This Site Map may not include links to every blog, I’ll add them them as I find time, but it groups them into topic areas, which might make specific topics easier to find.

It does not include the Large-Plant blogs as I haven’t figured out a way to organize them yet for quick reference. I’ll do that when I come up with a system that is a good reflection of the properties of the plants.

Voynich Text

Some characteristics of the VMS calligraphy.

Could some of the glyphs with ascenders be pilcrows?

• Some statistics on the possibility of pilcrows

Some observations on transcriptual interpretations of “dain” (this is very introductory, I have much more information on this, including statistical charts)

• Various representations of letter and number forms in medieval texts.
• Medieval ordinal numbers and the double-c symbol

Observations on individual characters with parallels in Latin and Greek scripts:

• The VMS bench char and common Latin conventions
• The EVA-m glyph that resembles a “j” and represents “-ris” in Latin
• More on the ris/tis/cis abbreviations that resemble EVA-j in both shape and position
• “Benched” characters and numerals in Greek and Latin manuscripts
• Observations on the VMS “4” glyph (this is long but even this does not include all the information I have on the 4 glyph)
• Observations on “gallows” characters (this is only an introduction, I have much more information, including some statistical charts that I will post when I have time)
• The “bird” glyph and squiggle (introductory, I have more information and examples that I will post when I can)
• Is VMS cc different from VMS c c?
• More on VMS double-cee
• The flexible nature of Latin scribal abbreviations and how they might relate to the VMS text.
• The identity and origin of “4o” in diplomatic cipher texts
• Amendments to the text and drawings
• Were VMS glyphs inspired by MesoAmerican texts?

A sample of Voynichese that illustrates how the text is heavily rule-based

• Introduction to biglyphs (June 2016)
• How Latin shapes don’t necessarily mean Latin text (patterns that suggest the presence of biglyphs)
• More on the structure of VMS text (I have much more information on this topic that will be posted as a series of blogs)
• More on possible biglyphs (This is a followup to the June 2016 introduction to biglyphs. My observations apparently parallel some of the patterns Nick Pelling has observed, which I was unaware of at the time I wrote this—they may differ in a few details, but definitely agree on the overall structure.)
• Medieval padding and aiiiv patterns

The Text on Folio 116v

• Letterforms in the f116v “marginalia” compared to medieval texts
• anchiton, michiton, or something else?
• Is that a “u” or “p” or something else on the f116v top line?
• What is the letter near the end of the fourth line on f116v?
• Is there Voynichese on folio f116v?
• Could the first part of “anchiton” be “en” in French, Greek, or other languages?

General observations on paleography – some notes on two very similar scribal hands

VMS Language (if there is one)

• The Tischlbong dialect

Computational Attacks on the VMS

Introduction to entropy for those who are unfamiliar with the term and want some clarification so they can explore some of the VMS computational attacks.

Jacques Guy and Sukhotin historical computational attacks on the VMS.

Voynich Annotations/Marginalia

Trying to discern the column text on f1r (Colorizing the text so it’s easier to see the letter forms)

• The almost-obliterated column text of f1r  (More discussion of the column text)
• Updated Column-Text Chart Update to the column-text chart (I have more information on this since the March 2017 update and will upload the more recent chart when I have time)

Marginalia and possible color annotations on f1v

The marginalia on 66r (the prone figure with the pot)

Marginal Notes on f17r (I’ve written about this several times and have posted additional information on the voynich.ninja forum and I keep coming back to it, hoping to improve the interpretation, so this is a work-in-progress)

Folio 116v (the last page):

• The “plummeting rock” (Some observations on the strange rounded shape on the last page)
• The text on the last page (I’ve blogged about this several times. I keep coming back to it, hoping I can see it with fresh eyes and a different point of view.)
• Introduction to healing charm (Abracula) and the last page marginalia (July 2013)
• Introduction to the last page script and the handwriting on the last page (These blogs are from 2013 and are a bit dated—I have a huge amount of new information on this topic that I will post when I can find time.)
• Is the last page a healing charm? (A 2016 continuation of the July 2013 post on the text and healing charm)
• more on Pox Leber/Leben
• what if it were French instead of German?
• A paleographic investigation of the last-page marginalia text, Sept. 2017 (I have more information on this now that I will post when I can find time)
• Finding matches to the 116v marginalia

Parallels in scribal conventions between medieval Latin and Indic scripts

The conceptual basis of relative music systems and how they might be applied to ciphertext

Voynich Imagery

Medieval representations of animals.

Could there be Christian imagery well-hidden within the VMS?

Elements

Could the VMS “elements” be something other than theoretical classifications?

Containers in the Small-Plants Section

The VMS containers. Are some of them glass?

More thoughts on containers… how real are medieval drawings?

Nymphs

The Nymph on 77v (some possible interpretations of the arms-spread nymph… note that Cassiopeia has also been suggested by other researchers, and explored in some detail by K. Gheuens).

Nymph anatomy, shoulders and faces.

Could the VMS nymphs in “zoomers” be celestial engineers?

Do the nymphs around the zodiac symbols represent a series of cycles?

Could some of the Voynich nymphs be personifications of Christian political messages?

The Baths of Puteolanis (interesting parallels between the ancient baths near Naples and the VMS drawings)

• My impression of some of the VMS scribbles
• Possible biological references in the VMS
• Possible references to medical myths (Castorum and Theriac)
• A cross or something else?
• A survey of stars in medieval iconography
• The mysterious blue cube in the small-plant pages
• How many painters?
• The VMS palette

Animals

• Is the f79 woman-fish a melusina?
• Is there a Golden Fleece reference?
• The pond critters on 79v
• The dragony thing nibbling (or smelling) a plant
• Are there “flower tails” in the VMS?
• Drawings of sheep in medieval manuscripts

Plants

• Plant 51v spinner heads
• jellyfish-like roots
• Possible mnemonic leaves on Plant 51r
• The jaggy leaves on Plant 10r
• leaf iconography of the VMS plants
• plant information encoded in a 15th-century manuscript

The Large Foldout “Map”

Some of my earliest ideas about the top-left circle on the “map” foldout (note that these were some of my initial ideas from 2008, since then I have had several more and have also seen some fascinating visual parallels posted by other researchers such as a scallop shell recently posted by K. Gheuens)

Interesting parallels between water gardens and the VMS “map” page. I was hoping to find the water garden that inspired the Villa d’Este which might, in turn, MIGHT have inspired something like the VMS “map” page.

Some thoughts on the volcano-like apsects of Rotum1.

The textured mounds on the foldout page.

A closer look at Rotum6 (middle-right).

If the foldout is a map, what kind is it?

Could the VMS “map” be a biblical journey?

Volcanic thermal baths.

Design Motifs

Interesting Visual and Cultural Traditions:

• Asian influence on Persian art
• phoenix/simurg legends in medieval art
• interpreting visual legends in herbal illustrations
• an example of cloudband and water iconography
• spirals and whorls
• center motifs
• textural traditions in rural east India textile arts

Examples of mnemonics in an herbal manuscript (Palatino 786)

Voynich Zodiac-Symbol Shapes

One of my earliest posts on the zodiac symbols and their marginalia labels from 2013 (subsequent blogs include much more information on the imagery)

Brief introduction to astrology and the history of zodiac imagery, including a map.

• Anomalies in the VMS crayfish/lobster drawing
• Why are the crayfish doubled? And where do crayfish zodiacs originate?
• Different drawing styles on the noses of green and white “Aries”
• More on the Aries-symbol nose
• Looking at Leo
• Medieval representations of Pisces
• The long neck and horns on Taurus
• Stylistic forms of Libra
• Observations on Gemini
• The archer/bowman origins and how political borders kept changing
• The bowman’s tunic
• Proportions of the bowman’s body
• The crossbowman and short-legged men and more about short-legged men
• Looking more closely at the crossbow
• The crossbow individual parts in even more detail
• Human depictions of Sagittarius, the archer
• Maps of zodiacs with Leo, Libra, and Cancer similar to the VMS (this is one installment in a series of blogs on combination searches for certain traits in zodiac symbols).
• Combination search of medieval zodiacs to determine if the VMS follows a zodiacal illustrative tradition.
• Zodiac illustrative traditions and a map of thematically similar zodiacs
• Goatlike features of VMS Aries-figure

Trying to make sense of the VMS nymphs-around-the-zodiac-symbols section – one possibility.

Continuation of the nymphs-around-the-zodiac-symbols.

Zodiac illustrative traditions that may be directly relevant to the VMS.

Commentary on Various “Solutions”, Decodings, and Theories

• The Strong solution (notes from Strong’s decryption attempt)
• Tucker and Talbert New World origin and plant IDs based on that premise
• Nicholas Gibbs in the Times Literary Supplement
• Bradley Hauer and Grzegorz Kondrak and artificial intelligence
• Commentary on 1976 article by Robert Brumbaugh
• Commentary on text, plant, and animal identifications by Tucker, Talbert, Janick, and Flaherty
• Janick and Tucker misinterpretation of Latin scribal characters

General statements on code-breaking (not a solution) by Cicco Simonetta

General statements on research strategies and technology

Physical Characteristics

Brief list of manuscripts similar in size and dimensions to the VMS

History & Provenance

The item put into auction (not the VMS itself) was a Kraus catalog mentioning the VMS

Guglielmo Libri catalog

Some background on Jan Jakub de Tepence (Jan Jakub Horčický), who may have signed the first folio of the VMS.

Some ways the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) might have come in contact with the Voynich Manuscript

Some background on Roger Bacon and early magnification devices.

General Cryptology

Glyphs from the mysterious note in the dictionary (not directly VMS-related)

Possible ciphertext in a University of Florida manuscript

Mnemonics in the Fontana circle-line cipher

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This is a not a full set of links. I haven’t included most of the early blogs from 2013 (they’re mostly about plants and it would take too much space), but if I have missed some of the more recent ones (which is quite likely), I’ll update this page as I come across them.

J.K. Petersen