VMs: Comments from Jan Hurych

[Jim Gillogly <jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jan Hurych writes:

Gentlemen,

I would like to express my thanks for your appreciation of our latest find. Also, I would like to join the discussion and answer some of your comments:

RAFAL: One way or another, the comparison of Horczicky's signature with the  one in the VM will be inconclusive: if it is positive, why would he write his name in such place and why would anybody else try to erase it?  Interesting point there has Larry (see below) suggesting the re-used vellum.
The  negative result would of course mean even less unless we find who wrote it. And  I suspect that while in H. possession, the VM was lost. One incident comes in mind: the contemporary chronicler P. Skala ze Zhore mentioned that when H. was exiled with some other high ranking officers, their houses were ransacked by mob. If the VM was stolen, that opens wide the possibilities who wrote it in and who erased it, but it could explain how Baresh possibly got it.

Another case is comparison of the VM text alone - due to different script it would be really difficult to prove H's authorship. For instance, I did find extreme similarity between the numbering of the pages and the "letters" in the VM ( e.g. characters looking like numbers "8" and "9", all in the same page), but I could not say the same for the rest of numbers.

So what remains are the handwritings of the side-comments in the VM and it would be very interesting to specify their authors. For completeness, we should get as well the handwriting of Rudolph II, Baresh, Marci ( his letter in hand is copied in d'Imperio's book) and Kircher's. If the VM is indeed in code, I believe H. was closer to obtaining the key than anybody else - for instance from the seller -  if he was really the first who bought the manuscript.

DANA: Thanks for the publication of our finds and the link to our page in this conference. Re to your question if Voynich forged the "signature " in the VM: Voynich did not have  any reason. He already had the original letter from Marci in hand and besides, it would leave another open end. He would probably find some other name, more covenient. We know he tried to learn more about H., but n ot enough. He also searched for more info about Baresh, but could not find more than  was  in Marcis letters (well,neither did I, yet . What's more, I suspect he would rather try to fake the link to Bacon, since he followed that lead vigorously and it would prove the VM is even older.
I suggest the Voynich's "accident" with ultraviolet light should be repeated in true conditions that Voynich had  - I believe even the machines and copying technology  were different in his time (was there ammonia present and ozon ?).

JIM: True, Marci was apparently very sick, but I also suspect the additional reason: being skilled mathematician, he was probably approached first by Baresh to help him with cracking the VM and he was almost certainly intrigued (René quotes the letter where Marci and Kircher try to crack the cipher of Swedish general Banner . Not being to able to solve it however and knowing his days are limited, he donated it to Kircher who was his close friend and had some reputation in cracking, too. Also, he knew Kircher was already initiated in the VM in  past (via copies only), but he apparently always wanted to have the original.   Maybe Kircher's letters to Marci - if they exist, none of them were  yet found in Prague - could  shed some light at it.

WILLIAM: I agree. Even if such analysis may not give us all answers, it should have been done in first place; it would have been a right start. Even the Shroud of Turin was allowed to be analyzed . Chemical analysis and dating of vellum, maybe even of the colors used and ink (?) would at least give us the earliest possible date of the manuscript.

ROBERT: True, I believe the whole folio f1r requires the thorough investigation, but  we apparently we also need  somehow better copy of the original. Could you tell me where I can find the "dark" and "light" copy? I have only the one from Japanese site, which is black and white.  Note: when analyzing, I am using "graphics editor" for magnification and it works pretty well without introducing additional coarseness - up to certain level, of course. Also, there is a good trick, first  used with Turin Shroud - we can generate the negatives via such editor, which sometimes gives rather interesting insights.

LARRY: As I mentioned above, I do not suspect Voynich faked the "signature" in the VM. Horczicky was not so well known personality and being Voynich, I would rather choose Kepler or Tycho de Brahe, who both lived in Prague at that time, as owners of the VM . Your idea about re-used vellum is quite interesting and again, maybe chemical or other analysis would be appropriate here. Maybe BBC  should have had that idea first place, they could surely use their weight and money, not talking about the advantage of being the first .

Best regards.				
J.B.H.
hurychj@xxxxxxxxx
2004-02-22
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