20-04-2026, 05:07 PM
We had a very similar parchment vs vellum discussion a few months ago:
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This subject seems to return from time to time. Why would anybody write nonsense on so expensive medium as parchment/vellum and so on.
We had several superstitions about Middle Ages and still have some. They were very pious, didn't wash themselves, believed that the Earth is flat and so on. While many of these superstitions were debunked, one closely related to Voynich Manuscript remains.
We tend to believe that parchment/vellum was very expensive. Ask any AI and it will tell you so. And it just repeats what people have written.
For example Gemini told me a moment ago:
A mid-sized devotional book could cost as much as a small house or several years of a laborer's income.
I agree, we miss good articles that would prove the existence of cheap manuscripts. But I feel they existed and Voynich is one of them.
Another thing discussed here is the access of Voynich authors to another books. Nothing is 100% sure but it seems that they had access to some full library - herbals, astronomical books, De Balneis, Taccola and probably more. The isolated, self-sustainable community living in some remote mountain village doesn't really fit here.
In my other thread I proposed that Voynich Manuscript could be made by some "naughty" students or monks like goliards or clerici vagantes.They didn't have to own source manuscripts, they could check them at library or even borrow them for a while. It would explain low quality of VM going together with lots of inspirations in it.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
This subject seems to return from time to time. Why would anybody write nonsense on so expensive medium as parchment/vellum and so on.
We had several superstitions about Middle Ages and still have some. They were very pious, didn't wash themselves, believed that the Earth is flat and so on. While many of these superstitions were debunked, one closely related to Voynich Manuscript remains.
We tend to believe that parchment/vellum was very expensive. Ask any AI and it will tell you so. And it just repeats what people have written.
For example Gemini told me a moment ago:
A mid-sized devotional book could cost as much as a small house or several years of a laborer's income.
I agree, we miss good articles that would prove the existence of cheap manuscripts. But I feel they existed and Voynich is one of them.
Another thing discussed here is the access of Voynich authors to another books. Nothing is 100% sure but it seems that they had access to some full library - herbals, astronomical books, De Balneis, Taccola and probably more. The isolated, self-sustainable community living in some remote mountain village doesn't really fit here.
In my other thread I proposed that Voynich Manuscript could be made by some "naughty" students or monks like goliards or clerici vagantes.They didn't have to own source manuscripts, they could check them at library or even borrow them for a while. It would explain low quality of VM going together with lots of inspirations in it.