Re: VMs: Jacobj a Tepenece - Signature erasure given the Sherlock treatment

[Rene Zandbergen <r_zandbergen@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- Robert Antony Hicks <rob_hicks_vms@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> The signature was erased.  Why?  So it could not be
> read.

Either that, or it happened naturally (i.e.
unintentionally). But I am in favour of your
explanation.

> Why would somebody not want it to be read?  So
> Jacobus could not be  associated with the MS.
> Who would not wish Jacobus to be associated with the
> MS?  Only Jacobus 
> himself.

Here, I see another equally likely explanation, namely
the same reason that people would wish to erase
chassis numbers from cars. The MS was stolen
from him, or from a larger group of people who
could claim ownership (did he have any descendants)?

> Why would he not wish this?  Because he wrote it,
> and wished to sell it to his Emperor, Rudolph II.
> [...]
> Jacobus [...] would surely have possessed the 
> esoteric knowledge required to compile
> the VMS.  Perhaps the VMS was his masterwork,
> a compendium of his acquired knowledge. 

I am not sure, but everyone has always interpreted
the signature as of 'temporary ownership', not
authorship. I think that it would be in the
wrong location for the latter. Can anyone confirm
this?

> Maybe he, and assistants, penned the whole work. 

I know someone in Canada (of Czech ancestry) who
is also of the opinion that Jacobus wrote the
VMs. He is not on the mailing list (AFAIK).
His name is Jan Hurych and he has an extensive
web site which includes material on the VMs. It
has moved from time to time so the link on my
web site may be out of date.

I will try to find it again (if I remember to do
it).

> I can see no conflict with this story and the
> 'known' facts of the VMS, or does anybody know
> better?

The MS looks to be at least 100 years older than
that...

Cheers, Rene

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