Indexing update...

[Nick Pelling <incoming@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi everyone,

I've been researching intra-document references, with the idea of trying to 
determine the type of reference mechanisms that would be most likely to be 
found in the VMS.

The problem is that doesn't appear to be a great deal of literature on 
this: it appears to fall somewhere between knowledge representation, 
medieval semiotics, and classification systems, while staying distinct from 
all three.

However, I've been very kindly pointed to a recent publication by Paul 
Saenger, which (I'm told) deals with this very issue (though I've yet to 
see this):-

	Word and Image

	Volume 17 Issue 1 2001

	Benito arias montano and the evolving notion of locus in
	sixteenth-century printed books
	P Saenger 119-137

Some of you may already be familiar with Paul Saenger from his review 
article on the Vinland Map, another Beinecke holding:-

	http://www.ihrinfo.ac.uk/maps/saenger.html

Quick sideline: the medieval mind has been described as "memorial" and the 
modern mind as "documentary" - the move to silent reading was aided by the 
insertion of spaces between words, as before that much was deliberately 
written in rhyme or rhythmically so as to aid auditory recall.

The best related book on this is (supposedly) "The Book of Memory" by Mary 
Carruthers, a medieval memory scholar (though, again, I've yet to read it).

I wonder: might steganography, by its necessary mindset of approaching a 
page abstractly (ie visually, rather than auditorily) have been partly 
responsible for this change in approach to writing and thought? If so, then 
the VMS - as a densely encoded manuscript - would have been on the cusp 
between the two worlds, medieval and modern.

Today's thought on <EVA ot-> words: the letters/symbols following <ot-> 
might be *initials*, with the full name (or item) listed elsewhere in the 
VMS *alphabetically*. I do believe that there are at least two (and quite 
possibly as many as 12, one per astrological sign) different systems of 
steganography/encryption present in the VMS. Consequently: "ot-" could also 
be read as "Mr", and "yt-" could be Mrs", etc.

Cheers, .....Nick Pelling.....