C-3PO, of Star Wars fame, knows more than 6 million forms of communication, so maybe he can read Voynichese. Unfortunately, he’s signing autographs on distant planets, so I had to solve this puzzle for myself. Even if you can’t read abbreviated medieval script, you will probably notice this folio includes encoded data.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
T<\/span>he following sample is from a 15th century text that deals mainly with astrology but I could see that the subject matter had changed (or, at least, the focus had changed) when I reached folios 160 to 169. I looked around the Web to make sure no one else had already posted about this section and couldn’t find anything, so here it is…<\/p>\n Each folio has two columns. Each column has text on the left and cryptic letters and numbers on the right. This manuscript (BSB CLM 667)<\/em> is from the late 15th century, but I have seen diagrams in other manuscripts from the mid-15th century that represent information in somewhat similar ways.<\/p>\n As I glanced through it, I noticed these are lists of plant names written with common Latin abbreviations, including abrotanum, gariofilatum, anetum, berberis, tamarisci, malva, strignos, turbitus, costus, epithimum, polipodium, and others. The spelling is slightly unconventional, but the names are consistent with plant names in medicinal herbals.<\/p>\n So what is the encoded information next to the plant name?<\/p>\n I was intrigued because I’ve long suspected that at least some Voynichese might be expressed in novel ways. In fact, I’m hoping it is because it would be more satisfying to discover that it’s a terse code rather than nonsense text. So, several years ago, I labored for almost a year to create a color-coded “concordance” of every token in the VMS, looking for patterns that<\/p>\n But back to analyzing the text to the right side of each column…<\/p>\n Years of looking at ancient and medieval herbals helped me puzzle out the CLM 667<\/em> text in a few seconds because the plant names gave me the context I needed to interpret the rest (I wish the VMS were as cooperative, but then I guess there would be no mystery to solve).<\/p>\n This is how it works…<\/p>\n You’ll notice in Clm 667<\/em> that the first glyph in each column is a letter, and is sometimes followed by a number or another letter.<\/p>\n Note that each sequence begins with c<\/strong> or f<\/strong>. That instantly reminded me of Latin calidus<\/em> and frigidus<\/em>, properties or “temperaments” that the ancient Greeks associated with each kind of plant.<\/p>\n In ancient medicine, they believed that plants should be chosen to balance their properties against those of the illness. For example, if you had a fever (were hot and sweaty) then plants that were “cold” and “dry” might be suitable for “balancing” your humors. Thus, they felt it important to assign and record these properties.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/voynichportal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CLM667Codes.png\")
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