International Conference on Arts, Design and Contemporary Education (ICADCE 2015)

The Question of Interpretation of Images in the

Voynich Manuscript (XV century) and those by
Maxim the Greek in Manuscripts and Iconography of
XVI - XVIII centuries

Galina Volgireva
Perm National Research University
Perm, Russia
e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract—A brief description of the Voynich manuscript, being: "It is not us who speak the language, but rather the
its structure and sections, methods of determining place and language speaks through us". His disciple, Gadamer,
date of its creation, life and oeuvre of Maxim the Greek as the considered that the basis of the historical knowledge of the
presumable author of the manuscript. The article presents an language is always the "preliminary understanding" set by
attempt to determine the language of the manuscript and to the tradition and, developing the concept of language, he
interprete its images. proclaimed that " the game played itself, sucking the players
in" [2, pp.119-120].
Keywords—Manuscripts; the Kremlin; hesychasm;
Buddhism; the Ancient Khmer language
II. SECTION EXAMINATION OF THE MANUSCRIPT
I. INTRODUCTION That is the actual way, in our opinion, of searching the
truth in interpretating of the Voynich manuscript, in the form
Interpretation (from the Latin "explanation, construction")
of an aesthetic game. It is known that the Voynich
– is a fundamental operation of thinking and making sense to
manuscript was donated to the library of Yale University,
any spiritual manifestations of human activity, objectified in
USA (MS 408). The library employees posted it online,
a sign or a sensory-visual form. As a method of investigation
hoping to get clues from the scientists around the world. The
in explaining and understanding various texts, signs, symbols,
reference to the manuscript reported that the radiocarbon
images, the interpretation historicaly goes back to the ancient
identification dated it of 1408 - 1438. Moreover, the British
hermeneutics, and in modern science it represents a tool for
scientists, upon the visual analysis of the manuscript and of
scientific modelling and includes a multi-stage hierarchical
its illustrations, suggested that the origines of the manuscript
system of intermediate interpretations [2, s.220].
traced to Russia. This was presumed according to the
Hermeneutics, being an art of understanding and
decorative elements of architecture, reminiscent, perhaps, of
interpretating texts in the ancient Greek philosophy, becomes
towers and churches of the Moscow Kremlin of XV-XVI
in the epoch of Renaissance an art of translating the past
centuries, or of the so-called "dovetail" on its ramparts.
culture into the language of the contemporary live culture. In
Unfortunately, the images of the architectural artefacts for
the German romanticism hermeneutics was being developed
some reason were not exposed in the Internet publication (?!).
by F. Schlegel and Schleiermacher. Schleiermacher
The online publication includes photos of 116 sheets with
interpreted hermeneutics as an art of understanding another
opposites. The manuscript format is 2º (A4). Meanwhile,
person's identity; the aspect of expression stands for the
sheets 12-12op., 59-59op., 60-60op., 61-61op, 62-62op., 63-
subject of hermeneutics, rather than its content, because
63op., 64-64op., 74-74op., 91-91op., 92-92op., 97-97op., 98-
expression is the embodiment of individuality. According to
98op., 108op., 109-109op, 110 are missing.
the researcher W.Dilthey, the basis of hermeneutics is the so
called “understanding psychology” – the direct apprehension The first, "Botanical" section of the manuscript, sheets
of the integrity of the soul and spiritual life. Husserl, on the 1op. – 66op., represents a detailed view of 134 plants with
basis of the "non-thematic horizon" giving prior knowledge their textual descriptions. Consultations with the doctor of
of the subject matter, and merges into a "single horizon", put biological sciences Vereshchagina V.A., professor of
forward the concept of the "life-world" which renders mutual PSNRU, allow to suggest that among the plants presented in
understanding of individuals possible. Any study of an the manuscript which seem familiar to our territory there are
outlying culture requires reconstruction of the "horizon", the those that can grow only in the "seaside", i.e. on the areas
"life-world" of this culture, and that is the only way to coastal to the sea, and, moreover, precisely tropical or
understand the meaning of its artefacts. Heidegger identified subtropical. Scientific description of the images of those
"language" as a historical horizon that determines the fate of

© 2015. The authors - Published by Atlantis Press 268

plants is currently being prepared by the students of enlightenment and education. Maxim the Greek’s case is still
biological faculty of the PSNRU. Thus, the territorial limits causing various judgments and remains unclear. There are
of the manuscript origines are considerably enhanced. different versions about it. Since Maxim the Greek had
learned Russian quite fast, there remained a lot of works by
The second, "Astrological" section of the manuscript, him, repeatedly re-written afterwards and very popular,
sheets 67 – 73op. with numerous broadsides, contains circle especially in the Old Ritualist environment. The "life world"
charts depicting the stars, the sun, the moon (67-67op.), of the Moscovite Russia in XV - XVI centuries, and
different energies, perhaps "chakras" (68 - 69), signs of the especially the psycho-spiritual life of the church environment
zodiac with male and female shapes, dressed in medieval were imbued with the ideas of hesychasm – the "deification."
Europe Renaissance style (70-73op.), i.e., there was no Many representatives of the ancient Russian Orthodox
reference to the traditional ancient Russian costume. Thus, monasticism and episcopate were healers and seers. No
logically the author of the manuscript may be a person of wonder there is the concept of "Holy Russia". Subsequently,
European origines. these traditions have continued with the Old Ritualists.
The third, "Esoteric" section of the manuscript, sheets Therefore, in our quest, we also applied to a "seer"
79op. - 84op., represents numerous images of female nudes descending from an Old Ritualist family – Tatiana
interlaced with various vessels and channels ressembling to Panteleevna Sosnina, born in 1953. Showing her the printed
plants. Moreover, the figures are depicted in the realistic photos, we asked her about the author and his time and
traditions of Western Europe, rather than in the symbolic and location. She closed her eyes and drew a portrait: a large
irrational style of the Russian iconography. Which indicates broad beard, "duck nose”, monastic robes, and then
inter alia that the author of the manuscript may be a person confirmed that it refers to a monastery in the Kremlin. Then
familiar with the culture of painting nudes, which pertains to we specified the question: how he wrote, what he wrote upon?
the European Renaissance only, and not to the Russian And we heard a stunning response: "He was shown it, as I
culture of the Middle Ages. Drawing nudes appears in am shown now." The artefacts of the Orthodox and Old
Russia only in the XIX century. Ritualist iconography of XVIII - XX centuries depict Maxim
the Greek as a man with a huge beard, but with a refined
The last, final section, sheets 86op. - 102op., contains nose and face, all like a true hesychast. The image is given in
images of various energy fields, as well as those of rhizomes strictly canonical tradition. Still, there remained manuscripts
of different plants, and texts. of the XVI c. with the autographs by Maxim the Greek
containing his self-portrait in profile, where his "duck nose"
III. MAXIM THE GREEK’S ASSUMED AUTHORSHIP can be clearly perceived. The question remains: what
Based on the available information, it can be assumed language wrote Maxim the Greek? He knew Latin, Italian,
that if the manuscript actually was created on the territory of Greek, studied Russian Cyrillic. An even more stunning
Russia, the author could only be a European, a highly answer we received from colleagues- cryptographers from
educated one. At that epoch in Russia, such a person could the lab of "computer security" of PSNRU. The laboratory
only be the Byzantine scribe and lexicographer Maxim the scientist Y.R.Aydarov, with whom we worked on
Greek (1470-1555). He arrived in 1518 at the invitation of deciphering the Perm "Helmsman"cryptography of XV
Vassily III, and under the recommendation of the Athos’ century, simply said: "This is not a code, this is a language –
elders of the Vatopedi monastery, with the purpose of the Ancient Khmer". Nowadays, the modern Khmer
translating the Greek manuscripts of the Explanatory Apostle, speaking people live in a state Cambodia with the capital
Explanatory Psalter and others into Russian. Upon Phnom Penh, where the main religion is Buddhism.
completion of his works Maxim the Greek applied to the Moreover, there remained the famous architectural ensemble
Grand Duke for letting him go back to the Mount Athos. "Angkor", where the sculpture represents a lot of nude
However, in 1525 and in 1531 he was prosecuted for making female figures, symbolizing the main goddess of the
"heresy" and "damaging the liturgical books." Maxim the Buddhist mythology, Tara. There is 21 forms of Tara on
Greek was imprisoned in the St. Joseph Monastery of iconography. The text "To the glory of 21 Taras" is read in
Volokolamsk, then in the Tver Youth monastery; in 1547- all the schools of Buddhism. Probably, these images fill the
1548, by the order of Ioann IV he was released and removed third section of the Voynich manuscript.
to the Trinity St.Sergius Lavra, where he died [1, pp.90-91].
In 1988, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Maxim the IV. CONCLUSION
Greek, and in 1996 there took place the acquisition and Thus, the further interpretation of the Voynich
transfer of his saint relics to the Cathedral of the Assumption manuscript could be offered to our honorable Chinese
of the Trinity St.Sergius Lavra. colleagues, as in the Middle Ages there was a close
The influence of Maxim the Greek over the Moscow interaction between the Thai and the Ancient Khmer cultures,
public and the ancient Russian culture was extremely strong. and there may be even specialists of the Ancient Khmer
His cell in the Miracle Monastery of the Moscow Kremlin language; it should be also taken into consideration that in
was called by the modern historians the "public academy”. China, along with Taoism and Confucianism, Buddhism is
Russian diplomats of that epoch (Fedor Karpov) and one of the main state religions.
reputable persons of the Prince's court (Vassian Patrickeyev),
as well as many others came to communicate with him.
Practically, he created around himself a kind of circle of

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 REFERENCES
[1] Bulanin DM, Maxim the Greek Dictionary of the scribes and
literature of ancient Russia. Issue 2 (second half of XIV - XVI in.).
Part 2. A - Ya / Editor. Ed. DS Likhachev. - L., 1989. - pp.89-98.
[2] Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M., 1989.

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