Primitive state

 

The Voynich manuscript in its original form was, I imagine, rather more like the Bible pictured above than how it appears in its present state.  Primarily, it was folded, not bound. Its original form was a collection of folded sheets of vellum. These were progressively dismembered over the centuries with the work being bound into a conventional codex form.

The evidence for this is in fold stains on what are now cut edges. These edges were once folded, not cut, and they will were in the folded state for long enough to impart fold staining.

The manuscript was not made in this way: the pages were inscribed on the vellum lengths, which were then cut into pages (barring fold-outs) and bound between covers.

Instead, the pages were inscribed on the vellum lengths, which were then folded into sequences and kept wrapped or otherwise gathered as an ordered collection. This, we might say, was its primitive state.

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My conjecture is that when the book was turned into a bound codex was the point at which it became a collectable. This is also to say, when it stopped being used for its original purpose. Only at that stage did it become a bound codex to sit on bookshelves filed under 'Curious: possibly valuable.'

It is important not to have a very bookish modern conception of the original work. It has changed substantially. I quite believe the experts who attest that the codicological history of the work is mixed and difficult to ascertain. It is agreed, though, the work has been somewhat disfigured. It is now bound out of order, for a start. At each binding the work moved further from its pristine state.

There is evidence, though, of early wear and tear. I suspect it had two lives: once as a functioning book, and then as a collectable.

It is important that it seems to have had a life as a functioning book - on the evidence of the depth of folds and wear and tear. A hoax text would not have a functioning life. It would only ever be a collectable from the outset. Whereas our manuscript seems to have been used, specifically when still in folded sheets before it was cut and bound.

R. B.