Captain’s Blog: October 14th, 2021
Move over Shakespeare there’s a new poet in town. Yale MS 408, Folio 8r tells a tail of how to approach the “Isla del Meridiano” aka “El Hierro” aka the Canary Islands. This location is riddled with thunder and lighting, tornados, volcanos, it is not a place you truly want to sail into and not for the novice sailor.
El Hierro was home to the Guanche people until the Portuguese made claims of its discovery and leaving the Guanche people in the wake of mass genocide. There are many indicators of the Guanche people’s artwork in MS 408. Most notably the kalendorium section inside the ladies barrels (beginning on Folio 70v.)
“Flores Island is the westernmost Azore discovered by the Portuguese navigators in the early 15th century—after the First Voyage of Columbus in 1492 scholars and cartographers sometimes grouped them among the new world.” Wikipedia.
Though MS 408 and the Catalan Atlas tells us a different story. In the Catalan Atlas it was translated to say about this island “The ship of Jaume Ferrer departed for the River of Gold on the 10th of August of 1346, the feast of St. Lawrence.” So not only is it mapped in the Catalan Atlas it references its use by 1346. It is important to note that after this time El Hierro was used as the prime meridian for the next 500 years.
As stated before in this blog the Catalan Atlas is the companion document to Yale MS 408. A great deal of information is married to both of these documents. For more information on the Catalan Atlas go to https://www.cresquesproject.net)
Voynichees into Latin Characters
pvei uer ulvoi uepa upoi uesa va upesor ver
luia vtuieir ve etui sesua son oi
uesor va ra uesom vetua uersa
jeler uer uer vya sueivirys uepua soh
etuya se r uiya sata rue uta gleeom ualom
lev gtuya teileisa va ueila uiesa roi
uele tuen ueer son
lueip vepuya puia epuia svya veisom ver
som uya lyeson sa uyeula etvie sei sorh
vei uie som se aluesa uei uela elorm
jeuesom veletesa uelei etetuesh
ule ulia vei uepasa ve uia tvia ies ueioi
suia utei vei uia tur ua ulesom sei sonirua uta
juia tuotua uva tua ruiom ulouor ula sor
uei sua jetor ui om uion gt a uor uom
etor upom uom gi som uer ur ruioiuoh
ror uion upei sor vei lom vei tom soitoh
er uetvia via etei uei ruei roh
Translation into Modern English
The “P” prime’s way. The air voraciously opens up and ventures. The velocity of an orifice raises the air. The lines in the water (equation) length of the way orifice plate change in velocity, that contains a slipstream sun-zone and nights manner. The velocity of an orifice sequence citations, the longitude line (longitude leaf in stem is map grid connecting to Folio 6r). I am hopping it isn’t stopped, the wind and airs way follows a decoy grid, cuts true. The rhumb’s speed consumes the street east. Rejoice as you are seeing its departure, change direction and splits. The velocity of an orifice is unexpected, increases a royal wind and works to move the sun-zone.
Jump free-man, devout thunder swivels the ponds lines in the water measurement, after release the secant arc’s mark and twain. Observe, worry, the mark rivals the measurement true and unbound time veils forward chiseling, cracked and wheeling in between a quarter of a compass.
Extract the information, mark from it that is passing through. Branch (thunder) preys hurried movement. Join together in order to mark the way. Turn descending information seen sunnily outside. Secure and steady. Collaborate to prepare for bunching towards the open space. It flowers the enclosure surely, time so that you get momentum and resounding force fluid displacement. It goes the tide, changes direction, ejecting up, changes direction and chases after the measurement. The wind slopes ruinous. Steer the helm forcefully up surely. Mark the hauling, mark the interior. Synchronize often, they bait the way and eddies back time. The streets are brutal.
Tucker STEM Team 