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Nick Pelling – Independent Historian [email protected] Vellum – radiocarbon dated to...

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Nick Pelling – Independent Historian [email protected] http://www.ciphermysteries.com/ Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance dated to …1612) Between Vellum & Prague …what happened?
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Page 1: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Nick Pelling – Independent Historian

[email protected]

http://www.ciphermysteries.com/

Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404…

Prague – provenance dated to …1612)

Between Vellum & Prague

…what happened?

Page 2: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Different Types of Evidence

• Physical – radiocarbon date, spectroscopy

• Technical – Art History, technique, cladistics

• Textual – close reading, reference analysis

• Analytical – codicology, palaeography

• Social – provenance, mentions, debate

Codicology = “archaeology of the page”

Page 3: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Codicology: separate the layers!

• Support material (vellum)

• Ink + drawings + paint(s)

• Marginalia + annotation + colophon

• Quire / book / folio numbering

• Corrections + emendations + lacunae

• Contact transfers + stains + accidents

Page 4: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Forensic analysis: “CSI: Voynich”!

• Locard’s Exchange Principle– “Every contact leaves a trace”

• Reconstruct the layer deposition order– Like a crime scene! (But with ink, not blood!)

• Events leave marks between layers– This lets us infer intermediate states

Page 5: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

So, let’s take a look at…

…the Voynich Manuscript’squire numbers

Page 6: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.
Page 7: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Similar numbers (#1)

Cod Sang 839 [Thomas Sauvaget]

This also has book numbers in top margins:19, 29, 39, 49, 59

Page 8: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Similar numbers (#2)

Cod Sang 688 [Philipp Lenz]

Page 9: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Similar numbers (#3)

Seckau Abbey MS 384 [Thomas Sauvaget]

Page 10: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Similar numbers (#4)

Žiče Monastery MS 972 [Thomas Sauvaget]

Page 11: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Similar numbers (#5)

1464: Flores Musicae Cod.poet.et.phil.qt.52

[Thomas Sauvaget]

Page 12: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

One other thing to note…

The “chicken scratch” marginalia are onf66v (in Q8) and f86v3 (in Q14)

Page 13: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Voynich Quire Numbers

• Quiration uses C15 number forms– Noted by John Matthews Manly in 1931

• Quire number gaps need explanation!

• A rarely used quire numbering system– pm9, 29, 39, 49, 5t9, 6t9, 7m9, 8u9, 9n9, 10m9 – “Abbreviated longhand Roman ordinals”

Page 14: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Voynich Folio Numbers

• Foliation uses C16 number forms– Probably added not long before Prague

• Folio number gaps need explanation!

• At least some paint was added later– Under microscope, f42r’s “42” is overpainted

• (Rene Zandbergen, 2009)

Page 15: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Quire order ≠ folio order!

• C15 quire numbers vs C16 folio numbers

• Q9 (‘Quire 9’) was restitched between quiration and foliation (John Grove)

• Same for nine-rosette Q14 (Glen Claston)

• Q2’s quire ‘-9’ terminates in Q6 (Pelling)

Quiration and foliation were independent!

Page 16: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Quire order ≠ original quire order!

• Q8 & Q13 – quire number on the wrong page

• Q13 & Q20 – both originally in two half-quires

• Q15 & Q19 – quires are in reverse order

Quire numberer was not the original author!

Page 17: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Many quire number puzzles!

• Multiple quire hands (Pelling 2006)

• Multiple quire hand numbering styles

• Quire sequence gaps (Q16 & Q18 missing)

• Quire order different from original order

• Quire order different from folio order

• Chicken scratch marginalia separated

So… what happened to the quire numbers?

Page 18: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Generally accepted ‘explanation’

‘Q16 & Q18 were probably single bifolios removed by Baresch to send to Kircher’

Problem: fails to explain the various quire hands, nor why quire hand #1 didn’t number all the quires in one go. Unlikely!

Bigger problem: only explanation on offer.

Page 19: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Intellectual History

• Assumes actions done in good faith

• Assumes rationality under trying conditions

• Primarily constrain hypotheses to evidence

• Few accounts normally fit all the evidence

A poor fit for cryptographic puzzles…

But an excellent fit for pure codicology!

Page 20: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Intellectual history of the quires

Two core presumptions:-

• The quire numbers are not deceptive

• The quire numberer(s) followed ‘the rules’:-

1. Number the quires in order

2. No need to number the endmost quire

3. Put number at bottom right of back page

4. Number each separate book individually

Page 21: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

So… a tentative reconstruction

This is what I believe happened…

Page 22: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Quire state prior to quiration…

The Voynich Manuscript arrived on Quire Hand #1’s desk as three separate books!

Book A: Q1-Q7,Q17,Q8(Q14),Q9-Q12,Q20

Book B: Q13

Book C: Q19,Q15

Page 23: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Step #1: origin of Q19…

• Q19 was the 1st quire of Book C, and was numbered ‘19’ (‘primus’) by someone else!

• Q15 was the 2nd (and last) quire of Book C, so needed no quire number

Page 24: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Step #2: origin of Q13…

• An owner rationalized Book A and Book B into a single Book AB1

• AB1: Q1-Q7,Q17,Q8(Q14),Q9-Q13, Q20

Page 25: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Step #3: Q14 falls out…

• First folded page of Q14 was f86v3

• Q14’s binding damaged, so had fallen out

• Q14 was reinserted immediately after Q8

• AB2: Q1-Q7,Q17,Q8,Q14,Q9-Q13,Q20

Page 26: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Step #4: ‘chicken scratches’ redux

• f66v is the last page of Q8

• f86v3 is still the first page of Q14

• Chicken scratch marginalia added to f66v and f86v3 - facing pages!

• AB3 = AB2 (but with chicken scratches)

Page 27: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Step #5: origin of Q14…

• Nine-rosette Q14 needed rebinding

• Nine-rosette page was removed from after Q8 & reinserted after Q13

• AB4: Q1-Q7,Q17,Q8-Q14,Q20

Page 28: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Step #6: origin of Q15…

• The owner wanted to rationalize Book AB4 and Book C into a single book

• Inserted Book C between Q14 and Q20

• Reversed order of Q15 and Q19!

• (Probably added Q20’s quire number)

• ABC1 = Q1-Q7,Q17,Q8-Q15,Q19,Q20

Page 29: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Step #7: origin of Q17…

• Q17 was originally ‘7m9’, but contained uncomfortably wide folios. Sat awkwardly.

• The owner concluded that it should sit between the wide Q15 and Q19 quires

• Reordered & changed ‘7m9’ to ’17m9’

• ABC2 = Q1-Q15,Q17,Q19,Q20

Page 30: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Step #8: the missing bifolios

Q: where did Q8’s missing bifolios go?

A: the foliator saw the stubs of Q14’s ripped fold still in place in the centre of Q8, and counted the stubs as missing bifolios.

i.e. the nine-rosette page was literally in two places at once, so was double-counted!

Page 31: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Step #9: origin of Q6/Q7…

• Q6 / Q7 ended up with no quire numbers

• An owner concluded that these should be quirated in the original numbering style

• Final quire order: Q1-Q15,Q17,Q19,Q20

Page 32: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Conclusions (#1)

• Several people worked on the Voynich– At least two during C15

• They sought to give it form and order

• They looked for clues in the marginalia(…even if they didn’t always get it right!)

• Reordered & restitched sympathetically

They were bibliophiles… librarians.

Page 33: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Conclusions (#2)

• C15 hybrid numbering scheme is unusual– One foot in medieval traditions– One foot in contemporary practices– Torn between the two

Not humanists, but monks!

Page 34: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

Two Speculative Hypotheses

1. “The Monastic Library Hypothesis”– “The Voynich Manuscript was given to Rudolf II by a

representative or inheritor of an abbey, monastery or friary.”

2. “The Franciscan Library Hypothesis”– “The Voynich Manuscript was given to Rudolf II by a

representative or inheritor of a Franciscan abbey, monastery or friary.”

(Roger Bacon was a Franciscan monk)

Page 35: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

PS: enciphered quire numbers?

Page 36: Nick Pelling – Independent Historian nickpelling@nickpelling.com  Vellum – radiocarbon dated to (1404… Prague – provenance.

That’s All!

Thank you for your attention!

Any questions?

Nick Pelling – [email protected]


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