutler, p. 68. [6] Glassie, p. xv. Paula Findlen: Athanasius Kircher: The Last Man Who Knew Everything. New York, Routledge, 2004. ISBN 0-415-94016-8." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanasius_Kircher
Our society also doesn't have a huge market for generalist geniuses- unskilled, manual labor is hard, but doesn't require a degree- It also shares in common something on the extreme end of erudition- being so smart in many different fields, that no single field knows where to place you. One essentially becomes a vagrant to the institution unless recruited for a rare, special project. It's no secret that philosophy departments in the United Staes tend to be underfunded, and undervalued (except for Pre-Law majors, which might be the only reason it still exists, but even those departments cut back on courses except at the most resourced institutions) I recall this article from 2005, where Norway's government hired a Philosopher as a moral compass: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB113340298608010935 Which is to suggest that Norway values philosophy more than the United States.
This isn't to say no one can put the Voynich Manuscript back together, but that it requires almost like a Rennaissance mindset (and will our society look to solve other Rennaissance puzzles once this is solved, or move on to something Modern?), one that Dr. Bernhart-Konigstein is well qualified to make. But not just any Rennaissance scholar, but one:
"In any case, an orderly poetic, easily readable attempt at the difficulties and the history of the manuscript should be started before research breaks new ground, because, according to Bernhard von Chartre, we are "all just dwarfs sitting, as it were, on the shoulders of giants". The Silenen memoirs show that the interpreter, the exegete, the historian, the art historian, the philosopher, the writer, the philogologist, the theologian and in the team also the natural scientist etc. are needed in art, especially when they themselves understood as a mystery and yet Bletchley Park could not find a solution."
Skipping the the poetic aspect (Which I do agree with but included here just for the von Chartre quote), how can this be so? Read back to my speculation on the Tower of Babel! Earthlings haven't been punished with unintelligible languages so much as they are returned gifts from an an actor unwilling to be an improv scene partner. It takes REAL cooperation among the sciences and humanities - both carbon dating (margin of error 40 years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiocarbon_dating) and art historians, which certainly occurred, but does not exist in a cohesive manner at a scale that existed in the distant past. Wars were certainly present, but back then there was much more of a sense of community, of tightly-knit alliances to city and state(which was the church), where secular thinking was not a given (which isn't to say it is a detriment to uncovering Rennaissance treasures, but, there is a lesson to be had: A most Rennaissance work of art does not need to impress its secular cosmopolitan gazers. I am reminded of a nostalgic blog post by Gabe Bullard:
"I asked a group text if they could imagine any sitcom today adding a storyline about a machine that makes people cool and a friend pointed me to a New Yorker profile of Simpsons writer George Meyer from 2000. A few years after Stefan Urquelle’s swan song, Meyer summed up contemporary TV comedy as “a bunch of people who hang around in some generic urban setting having conversations and sniping at each other.”"
https://gabebullard.substack.com/p/what-happened-to-weird-tv#details
So this post is for a certain type of armchair historians who look back at Rennaissance riddles with a mocking eye, an arrogant swagger, a dismissive attitude, because while clockmaking has surpassed church organs in Sion's economy, Jost von Silenen was a patron of the arts, because while he probably was aware of the clockmakers disruptive technology from the city centers of Paris and Milan, he probably thought that the Valère organ was the most magificent technology in the world, and no amount of watch hustlers could steer him away from the countryside to the ultramodern metropolises by trying to persuade him how much time he is saving. Jost von Silenen, a wiser man, needed no iPod to replace his liturgies.
Hypthothesis: Jost-von Silenen was grandfather of Cottagecore.
"While cottagecore arose as a named aesthetic in 2018, similar aesthetics and ideals existed prior to its inception. The ancient Greeks characterised Arcadia as a representation of an idyllic pastoral setting. The Greek poet Theocritus wrote poems about shepherds and shepherdesses in the third century BC, leading to him being often cited as the inventor of pastoral poetry.[21] The market for Theocritus’ work was primarily the educated urban class of Alexandria, Egypt, seeking an escape from the filth, crowding and disease of city life. In the first century BC the Roman poet Virgil’s pastoral poetry was written in response to the violence and chaos of war. However, he expanded the genre by acknowledging contemporary moral and political issues such as war whilst maintaining a distance through the pastoral trope.[21] Pastoral escapism continued to be produced for the courtly audience of the Roman Empire in the format of novels such as Daphnis and Chloe from the second century AD.[21] "The fourteenth century Italian Renaissance poet Petrarch was known for his hill-walking and gardening as well as his pastoral poetry.[21] " " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottagecore [21] Frey, Angelica (November 11, 2020). "Cottagecore debuted 2300 years ago". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved May 22, 2021. https://daily.jstor.org/cottagecore-debuted-2300-years-ago/
"In the Renaissance Arcadia has remained a popular artistic subject since antiquity, both in visual arts and literature.[citation needed] Images of beautiful nymphs frolicking in lush forests have been a frequent source of inspiration for painters and sculptors. Because of the influence of Virgil in medieval European literature, e. g. in Divine Comedy, Arcadia became a symbol of pastoral simplicity. European Renaissance writers (for instance, the Spanish poet Garcilaso de la Vega) often revisited the theme, and the name came to apply to any idyllic location or paradise. Unlike "utopia", which Saint Thomas More innovated by authoring his book Utopia, "Arcadia" connotes not a human civilization, yet rather a spontaneous result of life lived naturally and thus not corrupted by civilization.[citation needed] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcadia_(utopia)"
https://museum.seiko.co.jp/en/knowledge/MechanicalTimepieces01
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clockmaker#Origins_and_specialities
If the previous paragraph sounded serious, I am not sure how you made it this far, unless your only objective was to laugh along with me. If you recall from p.37 of https://books.google.ht/books?id=TkoyEaswQKMC&printsec=frontcover&hl=fr&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false,
"
"Perspectives on early modern and modern intellectual history : essays in honor of Nancy S. Struever ; edited by Joseph Marino and Melinda W. Schlitt. Bibliographic Details Imprint: Rochester, NY : University of Rochester Press, 2001."
In Bakhtin's words: "In Rennaissance literature... the very concept that the Renaissance held of the world, was deeply permeated by a carnivaleque perception of reality, and often took on its forms and symbols."
What better way to write a memoir by characterizing its era with the very playfulness that was seen in the Rennaissance's daily life? If Jost von Silenen was a patron of the arts, that alone does not suggest all of his non-chronological chronicles would necessitate a Michelangeloan brushstroke, but would at the very least hint somewhere in all of its prickliness, that there can be a comedy in a den of thieves.
I think it is completely correct to begin the announcement of a deciphering the Voynich Manuscript with a poem, because it passes forward the concept of the Rennaissance, which is era the manuscript is from. None of the theories on the introductory paragraph of the Wikipedia entry have ever suggested that it is a comedy, yet comedies were not uncommon in the Rennaissance. A learned man like Jost von Silenen may have aspired to be like Dante or Chaucer, and while might not have been able to communicate poetically in letters ensnared in roots, seems to have been a master proto-Symbolist, and reveals a great mind like other Renaissance Men.
4/4/2023
Many people who have stepped into Switzerland have become great philosophers- Nietsche, Herman Hesse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqFwV2Ye3a0
"But the title Magister Ludi is somewhat misleading, as it implies the book is a straightforward bildungsroman, when, in reality, the book touches on many different genres, and the bulk of the story is on one level a parody of the biography genre.[2]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Glass_Bead_Game#Plot something about this manuscript suggests it requires a syncretic view:
"The game
The Glass Bead Game is "a kind of synthesis of human learning"[11] in which themes, such as a musical phrase or a philosophical thought, are stated. As the Game progresses, associations between the themes become deeper and more varied.[11] Although the Glass Bead Game is described lucidly, the rules and mechanics are not explained in detail.[12]"
https://web.archive.org/web/20110131032029/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,853996,00.html
Clement, Samuel (1970-01-17), "An act of mental synthesis", Montreal Gazette, p. 17, retrieved 2010-02-07
"Description The Glass Bead Game takes place at an unspecified date centuries in the future. Hesse suggested that he imagined the book's narrator writing around the start of the 25th century.[5] The setting is a fictional province of central Europe called Castalia, which was reserved by political decision for the life of the mind; technology and economic life are kept to a strict minimum. Castalia is home to an austere order of intellectuals with a twofold mission: to run boarding schools, and to cultivate and play the Glass Bead Game, whose exact nature remains elusive and whose devotees occupy a special school in Castalia known as Waldzell. The rules of the game are only alluded to—they are so sophisticated that they are not easy to imagine. Playing the game well requires years of hard study of music, mathematics, and cultural history. The game is essentially an abstract synthesis of all arts and sciences. It proceeds by players making deep connections between seemingly unrelated topics.[citation needed]"
Jost von Silenen created the Grimm's Fairy Tales equivalent of switzerland's real folk heroes, in a compendium that is still being decoded, although it appears he has cemented his status as county clerk of Sion and recorder of of the old Swiss Confederacy.
It is said on p.35 of the English translation that "DaVinci stayed in the Alps"
In the 1980 movie Airplane, the pilot confesses he has a drinking problem. A flashback to him filling up a glass with gatorade and missing the pouring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl4plPGRG8o Jost's handwriting was not great, but could he have been guided by the great DaVinci?
"15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519" Crossbows were common, and it may have just been a coincidence that Jost sketched Sforza Palace, which was located in a city that Da Vinci frequented between 1483 and 1490:
"While there is no exact date for the illustrations of Leonardo's crossbows, they are generally believed to be drafted between 1483 and the early 1490s.[4] Many scholars generally agree that Leonardo completed the drawings in the manuscript in Milan, but there is debate as to why he originally went there. Some believe he came to Milan in search of work as a painter and then he got news of Sforza's military desires upon arriving. Others suggest that the initial reason he came directly to Milan was to work for Sforza.[5]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo%27s_crossbow https://archive.org/details/leonardodavincis00land
The picture of William Tell and his crossbow, if compared, could be a smaller replica of the intended large cross bow: https://www.da-vinci-inventions.com/giant-crossbow https://www.davincilife.com/crossbow.html
from: https://voynichrevisionist.com/2023/04/02/odonovan-notes-13-1a-opening-the-iris/ "So again – How many medieval European manuscripts of the thirteenth-to-fifteenth centuries do you think you could find in which a crowned female is drawn unclothed, not slender and not fine of face?"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael (March 28 or April 6, 1483 – April 6, 1520) Raphael was known to draw body-positive figures.
Using graph theory to map commonalities might help, such as Neo4J's GraphDBs, but a brief comparison:
Jost von Silenen Egloff Etterlin
Born in Küssnacht SZ, 1435 Born in Brugg AG, 1400
German-speaking hometown German-speaking hometown
https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/000715/2008-11-06/ Küssnacht
https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/001688/2020-06-09/ Brugg
"As bailiffs over Lucerne, the Habsburgs also came into possession of the bailiff over the Lucerne Dinghof in Küssnacht. Until the 14th century, the influence of Lucerne prevailed in Küssnacht. The lords of Küssnacht (extinct in 1352) can be traced as bailiffs and landowners as early as the High Middle Ages. Their castle, first mentioned in 1263, known as Gesslerburg by Aegidius Tschudi, belonged to the nobles of Silenen from Uri from 1400 onwards. After 1517 it was uninhabited, fell into disrepair and has been owned by the Swiss Confederation since 1908."
A native of Brugg, Egloff received Lucerne citizenship in 1422.
Egloff spoke and wrote German and Latin Jost spoke German, French and Latin
Egloff's trajectory follows the history of Swiss identity being stongly tied to the events that wielded Lucerne away from Habsburg rule:
"As the abbots of Murbach were often at odds with the Counts of Habsburg, who were also Landgraves in Alsace, in regard to their estates in Upper Alsace, Rudolf of Habsburg, after his election as emperor, confirmed all the privileges of the town, and declared that the citizens of Lucerne were received as a fief of the Empire. In order to conciliate the town, he bought, in 1291, from the Abbot of Murbach the estates of the abbey in Lucerne and in the Forest Cantons (Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden) for 2000 silver marks and five villages in Alsace. Although the town looked unfavourably on this change of ownership, it was nevertheless obliged to swear allegiance to Rudolf's son Albrecht for the confirmation of its liberties. But the Habsburg supremacy did not last long. By the renewal of the league of the above three Forest Cantons, which has revolted from Austria, the foundation of a Swiss nationality was laid. In the wars which now broke out, Lucerne had to fight against its own countrymen; still it was faithful to its Austrian suzerain until after the Battle of Morgarten (1315). The victory gained there by the Swiss encouraged the friends of liberty, and two parties were formed in Lucerne, an Austrian and a Swiss. When the town was transferred, in 1228, from the jurisdiction of Rothenburg to that of Baden, twenty-six citizens formed an association for five years to maintain the city's privileges; in 1330 this association was joined by the burgomaster and the council, and on 7 November, 1332, Lucerne entered into a perpetual league with the three Forest Cantons. Although this alliance did not contemplate complete independence, still the struggle with the House of Habsburg could not be long delayed."
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09406b.htm
Jost's trajectory follows a similar trajectory, but with much more French upbringing:
"Jost von Silenen grew up in Küssnacht Castle . Until the conversion of the Benedictine monastery in Lucerne ( St. Leodegar im Hof ) into a canon's monastery in 1455, he had the benefices of the builders , the first benefices have been documented since he was 13 years old." https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jost_von_Silenen
"In 1291 the monastery was sold to the Habsburgs by Murbach because of their own difficulties . In 1433 the city of Lucerne, now a member of the Swiss Confederation , regained all rights over the monastery and in 1455 the Benedictine monastery was converted into a secular canonry .
The monastery experienced a heyday during the Counter-Reformation , when Lucerne was a suburb of the Catholic cantons and the residence of the papal nuncio , who used the Hofkirche as his cathedral." [1545-] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Leodegar_im_Hof
The victory gained there by the Swiss encouraged the friends of liberty, and two parties were formed in Lucerne, an Austrian and a Swiss.
The two parties- who were they? Egloff was already a Swiss citizen by 1422. To call someone Swiss may have been slightly misleading, even though it is factually correct. Not misleading due to allegiances, but to understand the trajectories of where arguably stateless, travelling diplomats were still tring to stake their as yet unknown identity. The other Austrian? Perhaps Jost?
Bio of Rudolph I: "German king, b. 1 May 1218; d. at Speyer, 15 July, 1291. He was the son of Albert IV, the founder of the Habsburg line, and Countess Heilwige of Kiburg. After the death of his father in the Holy Land, Rudolf pursued an independent line of politics. In the conflict between the papacy and the empire he supported the Hohenstaufens, and, during the interregnum, strove to increase the power of his house, especially in Switzerland. In his extensive domains, of which Swabia formed the centre, he showed himself a good, if stern ruler, and especially in the south won many friends. At the instigation of Gregory X, who threatened to appoint a regent to govern the empire if steps were not taken to restore order to the country by the election of a prince who would exercise an effective rule, Rudolf was chosen emperor 1 October, 1273. Towering but lean of stature, with bony cheeks and hooked nose, he was a courageous warrior, a skilled diplomat, and distinguished alike for unrelenting sternness and genial kindness. Six electors voted for Rudolf; the seventh, Ottakar of Bohemia, abstained from voting. This powerful king ruled from Meissen and the mountains in the north of Bohemia as far as the Adriatic, having added Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Krain to his inherited domains. When Ottakar was summoned to answer for this alienation of the imperial fiefs, Rudolf proved himself an astute politician in the proceedings against Bohemia. Recognizing that it was impossible to force the German princes to the position of vassals, he utilized every opportunity to enhance the power of his house, for only the possession of great domains could ensure for a German king a position of prominence. Supported by the Church, Rudolf began the war in 1276, and on the Marchfeld on 26 August, 1278, Ottakar lost his throne and his life. The ancient possessions of the Bohemian royal house were left to Ottakar's son Wenceslaus, who was still a minor, but the Austrian lands had to be given up and were formally granted by Rudolf to his sons, as according to the prevailing laws of the empire, the sovereign could not retain confiscated lands. In this manner Ostmark came permanently into the possession of the Habsburgs. Whether the downfall of Ottakar was a German success or not, is still an open question among scholars. In recent times, the opinion has prevailed that, far from being hostile to the Germans, Ottakar favoured German immigration into Bohemia, and that, with the possession of the Austrian lands, he might perhaps have completely germanized Bohemia; and, had he secured the imperial crown, this powerful prince might have given a new importance to the imperial authority. The creation of a strong central power was also the object of Rudolf's politics."
Regarding his father, Frederick II: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor
"Frequently at war with the papacy, which was hemmed in between Frederick's lands in northern Italy and his Kingdom of Sicily (the Regno) to the south, he was excommunicated three times and often vilified in pro-papal chronicles of the time and after. Pope Gregory IX went so far as to call him an Antichrist."
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13218b.htm
I've learned more about Swiss Late Middle Ages history in Continental Europe in the past 2 weeks than I have in a semester, although I was not necessarily unattentive when I studied in school- there was just so much information then as there is now. So it is clear that the pivotal event that led to Switzerland was an expatriate movement (it would be wrong to call it refugees) from the Habsburg regions of North-eastern cantons and Austrian territory to southwestern (or simply South) cantons such as Valais, but Jost von Silenen and Egloff Etterlein are just two examples of that trend, and makes no other claim as to any other connection, but conjecture is always important in hypothesis building:
Jost von Silenen was the Splinter to at least three of the Four Rennaissance Masters : Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello
Don 1386 – 1466
Leo 1452 – 1519
Mike 1475 - 1564
Ralph 1483 – 1520
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splinter_(Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles)
https://www.swiss-spectator.ch/deutsch-stift-st-michael-beromuenster/
https://www.swiss-castles.com/st-michaels-monastery
"Knowing Like a State: The Transformation of Political Knowledge in Swiss Archives, 1450–1770
Randolph Head
The Journal of Modern History
Vol. 75, No. 4 (December 2003), pp. 745-782 (38 pages)
Published By: The University of Chicago Press"
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/383353
https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/stalu/Shelfmark
https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/thumbs/stalu/COD-1080/ Egloff Etterlein's cartulary The Silver Book
If a true polymath created the manuscript, then it might take a polymath to decrypt it. That or enough minds put together.
It would appear the "Austrian and a Swiss" could be in reference to those of the Rutli Oath, from the time of William Tell (as it was from 1315)
compard to today
The the specialization of academic fields, while understandably necessary for advancing technologies using engineering subspecialties, also led to the decline of the polymath. While this began long ago, as late as the 1700s there were still alchemists who experimented with many different aspects of nature; Once electricity and magnetism became formalized, the predictability of certain aspects of nature using the scientific method led to a need for more tenure-track fields, rather than an all-around liberty to study and teach on a number of subjects, even if they knew relatively little in what would be considered today an advanced AP course, or even an introductory Physics course. In the 1400s and 1500s, a Latin-educated classic scholar would know a little bit about everything, and wouldn't need to memorize partial differential equations, which didn't occur until the 17th century.
To consider most of these equations were developed after the Rennaissance. Which isn't to say even moderate-difficulty math wasn't practiced, but that it was much common/easier to focus on ciphers compared to numerical cryptography. The effectiveness of ciphers was also due to obscurity through illiteracy- the few people who could read Latin, or any language, were the nobility. Some estimates place the literacy rate at 6% In the 1300s: https://www.quora.com/What-were-literacy-rates-in-Medieval-Europe-How-did-they-compare-to-literacy-rates-in-the-Roman-Empire In any case, the composition suggests someone of at least moderate means. In a pre-heliocentric worldview, the Church was an authoritative teacher on the stars and the planets. Thus it is no surprise that a Bishop could author it- a clergyman would have been knowledgeable in sciences, even though what is called science today would not resemble what may have been viewed as established laws in astronomy.
To be fair, I have wanted to complete the Elegant Enigma, and I just located a copy of The Cipher of Roger Bacon. While I have not focused so much on the Voychinese, I believe that as long as the illustrations were drawn by someone the main scribe knew, there are plenty of clues, such as dragons and marginalia indicating locations in Switzerland. Thus pictures tell a thousand words, and in a way, represent a universal language, much like how music and math are also universal language. calligraphy, however, is a tougher nut to crack, and I will not examine it right now, although I it may be other's forte.
I have developed the same habits of Newbold in the past few weeks (although some of these habits preceded any work on Voynich Manuscript):
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015004978535&view=1up&seq=20 Without knowing the details why Newbold was widely debunked, I cannot say or claim he was wrong or right. But I am intrigued by the idea that somehow Bacon made its way into another chronicle-story about Switzerland, even if it had nothing to do with it, being a century prior. It would be even more intriguing if Jost von Silenen of learned Bacon's cipher to encode his own story, something which has not yet been revealed in Dr. Bernhart-Konigstein's preview. However, the risk of considering too many theories as plausible runs into becoming sidetracked. Since there is only one correct period of authorship, it would be increasingly unlikely that the manuscript was written over a course of 2-300 years. That said, that theory maximizes the obfuscation of the text and source by layering multiple penmanships that are attributed to different periouds. The fact that some still believe it is Roger Bacon leads me to think that his cipher was known centuries later and was employed in a way that has hiterto never been decryoted. If true, multiple theories aren't entirely wrong, but they might address the issue from a non-holistic perspective, thus inasmuch as scholars are satisfied with cracking one compartmentalized aspect, the person who attempts to put all the pieces together, like in Wheel of Fortune, and solve the puzzle, are going to be mutually partners. It may not be one's expertise to connect dots from regional history- other marginalia could simply be ways to lead followers down a decoy or bluff- to distract one towards Brugg, perhaps so one could be led on a path away from Milan, for example. The same way cyberattacks use IP address of different TLD to mask and layer direct tracing, it is very likely that some elements used - such as Byzantine artwork can be deceptively Mediteranian. That said, being syncretic in teh 1400s would have been far ahead of one's time. This isn't to say it didn't happen elsewhere, but typically one might expect more classical artwork, as opposed to variegated regions of civilization. It may be wishful to think that Byzantine locations were useful foils for his drawings, but being a Bishop of Hierapolis suggests, well, maybe a fantasy to draw it?
Two things are clear- whichever theory is determined to be obviously correct (hoepfully in this lifetime- it would be nice by 2030)- once I become familiar with all of them, I might already know, the truth is most likely going to reveal that it took many different parties to decode. If it turns out it was written in the 1400s, then radiocarbon dating would be a contributing factor. The other thing that is clear is that if it does take a scientist and classicist linguist to decode it, what does that mean for the rest of research? Shouldn't most all research follow this method? Or will interdisciplinary research be viewed as a last resort. If anything the discovery using both science and humanities should encourage more polymath curriculum. A liberal arts degree in "Science and Letters" as some colleges is actually offered in some universities: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Letters_and_Science
"Some universities offer Letters and Science as an academic major. This often involves a broad program of study in the humanities and sciences. It may also refer to a specialized or customized program that does not fit into another category." Had I known this was available, I might have taken it. Although I also believe I learned a lot being required to take the standard track of introductory physics courses, compared to a course geared for the minimum needed for a pure humanities major. At my university, Geology 101 was one of those courses that involved no math, and counted as a Science pre-requisite for graduation. The larger issue preventing such Letters and Science as a popular major is that careers today are more specialized. That isn't to say employment in fields requiring familiarity in a polymath field won't be needed, but generalists should can could be found to be more resourceful, perhaps if AI requires or allows humans to pursue a variety of subjects, rather than having to do all the tedious work themselves. As creators, technology could allow thinkers to access cross-disciplinary tools to maximize the polymath mind, one that is significantly underutilized. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_percent_of_the_brain_myth While I believe this is largely a myth, I believe underemployment is actually the cause of this, because job duties often do not allow one to pursue all of the mental faculties that one is capable of developing. In other words, it's not that the average person cannot use more than 10% of their faculty, but that many job duties do not require using every logical tool in the brain's toolbox.
10 years from now, AI tutors may be commonplace. It is unclear if this will detract from the social learning experience, but 1:1 tutors have been known to create good scholars. https://escapingflatland.substack.com/p/ai-tutors A society with more tools for education can be a greater society.
While technological expertise is instrumental at guiding policy, in many ways, it shape curriculums towards more vocational: "Liberal arts takes the term art in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. Liberal arts education can refer to studies in a liberal arts degree course or to a university education more generally." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_arts_education A typical example where policy is considered tilted toward technocracy is when a new technology is promoted that has some Orwellian aspect of surveillance. On the One had, there is privacy-centric technology, such as FOSS software. A technocrat may not be required to read a single book or take a literature course to obtain a 4 year degree, and the optimist would suggest that by having read Orwell, a technology -related major who graduates and later became a technocrat would disagree with the dystopian presentation and not implement such a surveillance technology in a product. That would be the optimistic view. The pessimisstic view would be that someone familiar with the concepts of Orwell, whether or not they read the book, would still disagree with the outlook presenting and claiming that reality is considered dystopian, and somehow believes that that amount of surveillance is normal, if not utopian.
How this shapes academic research: Academic research is in part, guided by policy and outlook.
p.10 The fact that the Sciences (those purely concerned with new technologies such as ML/VR), in a way, have abandoned the Voynich manuscript, by effectively considering its contents/knowledge obsolete, tilts the value of academic degrees towards highly specialized STEM degrees, without much regard towards its social or ethical implications. While it is certainly true that AI, ML, and other advances can contribute to deciphering the technology, due to the number of digital copies for many eyes to examine in high resolution, along with other computational tools to determine stochastic characteristics of handwriting, leading to the multiple scribes theory, it is remarkable that certain concepts such as entropy didn't even exist until the 1870s, when it was added to the Laws of Thermodynamics, of which didn't exist until the 1840s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_law_of_thermodynamics
But of course, scientists even then were captivated by these natural laws, that they ended up discovering more, and more, until even laymen's worldview became saturated with buzzwords with scientific terms such as "chaos," "current", "wired" and blurbs for movie reviews, such as "electrifying!." It's become so common most of us aren't even aware of the science that all of implicitly accept, yet it hinders the pursuit of decoding what appears to be a highly enciphered chronicle. Even if there is a hidden text, it doesn't necessarily require hundreds of processors to calculate a statistical probability to generate a clue, though helpful. While there is no right or wrong way to decode the text, as long as the conclusions reached are the same, I think it is important to consider that a longer detour to the answer could be just as accessible as one calculated using hundreds of millions of CPU cycles. For that, human research hours are, in a way, undervalued, and while not without error, seems to be the main deterrent to more cross-collaborations between the sciences and humanities. C.P. Snow might expect more science from the humanities, but others like Lucy Ellman expect more humanities from the sciences: https://thebaffler.com/salvos/my-study-hates-your-study-ellmann While the article does make some strong points, it is a tongue-in-cheek essay, but something the sciences seem to afraid to even interact with.
https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/21/2/255/1187993 Recent research: https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3313/paper11.pdf This approach is interesting because determining the right association of glyphs could reveal something that a linear chart might not be able to. Combining different associations might lead to one correct temporal lineage of word usage, but categorization is a very meta and subjective tool.
Regarding Radiocarbon dating, I am not sure if this has any effect, but the margin of error at one point was +/-47 uears:
"Calculating radiocarbon ages also requires the value of the half-life for 14 C. In Libby's 1949 paper he used a value of 5720 ± 47 years, based on research by Engelkemeir et al.[25] This was remarkably close to the modern value, but shortly afterwards the accepted value was revised to 5568 ± 30 years,[26] and this value was in use for more than a decade. It was revised again in the early 1960s to 5,730 ± 40 years,[27][28] which meant that many calculated dates in papers published prior to this were incorrect (the error in the half-life is about 3%).[note 5] For consistency with these early papers, it was agreed at the 1962 Radiocarbon Conference in Cambridge (UK) to use the "Libby half-life" of 5568 years. Radiocarbon ages are still calculated using this half-life, and are known as "Conventional Radiocarbon Age". Since the calibration curve (IntCal) also reports past atmospheric 14 C concentration using this conventional age, any conventional ages calibrated against the IntCal curve will produce a correct calibrated age. When a date is quoted, the reader should be aware that if it is an uncalibrated date (a term used for dates given in radiocarbon years) it may differ substantially from the best estimate of the actual calendar date, both because it uses the wrong value for the half-life of 14 C, and because no correction (calibration) has been applied for the historical variation of 14 C in the atmosphere over time.[23][24][30][note 6]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiocarbon_dating#Principles
Whether or not this impacts the expected range from early 1400s to mid to late 1400s only affects whether a suspected author was alive during the earlier period, which can include a wider range of authors from the late 1300s, to the late 1400s.
I do not know if how many radiocarbon tests were performed, and how many different parts of the manuscript were tested, but it could reveal some additional information on whether one scribe wrote part of it during a certain era, other than the expected later 1400s towards the 100+v pages.
The Landa Khojki theory is interesting, because some of the characters share resemblance, but it also suggests that the Manuscript was partially synthetic if it had access to a diverse variety of languages, especially in a region such as Rome, where many travelers may have crossed paths with clergy.
As I read Mary D'Imperio's The Elegant Enigma, I am intrigues by the synthetic theory suggested by 6.6 John Tiltman (p.42-43), where he "notes the ordering of characters within word in such a way that they seem to reflect entitiees like stems and affixes. Certain symbols most often begin words, and cluster there with certain other symbols: others exhibit a preference for the ends of words, where they cluser in certain arrangements with other symbols.
Sound familiar? If you have noticed the ornate and metamorphosing illustrations of roots hybridized with other plants, and stoves transforming into rivers or other impossible depictions, the style of drawing, whether it is synesthesia or something else, shares synthetic and creative intent, and the glyphs cannot be viewed separately from the drawings, in the sense that, at the very least, it strongly suggests the person who could illustrate magical drawings would not be above hybridizing/inventing glyphs that are a fusion between two alphabets to make them intentionally ambiguous, similar to a Rorschach test. But more than likely are many more unintentional interpretations, unless somehow an intelligible decoding a clear history "chronicle" could never be deciphered. It is also possible that there could have been a key /legend that was known on a code-word basis- that is orally spoken between one or more scribes, but never hinted at in the text. That would resemble the long form anagram by Friedman, (6.5), where knowing where the flanking ends of a segment of text, that is, from page 30-70 could be read if the parts outside of it were ignored, then a verbose cipher decoded that followed a pattern that was only found between that segment. It might be harder to locate a segment of intelligible text without knowing where to begin and end the excision, but computational models, if they have not already, could apply combinatorial (and permutational) techniques of excising code segments in a brute force way that seek for patterns by excising varieties of glyphs without including segments which could have been intentionally non-intelligible.
That the author would use letters like chloroplasts to create a stem and a leaf, suggests an interesting pattern for enipherization- one that does not begin from left to right, or right to left, but in a branched manner- essentially using letters in a pictoral way, which is similar to Eastern columns, but represented in left to right form, to be later stacked like branches. This could reveal patterns, which may have already been arranged.
An important aspect to consider, I believe, is that synthetic is not a dead-end, as unattractive as it can appear. It is kind of like AI, where renderings merge two different objects, and create a bizarre composite such as an Astronaut in a spacesuit on a horse. Perhaps the interest in the Voynich Manuscript now is due to the similarities in this concept, long familiar to artistic and creative types, but never so deeply permeating all types of glyphs and illustrations, at least in such an early era. I am making too many assumptions though, it is hard to rule out even the Khojki theory, as difficult it is to understand what the translated text suggests. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/comment?id=10.1371/annotation/c768ead0-9371-4347-8d84-9e021e80c71b https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bstr8HQHuMY
Some other interesting theories: The Grolier Codex
https://proto57.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/the-grolier-codex-forgery/
https://github.com/hatonthecat/Voynich-Manuscript/blob/main/Sitten%201640.JPG Added comparison for Sion/Sitten town walls. See "..." for additional details
12:35 PM - JP2 Codecs and Viewers are Difficult- OPJ Viewer is the First program that was able to display a JP2 file after several days of dead ends
OPJViewer http://dsplab.diei.unipg.it/~baruffa/OPJViewer/win32/
Lots of file formats I'm seeing just JP2. I've never had worse out of the box support for any format. Not even IrfanView would work after installing all of the reccomended plugins. Update 8/11/2023 (IrfanView does work with JP2, it took a few tries installing the plugin and copying them to the plugin folder AND selecting the box for JP2)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEG_2000 https://www.openjpeg.org/
If you know of JP2 viewers that work out of the box that are newer than 2008, let me know, but I am perfectly happy using 15 year old beta software, lol
https://archive.org/details/VoynichManuscriptAnElegantEnigma/page/n49/mode/2up
After downloading All (Clicking "13 Files" will automatically start a 202MB .zip file download- you can also click Show All all to check first the directory to download separately), there is a zip file that I was able to extract, which subsequently extracted another file that needed to be extracted:
Once extracted, it will create a folder, that looks like this:
There are 140 files.
Here is OpenJPEG Viewer in action, with nice side-drop down menus for additional metadata:
I also downloaded another JP2 a few days ago, so I am excited to be able to have a program that actually works. :)
Internet Archive link for JP2/JPEG for Voynich Manuscript: https://archive.org/details/voynich
I also was able to view https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mundus_Subterraneus_(book) https://archive.org/details/mundussubterrane00unse/page/n9/mode/2up which mentions Lucerne folklore- dragons
btw - Mary D'Imperio's has a nice drawing p.86-87 Which is suggestive of the canton roots (Rutli Oath~ "Root"- get it?:
39V1
Obwalden 14v
Bern 39v1 (ot 90v1) (these are quick guesses- I will try to put more time into sorting these but they kinda match)
Habsburg monarchy (from 1273-1804 Coat of Arms compare and also compare Geneva Coat of Arms with ^ 46V - could be either but seems reference to Hapsburg due to its prominence and centrality (or at least main character) in the story of Swiss
Also compare to 46v: 
https://www.jasondavies.com/voynich/#f46v/0.5/0.5/5.00 (online version of 46v)
And Geneva (larger img comparison)
Dr. Gregory Bernhart-Konigstein's theory seems very plausible!
and Newton's Principia https://archive.org/download/newtonspmathema00newtrich (as a test and general curiousity) The resolution is much higher:
Advantages of JP2 over JPEG: "JPEG 2000 only produces ringing artifacts, manifested as blur and rings near edges in the image, while JPEG produces both ringing artifacts and 'blocking' artifacts, due to its 8×8 blocks."
the Jason Davies site appears to have better quality for VM. the internet archive one seems downgraded even though it says at original quality: "Original 2014 scan jp2 files downloaded from: http://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3519597 Converted to jpg at original quality" That's if no compression was made. I can't say for sure, so I'll say it's around the same quality when zoomed at 100% . It's nicer than the pdf version due to the lack of margins at the very least. Not going to complain :)
Also for context, an interesting aspect is the in person view shows some revealing aspects- the colors and page texture: https://voynichmanuscript.gold/2022/06/13/a-rare-viewing-of-the-voynich-manuscript/
It would be nice to see another scan from different angles. The Swiss library does some amazing scans, each file also around 10MB:
https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/de/thumbs/snm/LM004624-2/
https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/ca49c07b-cfb5-41cc-ab66-c215e1268a05/surfaces/3a26b616-00f7-4280-b785-7e0208b597fe/
https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=1562
https://www.reddit.com/r/voynich/comments/wgqzv6/architecture_from_voynich_rosettes_page_and/
fol132r:
It appears to spell "Illyricvm", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illyrian_language Bodleian Library MS. Canon. Misc. 378
Could metadata be used to discover new information about ancient history? Metadata is known to be the "most useful tool" https://www.businessinsider.com/nsa-document-metadata-2016-12 Applied to privacy, it has far a different meaning. Applied to centuries old rare books, few, if any, have made the suggestion, even though it is far less controversial. https://www.computer.org/csdl/magazine/sp/2014/02/msp2014020084/13rRUxAASZk
What is metadata? Metadata is a collection of datapoints that can suggest factual evidence of an event or relationship. Put broadly, it is a tool for examining information, even if the information alone does not suggest anything. Metadata can reveal patterns, or be used to estimate patterns. Either way, it is a tool made more powerful with supercomputers, due to the computational proccessing requirements needed to potentially make any sense of it. What might have required a datacenter a decade ago could now be run on a laptop or even a smart phone.
The history of Newspapers, and the Printing Press.
https://open.lib.umn.edu/mediaandculture/chapter/4-2-history-of-newspapers
"Scholars commonly credit the ancient Romans with publishing the first newspaper, Acta Diurna, or daily doings, in 59 BCE. Although no copies of this paper have survived, it is widely believed to have published chronicles of events, assemblies, births, deaths, and daily gossip.
In 1566, another ancestor of the modern newspaper appeared in Venice, Italy. These avisi, or gazettes, were handwritten and focused on politics and military conflicts. However, the absence of printing-press technology greatly limited the circulation for both the Acta Diurna and the Venetian papers."
The Birth of the Printing Press
Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press drastically changed the face of publishing. In 1440, Gutenberg invented a movable-type press that permitted the high-quality reproduction of printed materials at a rate of nearly 4,000 pages per day, or 1,000 times more than could be done by a scribe by hand. This innovation drove down the price of printed materials and, for the first time, made them accessible to a mass market. Overnight, the new printing press transformed the scope and reach of the newspaper, paving the way for modern-day journalism."
Let's say the a super computer could log all of the information collected on webpages and search queries on Wilfred Voynich- it could scrape all data from websites and collect hundreds of pages that have never been assembled before. The data itself wouldn't be analyzed immediately, but it could serve as a repository for searchable information, allowing potentially new insights that have never been made before. For example, of all the documents that have been published on an author, perhaps some mentions of a city or country might appear in a number of searches that had been overlooked. for example, if someone recently digitized information about where an individual resided in a certain year, that information might not have been digitized for decades or centuries after the fact. For example, if Wilfred Voynich visited Germany in 1890 but the only record of his visit previously was 1892, then additional information could be searched in city gazettes to cross-reference activity in those cities. What events took place- a book sale, an estate sale, for example. While he may not have been collecting books at that time, the idea that metadata can be applied to historical knowledge is not exactly new, but it can be made much more efficient with searchable text and OCR.
Digitization could also expedite searching the hundreds of books from a city or time period: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-08-10-what-happened-to-google-s-effort-to-scan-millions-of-university-library-books
https://www.openculture.com/2019/09/libraries-archivists-are-digitizing-480000-books.html
https://www.quora.com/Have-all-books-and-literature-available-in-the-world-been-digitised from Quora:
"No.
I would say that less than a tenth has been.
There are millions of “inconsequential” books, mostly novels by authors no one these days has ever heard of, that still exist in used book stores and libraries and attics somewhere, that will never be digitized because no one cares about them.
There are also millions of rare books in collections that have never been digitized because they are fragile, and it takes a special team and setup to do it properly."
But those "inconsequential books may not turn out to be so inconsequential. For example, there are many blogs that talk about celebrity sightings in cities. While many of those blogs reveal information that is common knowledge (celebrity lives in City A or B), it can also serve as an amateur newspaper of "record" in that it establishes a record that something happened. If, 50 years from now, someone wanted to check if a person was in a city on a certain date, they might find a blog post stating this person was here on this date- an alibi. But applied to authorship of historical literature- if a French author was also a knight and was believed to be at war in a certain year, and a Venetian gazette in the 1600s writes about a visiting French warrior visiting town, but only documented in a single municipal library, the digitization of that record could speed up the determination of whether an author may have signed a book on a certain date in Paris, if there was no way he could be in Venice on the same day he was spotted. That is one example that metadata could be used to enhance the details of a timeline of a Rennaissance era biography, since the datapoints- the idle chatter (celebrity spottings) become quite useful information for a historian tracing the gaps in historical knowledge for even some of the more famouse individuals. After all, the Rennaissance didn't have vlogs to document the record of every day occurences. Digitizing much of the written record, whether it was on the printing press for local newspaper or a national text of contemporary importance, could see much more throughput of actionable information for various historical research projects.
f17r Marginalia- Melker Russ?
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melchior_Russ
(p.58-9 of Dr. Bernhart-Konigstein)
geschichtsquellen.de/autor/4678
https://www.zentralplus.ch/blog/damals-blog/melchior-russ-ein-armer-luzerner-ritter-schreibt-geschichte/ https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/gnd100960154.html
St. Maurice at 116r
"valsch Abtey" 116v
"Swiss Cantons Ágoston-rendi Szent Mór-kolostor a svájci Wallis kantonban -- Augustinian Monastery of Saint Maurice in the Swiss canton of Valais -- Monasterio agustino de San Mauricio, en el cantón suizo de Valais' https://hu.pinterest.com/pin/506232814340824571/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_of_Saint-Maurice_d%27Agaune
"Valsch Abtey" does seem legible on the last line, if it can be confirmed as such.
On the 2nd to the last line:
This appears to be Maurix (The St. Maurice Abbey) :
"morix"
This appears to be Morix: 
9:41AM
A Map of Europe in 1444:
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/map-of-medieval-europe-in-1444/
full size 13MB https://www.visualcapitalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/medieval-map-of-europe-in-1444.html This map reveals much about the diversity of an era- not just in regional differences, but most likely dialects which most likely no longer exist:
Child (1976),[75] a linguist of Indo-European languages for the U.S. National Security Agency, proposed that the manuscript was written in a "hitherto unknown North Germanic dialect".[75] He identified in the manuscript a "skeletal syntax several elements of which are reminiscent of certain Germanic languages", while the content is expressed using "a great deal of obscurity".[76]
Child, James R. (Summer 1976). "The Voynich manuscript revisited". NSA Technical Journal. XXI (3). Child, James R. (2007). "Again, the Voynich manuscript" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2016
https://web.archive.org/web/20090616205410/http://voynichmanuscript.net/voynichpaper.pdf