RE: VMs: Image Source, Accuracy of Transcriptions

["GC" <glenclaston@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey Rene,

you're right - it was a rant, and it felt good, damn it!

> Never mind, I've got a serious question - a challenge
> to the A.Askham hypothesis which you may possibly
> be able to dismiss. Just out of curiosity.
> Did Askham ever write anything on vellum? Did
> his contemporaries in or around the same
> geographical area?

Why yes Rene, A.Askham did write the VMS on vellum, but that's not what you
were asking?  Since I'm only aware of two things in Anthony's hand, the VMS
and his early translation of Sacro Bosco, I'd say I have no other example of
his works on vellum.  The Sacro Bosco book was meant for a publisher, as the
opening paragraphs suggest.  had it been purchased by a publisher, it would
have been worth from 6 to 20 pounds.  Sold to a private individual it
probably gained upwards of 20 pounds, even on paper, since it was the first
known English translation of Sacro Bosco's Sphaera, and since it was
tailored for the meridian of Yorke.  I have a suspicion that Ryland 228 is
by Anthony, though I'm not certain at this point.  I don't remember if this
is vellum or paper leaves.

Did his contemporaries write on vellum?  Yes, most certainly.  There are a
number of Canatabridgian manuscripts from this time that are written on
vellum, and there existed a thriving business for manuscripts, even in the
face of competition from print.  Let me explain this, as England is a
special case.

Most paper was made of rags, and eventually a combination of rags and wood
pulp.  England produced mostly wool, and little cotton.  England even
imported most of its cloth as well, leaving very little to waste for paper.
The forests were protected and considered a national treasure under the
King, and vital to the national interest, for ship building, etc.  England
produced no paper of its own until 1617, when the first patent was granted
for a paper mill by King James.  Virtually all paper was imported from
Holland, and even then, members of the King's inner circle held patents of
monopoly on these imports, so paper was expensive.  This goes far in
explaining why printing got off to a late start in England, and so few books
were printed before 1550 as compared to the prolific printing on the
continent.  In fact, the surge of books printed after the death of Henry
VIII is startling, but due to the lifting of heavy tariffs on paper
products, a move first brought about by Edward VI at the insistance of the
Stationer's Guild.  Until about 1548, many times it was cheaper to purchase
a book brought from the continent than to purchase one printed in England.
The added value in an English printed book over a foreign printed book was
many times the fact that it was in English and readily understandable to a
growing middle class patronage.

Vellum and sheep's parchment were still competitive materials in England
before 1550, and the Tanner's Guild was still going strong.  Use of vellum
dwindled after 1550 in England because of a lifting of certain restrictions,
long before that in France, and in other areas of the continent where the
raw materials for paper were plentiful.

The Voynich vellum is the most interesting I've seen of any manuscript I've
viewed, and I'm certain those in Europe that have handled some of these fine
books would agree.  The folios are rather small, not large like many
contemporary books, and they have several irregularities.  Stitching in
places where the tanner's knife has made a mark, and holes in the vellum.
The edges are irregular.  Writing can be seen to go around the stitching and
the holes, meaning these were there when the manuscript was written.  A good
example is the 'eagle' root.  It is drawn around a hole, and uses the hole
as part of the artwork.

It's not the fact that it was written on vellum we should be pursuing,
rather finding other examples of such artistic use of poor-grade vellum,
that's the challenge.

GC

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