Voynich MS - Quire 10

	Voynich MS - Quire 10
Description Quire 10 contains one bifolio composing folios 69 and 70, the latter folding out to several panels with text and illustations. The gathering mark is on f70v1. Schematic folio layout:
		Folio 69
Normal folio. The folio nr. is on f69r.
		f69r
>>Link to 2014 scan (Beinecke digital library) >>Link to 2004 scan (Jason Davies Voyager) General description This is a so-called cosmological page. For general information about cosmological pages see here. Folio nr. (69) in upper right corner. Illustration(s) A large circular design. In the centre is a six-pointed star with unequal spacing of its arms. Outside that are many radiating lines, eight of which are painted blue (2 in each of the general directions 'up', 'right', 'down' and 'left') while four are painted green (cutting each of the main four quadrants). There are 22 radiating lines of text. The outer ring is decorated with blue and green ovals. Outside that are some short and thin radial lines, and a band of circular writing, split up into 16 parts. Text This page has 49 text items (loci), as follows: 4 lines of standard text in paragraphs; 1 item of circular writing; 22 items of writing along radii (all outwards); 22 stand-alone words (labels). At the top of the page there is one paragraph of text with four lines. Along the outer circle there are 16 segments of text which count as labels (stand-alone words or word pairs). Inside that there are 22 radiating lines of text. The circular text is further inside, around the inner star. In the six areas between the arms of the star are individual letters (labels). Currier language: - RZ language: A- (page) / A- (folio) / Ce- (bifolio) LFD hand: 4 Browse interlinear transliteration of f69r Tentative identifications Ellie Velinska (whose blog no longer exists) pointed out the similarity of this illustration with wind diagrams in two English manuscripts. This partially lost information needs to be recovered. Other information
		f69v
>>Link to 2014 scan (Beinecke digital library), showing pages 69v, 70r1 and 70r2 from left to right. >>Link to 2004 scan (Jason Davies Voyager), showing pages 69v, 70r1 and 70r2 from left to right. General description This is a so-called cosmological page. For general information about cosmological pages see here. Illustration(s) A circular diagram with three pieces of circular text along the outer perimeter. In the centre is a white star with a blue background. Outside that are 'pipes' ending in oval openings. There are 28 words in radial text between that and the outer circle Text This page has 31 text items (loci), as follows: 3 items of circular writing; 28 items of writing along radii (all inwards). The three items of circular writing are on the outside, and each one appears to start at a large gap near 11 o'clock. Currier language: - RZ language: A- (page) / A- (folio) / Ce- (bifolio) LFD hand: 4 Browse interlinear transliteration of f69v Tentative identifications An obvious possibility is that these 28 words represent the 28 mansions of the moon. Other information To make matters even more interesting, the initial characters of the Voynich words have a very similar distribution as the initial characters of the mansions of the moon, i.e. the majority of them start with the same letter.
		Folio 70
This is a foldout folio. The folio nr. is on f70v2.
		f70r1
>>Link to 2014 scan (Beinecke digital library), showing pages 69v, 70r1 and 70r2 from left to right. >>Link to 2004 scan (Jason Davies Voyager), showing pages 69v, 70r1 and 70r2 from left to right. General description This is a so-called cosmological page. For general information about cosmological pages see here. Illustration(s) A circular diagram with two items of circular text along the outer perimeter, and what looks like 'remnants' of text outside that. In the centre is a white six-pointed star delimited by a circle and many dozens of tiny slabs with dots inside. Outside that is an area speckled with blue paint, terminating in nine convex shapes that look like stamps. There is a relatively large blank area between this and the outside circular writing. Text This page has 19 text items (loci), as follows: 4 items of circular writing; 15 items of writing along radii (all inwards). The first item of circular writing is composed of dots, some small o's and some word fragments at the top of the page. There are two more items of full circular text on the outer perimeter of the diagram. There is a short piece of circular writing around the inner circle. There are nine short lines of radial text just inside the outer circles and six words of radial text inside the inner circle. Currier language: - RZ language: Ce- (page) / Ce- (folio) / Ce- (bifolio) LFD hand: 4 Browse interlinear transliteration of f70r1 Tentative identifications Other information The central star is similar to that on f69r.
		f70r2
>>Link to 2014 scan (Beinecke digital library), showing pages 69v, 70r1 and 70r2 from left to right. >>Link to 2004 scan (Jason Davies Voyager), showing pages 69v, 70r1 and 70r2 from left to right. General description This is a so-called cosmological page. For general information about cosmological pages see here. This is a large square page with an additional fold. Illustration(s) A circular diagram with circular text along the outer perimeter. There is a sun with a face in the centre, surrounded by a large 8-point star painted blue. There are 8 rays from the central sun to the outer circle. Text This page has 19 text items (loci), as follows: 14 lines of text in paragraphs, far from the left margin; 5 items of circular writing; The 14 lines of text are in a single paragraph in the upper right corner of the page. There are four pieces of circular text on the outside perimeter. There is a short piece of circular writing around the inner circle. Currier language: - RZ language: C- (page) / Ce- (folio) / Ce- (bifolio) LFD hand: 4 Browse interlinear transliteration of f70r2 Tentative identifications Other information TBW
		f70v2
>>Link to 2014 scan (Beinecke digital library). >>Link to 2004 scan (Jason Davies Voyager), showing pages 70v2 and 70v1 from left to right. General description This is a zodiac page. For general information about zodiac pages see here. This is a large, almost square, page with an additional fold. There is extraneous writing near the central zodiac emblem. Folio number (70) in upper right corner. Illustration(s) A large circular diagram with the emblem of Pisces, consisting of two fishes, in the centre. There are two additional stars near the fishes. There is a line connecting their mouths with these stars and with each other. There are two circular arrangements of tubs with small human figures (nymphs). There are 29 in total and each one is holding a star. Text This page has 33 text items (loci), as follows: 3 items of circular writing; 30 zodiac labels. 29 of the zodiac labels are near the small human figures. The 30th is near one of the central stars. The month name March is written in the centre in a different hand than the remainder of the MS, and in a version of French (for which see here). Currier language: - RZ language: Ce- (page) / Ce- (folio) / Ce- (bifolio) LFD hand: 4 Browse interlinear transliteration of f70v2 Tentative identifications This page as a whole represents the zodiac sign of Pisces. Each combination of female figure (nymph), star and label (word) almost certainly refers to one of the 30 degrees of this zodiac sign. Other information It is clear from the layout of the folios that this is intended as the first sign in this zodiac sequence. It is very unusual that the sequence starts with Pisces instead of Aries. It is also a little unusual that Pisces is associated with the month of March. These last two points apply to all zodiac signs and will not be repeated each time.
		f70v1
>>Link to 2014 scan (Beinecke digital library). >>Link to 2004 scan (Jason Davies Voyager), showing pages 70v2 and 70v1 from left to right. General description This is a zodiac page. For general information about zodiac pages see here. There is extraneous writing near the central zodiac emblem. Quire number (10m9) in lower right corner. Illustration(s) A circular diagram with the emblem of Aries consisting of a skinny sheep or goat eating from a bush. The animal is painted roughly, in a dark greenish colour. There are two circular arrangements of tubs with small human figures (nymphs). There are 15 in total and each one is holding a star. Text This page has 17 text items (loci), as follows: 2 items of circular writing; 15 zodiac labels. There are two lines of circular text. There are 15 labels near the small human figures, some of which are relatively long. The month name April is written in the centre in a different hand than the remainder of the MS, and in a version of French (for which see here). Currier language: - RZ language: Ae- (page) / Ce- (folio) / Ce- (bifolio) LFD hand: 4 Browse interlinear transliteration of f70v1 Tentative identifications This page as a whole represents the zodiac sign of Aries. Other information This is one of two illustrations of Aries, both containing 15 items. Without a doubt, each case represents half of the sign. This is done only for Aries and Taurus. The reason for this remains unknown.