Re: VMs: Colored paints, touch-ups, and the michiton text

[Dennis <tsalagi@xxxxxxxx>]

Jorge Stolfi wrote:
> 
>   > [stolfi:] The zodiac names, e.g. on f71r, f72r are written in a
>   > different ink and thicker pen than the surrounding text. So that
>   > practically closes an old open question.
> 
>   > [Dennis:] Meaning that someone else wrote them, as we'd always
>   > thought?
> 
> Yes. To be precise, the central figures, the Voynichese text, and most
> of the women figures in the circular diagrams seem to be all in the
> same hand, pen, and ink; whereas the *month names*, and some
> touch-ups, seem to be different.

	OK.  I sure never thought the VMs author did the month
names.  Bruce Grant's idea about Catalan is
interesting.  Occitan would also be possible.  

>   > I would be very much surprised indeed if the VMs
>   > author(s) wrote the "michiton" text!!  I never took the
>   > "key" seriously, and doubt anyone here did.  I always
>   > thought it was someone else's scribbling, trying to
>   > understand Voynichese, and "michiton" etc. is distorted
>   > Voynichese.
> 
> Well, I never found that explanation convincing. Why would that guy
> write *distorted* Roman letters? Why would he copy the "oror sheey"
> undistorted? 

	Good point.   I don't know why the VMs author wouldn't
be fluent in Roman writing, though, since the VMs
script is based on Roman writing, after all (in many of
our opinion, anyway).  

> Why would he write onto f116v rather than on a piece of
> scrap paper?  

	Another good question, especially if the author
intended concealment.  We do see a certain amount of
extraneous scribbling elsewhere on the VMs, though.  

> Where did he copy the text from? Note that if the book was
> already bound, while writing f116v he would not normally see any other
> page, unless he unfolded a fold-out with the book closed, or had f1r
> flipped over -- possible, but somewhat unlikely. Several people have
> scanned the VMS looking for his presumed source text, but haven't
> found it.

	I thought "oladabas" might be Currier OPAR8AR on
f67r1,at 11 o'clock in the outermost text ring.  That
of course isn't the Voynichese.  Does anyone have any
serious ideas about what "michiton oladabas multos
portas" means, if it isn't a distorted idea of
Voynichese?

Dennis
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