VMs: Challenges / avenues...

[Nick Pelling <incoming@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Luis (& everyone)

> > But when I see that I've been
> > re-inventing the wheel then clearly I am wasting our time. This is slightly
> > frustrating and if possible I would like to avoid this. So "directions" are
> > welcome ...
>
> I interpret this as a call for 'old-timers' to provide a revised set of
> suggested threads to be pursued  (something like D'Imperio's Avenues), some
> kind of guideline for efforts that could be carried out by 'newbies' or
> anyone interested. Solid coordination is always welcomed by volunteers.
>
> A special message on 'Avenues' from each one of those list members would
> probably be appreciated by all - leadership is in demand.

A good challenge! :-)

FYI, here are the avenues I'm currently exploring:
(1) Italian baths & spas - especially the connection with Ludovico Sforza
(2) Filarete - there are some fascinating parallels and connections here
(3) Rocca Sforzesca - discussions with the Museum in Imola continue!
(4) Connections between the VMS and Caterina Sforza's "Experimenti"
(5) The code itself - I suspect I ~may~ have identified three of the 
constituent codes/ciphers, so am devising a good statistical test to 
determine the degree to which the VMS agrees with me. :-)

Here are some other avenues that I think might be well worth pursuing:

(1) dating the VMS' alphabet purely from the letter shapes.
Here, I'm thinking in particular about the ligatured "4o" and the EVA m 
(the Capricorn glyph). The 4o pair was certainly in use in 1450 (in Tristan 
Sforza's private cipher), but where else did it appear? Did it have a 
specific meaning in a specific trade at that time? For example, was it used 
by incunabula makers, or by alchemists?

Also: when did the "EVA m" glyph come into common use as meaning 
"Capricorn"? My guess is round about 1550 or later, but it would be worth 
checking Capelli and Gessman's ("Die Geheimsymbole...") or other similar 
sources etc.

My hunch is that this date would form an *upper bound* on the VMS' dating - 
its author seems to have worked extremely hard to avoid using well-known 
symbols of the day, so would probably have avoided Capricorn as much as 
(say) Libra or Sagittarius.

(2) tracking down inverse spirals in Arabic Dioscorides to match with f56r
Like Stan Tenen, I think this page may well have been copied from elsewhere 
- it might well be interesting to see if there are specific parallels 
(though my guess is that this might be hard to achieve).

(3) trying to build a copy of the VMS but with all the bifolios in their 
correct order
I recently suggested (email me for a copy of the current draft!) that the 
bifolios were quite possibly  originally in a different order (octernion, 
rather than quaternion), where the contents of each herbal quire would be 
indicated by a pair motif on the front page. This theory could probably be 
proved or disproved by examining the original binding stations.

I think it might be extremely revealing to try to reconstruct the VMS in 
its original state, especially the balneological section (where we know for 
certain that the bifolios ended up in the wrong order). What pages would 
end up next to each other? Are there other connections between pages we've 
missed to date?

(4) Constructing a proposal to the Beinecke for a proper physical analysis 
prior to conservation
I think this is absolutely the most important immediate avenue, and would 
welcome any/all suggestions for different tests that might/could/should be 
carried out. For example:-
        Ink analysis (spectroscopy, etc)
                Main text
                Foliation
                Quire numbering
                Zodiac / month name
                michiton oladabas etc
        Paint analysis
                Separate colours
                        Yellow
                        Red
                        Green
                        Blue
                        etc
                Heavy overpainting (was that a separate process?)
        Binding station analysis
                When was it last bound?
                Had it been bound before that? If so, how?
                To what degree do these support my octernion ordering theory?
        Material analysis
                Composition
                Trapped pollen analysis
        Dating
                What date range can we infer?
        Locating
                Can we localise any of the materials used to a country or 
region?

The ink spectroscopic tests often only need picograms of material for 
analysis, so shouldn't cause any significant damage to the manuscript. :-)

Anyone here with experience of carrying out (or specifying, or pricing, or 
performing inferences from) these kinds of tests, please emerge from the 
shadows and email me NOW! :-)

Note that I've had a similar list (Physical Evidence) on my "challenges" 
page for a little while now:-
 http://www.nickpelling.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/voynich/challenges.htm   [*]

Well... that's a start, anyway.

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

[*] Ooops - realised that I *still* haven't updated the new VMS mailing 
list link on that page. :-(