RE: VMs: New guy on the block

[Nick Pelling <incoming@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Dan,

At 17:06 04/04/03 +0200, Dan Gibson wrote:
> I'm sure I recognize at least five of the characters in the
> language used, and another six or seven are quite close to others. That
> leaves 11 scribbles that I can't correlate at all.

The correlations with (for example) Tironian notae have been, ummm, noted 
many times. You might find it a good idea to search the mailing list before 
you get too excited. :-/

From the cipherbet's structure, I believe it's a cipher built on the back 
of a (now lost) wax-tablet tachygraphy system, which vaguely incorporated 
elements of David King's "Ciphers of the Monks" Cistercian numbering 
schemes (the gallows would have been numbers). I've also looked (briefly) 
at Greek tachygraphy and it doesn't appear to be related... but that's 
another story. :-)

> Some words, however
> are starting to come out. My hunch is that this is not cipher. It is an
> ancient language used by ancient merchants and traders, but it has been
> badly distorted by scribes who were just copying without understanding.

Of the "ancient languages used by ancient merchants and traders", probably 
the two best candidates are Lingua Franca and Oc: and the VMS doesn't look 
much like either.

Also, it was written in (what I think is) quite a nice hand, so it was 
probably a well-paid scribe to be making mistakes. If you don't understand 
how it's put together, presuming that "it's the way it is because of 
copying errors" isn't going to move you forward (you're just forming a 
theory and reshaping the evidence to fit that theory).

My point is: it's pretty subtle and probably well-written, so don't 
underestimate it.

> They westernized the whole book, where it is oriental in style and
> layout. My research is going to take quite a bit of time, though, as I
> want to identify some of the plants and animals in manuscript.

As a community, we've also talked with numerous experts on herbals, some of 
whom have already examined the VMS for themselves at the Beinecke. Dana 
Scott has worked assiduously to assemble material relating to likely 
matches... but a large number don't correlate well at all, appearing to be 
synthetic, composite, imaginary, or just downright fake.

> Once I
> finish downloading the pages next week, I will make copies on CD and
> fire them off to some scholars in various parts of the world for their
> help in identifying some of the things in the manuscript. I'm excited. I
> could be right. And I could be very very wrong, like lots of people
> before me.

The history of the VMS shows that cracking it is unlikely to be as simple 
as "showing it to the right person": and because the VMS doesn't fit 
existing families of herbals, scholars largely don't want to get involved, 
as there's nothing in it for them.

My advice would be what one my chess teachers years ago used to say - "sit 
on your hands". If you have a question that you'd like a scholar or expert 
to answer, hold back & read up about it first (remember, you'll be the 
expert on it before long), and only then try to frame it in the most useful 
and powerful way possible.

Most questions (however obscure) have already been debated to death here 
(several times over)... so be sure to use the mailing list archives as a 
primary resource. We all want scholars on our side, so treat them like the 
scarce resource they are. :-)

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

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