Guardian: scientist, presumably, set the author of the Voynich manuscript
Australian scientists have suggested that the author of the Voynich manuscript is one of the most fascinating literary mysteries of the last century — could be a Jewish doctor who lived in the North of Italy. About this newspaper The Guardian.
Stephen Skinner, an expert on medieval manuscripts, found in each of the sections of the manuscript clues pointing to the identity of the author.
He suggested that the illustrations depict the Jewish mikvah tanks for ritual ablutions, which are still used by Orthodox Jews.
In particular, women use the mikvah to perform the ritual ablution after the birth of a child or the end of menstruation.
“The only place in Europe where you could see the washable together the women’s baths for washing, which are used by Orthodox Jews for the last two thousand years,” said Skinner, noting that the illustrations depict only naked women and no men.
Skinner is confident that the pictures tell the story about the invention created by the mysterious author of the manuscript. It is possible to provide mikvah with clean water.
I can think of no other explanation: it’s either a fantasy author, not related neither to health nor to the Botanic or to the cosmological part of the manuscript, or mikvah is.Steven Kinderplanet on medieval manuscripts
The absence of Christian symbols
Skinner also pointed out the lack of Christian symbols in the manuscript, which is unusual for a historic period, when the Inquisition punished any manifestation of heresy.
“Here [in the manuscript] no saints and crosses, even in the section of cosmology,” said Skinner. He also believes that his theory confirms that the manuscript is depicted medicinal herbs and astrological chart that suggests that the author of the manuscript was a Jewish doctor-herbalist. Such doctors, despite persecution by the Inquisition, was in demand because of their extensive knowledge in botany of the Mediterranean.
The fact that the author lived in the North of Italy, indicates a sketch of a castle with battlements on the walls in the form of a “dovetail”, said the scientist. Skinner believes that the unusual design points to strengthen gibelino that was only in the castles of Northern Italy in the fifteenth century. In many cities of this region, for example, in Pisa, was a large Jewish Diaspora.
If it is proven that Skinner is right, his theory will help to unravel more secrets encrypted manuscript. The scientist is sure he is right at the “85%”. Now a scientist is studying the European Jewish books of the period to find similarities with the Voynich manuscript.
About the Voynich manuscript
The manuscript, or the Voynich manuscript — a book written, presumably, in the XV century in an unknown language using an unknown alphabet, unknown author. Initially, there were about 270 pages, but to date some of them are lost. Only in the manuscript about 250 thousand words. The manuscript can be divided into six sections: astronomical, Botanical, biological, cosmological, pharmaceutical, and recipe. On the mystery books for many years I scientists and cryptographers, but to decipher it still failed.
A book found in 1912 by Wilfrid Voynich — the husband of the writer Ethel Lilian Voynich. He bought it in Maskat (Italy). In 1961 the book was acquired from the heirs of the Voynich bookseller Hans Kraus and gave it to the library of rare books Beinecke Yale University. There kept the manuscript until now.
The results of radiocarbon Dating of fragments of manuscripts showed that the thin parchment, which made the book produced between 1404 and 1436 years. Some scholars believe the manuscript is a hoax.
In 2016, the Spanish publishing Siloe received permission to make and publish 898 almost exact copies of the manuscript. Library Beinecke allowed reproduction of manuscripts because of the huge interest of people to the mysterious book — about 90% of the references to electronic resources this library relate to this manuscript.