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Voynich Codex Claimants

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Unraveling the Voynich Codex

Part of the book series: Fascinating Life Sciences ((FLS))

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Abstract

Proposed authors of the Voynich Codex include Roger Bacon, Antonio Averlino, Leonardo da Vinci, John Dee, Edward Kelley, Francisco Hernández, and even Wilfrid Voynich. In the first botanical illustration of the Voynich Codex, the presence of both a typographical ligature based on the initials “JGT” and the embedded name “Gasp. Torres” suggest that the illustrator was Juan Gerson and the author was Gaspar de Torres. Gerson, a graduate of La Escuela de San José de los Naturales, was an indigenous artist known for the Apocalypse paintings at the Franciscan church in Tecamachalco. Torres, a Spaniard born in Santo Domingo, was a medical doctor, estate lawyer, and master of students at El Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco from 1568 to 1572, and governor of Cuba in 1580. Iconographic similarities between Gerson’s paintings and the Voynich Codex, along with details from Torres’ biography, provide additional support for this conjecture.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources, Delaware State University, Dover, DE, USA

    Arthur O. Tucker

  2. Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Jules Janick

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  1. Arthur O. Tucker
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Correspondence to Arthur O. Tucker .

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Tucker, A.O., Janick, J. (2018). Voynich Codex Claimants. In: Unraveling the Voynich Codex. Fascinating Life Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77294-3_15

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