Profile

Here is a brief profile of how I see the author of the Voynich manuscript in my working hypothesis. Such a profile is, of course, just a thought experiment, something to give it shape, but at this stage I can hazard a guess:

*The Voynich manuscript is by (a project of) an elder (male) figure of the Ladin tradition who was in direct contact with (liaison) and instructed by Nicholas of Cusa during the period when Nicholas was bishop.

*He was a representative of the Ladin people, of the Ladin nobility, who acted as go-betweens twixt the (illiterate and poor) Ladin and the church and secular authorities.

*This Ladin elder was (partially) literate (only some Latin) and as well as Ladin spoke German.

*His culture was aristocratic. He is associated with nobility and the secular authorities.

*He was a man of some means, or in the employ of someone of means. He was able to marshal the resources to have a manuscript produced.

*He was trained in the ancient Ladin herbal tradition and had an overview of its forms in the various Ladin alpine communities, along with its folklore. This knowledge was necessarily in the Ladin language.

*He was, however, also apprised of “modern science” – new learning – and actively attempted to keep his folk tradition up with the times. These are matters in which he was instructed by Nicholas.

*That is, he was a proto-Paracelsean figure: he grew up with a folk alpine herbal tradition and wanted to inform it and fortify it with the new learning.

*He was a lay Christian and acts as a religious guide or model to his people. He is aware that the rustic tradition of his people is pre-Christian. He is keen to understand his (pagan) tradition in Christian terms. These are matters in which he was instructed by Nicholas.

*He was likely a resident of Val Badia. Specifically, he was resident at Ćiastel de Tor, Badia castle, also known as San Martino del Tor, the likely place for the composition of the manuscript. 

* * *

Some of the holes in this profile are so glaring you could drive a truck through them, but as I explore the ramifications of my wider hypothesis this is the sort of profile that begins to emerge. Like everything, plausible but unproven. The question is: what sort of dramatis personae fits the scenario? 

R. B.