Editing Voynich manuscript (section)

=== Gerard Cheshire ===
In May 2019, Gerard Cheshire, a biology research assistant at the [[University of Bristol]], claimed that the manuscript is written in a "calligraphic proto-Romance" language. He claimed to have deciphered the manuscript in two weeks using a combination of "lateral thinking and ingenuity."<ref>{{cite web |title=Bristol academic cracks Voynich code, solving century-old mystery of medieval text |date=May 2019 |website=EurekAlert |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/uob-bac051419.php |access-date=16 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515121010/https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/uob-bac051419.php |archive-date=15 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Cheshire |first=Gerard |year=2019 |title=The language and writing system of MS&nbsp;408 (Voynich) explained |journal=[[Romance Studies (journal)|Romance Studies]] |volume=37 |pages=30–67 |doi=10.1080/02639904.2019.1599566 |s2cid=166780758 |hdl=1983/a6f1af84-f023-405a-b1e8-448c01ef0673 |url=https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/201563069/Full_text_PDF_accepted_author_manuscript_.pdf |hdl-access=free |access-date=27 August 2021 |archive-date=28 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928040011/https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/201563069/Full_text_PDF_accepted_author_manuscript_.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Cheshire has suggested that the manuscript is "a compendium of information on herbal remedies, therapeutic bathing, and astrological readings"; that it contains numerous descriptions of medicinal plants<ref>{{Cite web |first=Gerard E. |last=Cheshire |date=January 2020 |title=Plant Series, No. 6. Manuscript MS&nbsp;408. ''Andromeda polifolia'' |url=https://www.academia.edu/41594847 |access-date=13 May 2020 |via=academia.edu |archive-date=30 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530161530/https://www.academia.edu/41594847 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Plant Series, No. 8. Manuscript MS&nbsp;408. ''Paris quadrifolia'' |first=Gerard E. |last=Cheshire |date=April 2020 |via=academia.edu |url=https://www.academia.edu/42787693 |access-date=13 May 2020|archive-date=13 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113081158/https://www.academia.edu/42787693/Plant_Series_No_8_Manuscript_MS408_Paris_quadrifolia |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |first=Gerard E. |last=Cheshire |date=June 2020 |title=Plant Series, No. 9. Manuscript MS&nbsp;408. ''Erodium malacoides'' |journal=Submitted |url=https://www.academia.edu/43403558 |access-date=13 May 2020 |via=academia.edu |archive-date=13 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113081129/https://www.academia.edu/43403558/Plant_Series_No_9_Manuscript_MS408_Erodium_malacoides |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |first=Gerard E. |last=Cheshire |date=June 2020 |title=Plant Series, No. 10. Manuscript MS&nbsp;408. ''Crepis vesicaria'' |journal=Submitted |via=academia.edu |url=https://www.academia.edu/43403603 |access-date=13 May 2020|archive-date=13 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113081143/https://www.academia.edu/43403603/Plant_Series_No_10_Manuscript_MS408_Crepis_vesicaria |url-status=live}}</ref> and passages that focus on female physical and mental health, reproduction, and parenting; and that the manuscript is the only known text written in [[proto-Romance]].<ref name="guardian20190516">{{cite news |first=Esther |last=Addley |date=16 May 2019 |title=Latin, Hebrew, ... proto-Romance? New theory on Voynich manuscript |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/may/16/latin-hebrew-proto-romance-new-theory-on-voynich-manuscript |access-date= 16 May 2019 |archive-date= 16 May 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190516000844/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/may/16/latin-hebrew-proto-romance-new-theory-on-voynich-manuscript |url-status= live}}</ref> He further claimed: "The manuscript was compiled by Dominican nuns as a source of reference for [[Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon]]."<ref name="bbc160519">{{cite news |title=Medieval manuscript code 'unlocked' by Bristol academic |date=16 May 2019 |website=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-48284012 |access-date= 16 May 2019 |archive-date= 16 May 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190516080658/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-48284012 |url-status= live}}</ref>

In June 2023, Cheshire published his translation of the foldout illustration on page 158.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cheshire |first=Gerard |date=May 2023 |title=The Medieval Map and the Mercy Mission: A Complete Translation of the Voynich Manuscript Map |publisher=Gerard Cheshire |isbn=978-1-399-95499-0}}<br/>{{cite web |title=Facsimile of volcano map in Voynich manuscript |page=158 |url=https://archive.org/details/voynich/158.jpg |access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref>
He claims that it depicts a volcano, and theorises that it places the manuscript's creators near the island of [[Vulcano]] which was an active volcano during the 15th century.<ref>{{cite web |title=Consonants & Vowels, Castles & Volcanoes. - lingbuzz/004381. |date=December 2018 |access-date=16 June 2021 |url=https://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004381 |last1=Cheshire |first1=Gerard |archive-date=8 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608214758/https://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/004381 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, experts in medieval documents disputed this interpretation vigorously.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=No, someone hasn't cracked the code of the mysterious Voynich manuscript |last=Ouellette |first=Jennifer |date=15 May 2019 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/05/no-someone-hasnt-cracked-the-code-of-the-mysterious-voynich-manuscript/ |access-date=17 May 2019 |archive-date=17 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517012318/https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/05/no-someone-hasnt-cracked-the-code-of-the-mysterious-voynich-manuscript/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Approached for comment, Lisa Fagin Davis gave this explanation:

{{Blockquote
|text=As with most would-be Voynich interpreters, the logic of this proposal is circular and aspirational: he starts with a theory about what a particular series of glyphs might mean, usually because of the word's proximity to an image that he believes he can interpret. He then investigates any number of medieval Romance-language dictionaries until he finds a word that seems to suit his theory. Then he argues that because he has found a Romance-language word that fits his hypothesis, his hypothesis must be right. His "translations" from what is essentially gibberish, an amalgam of multiple languages, are themselves aspirational rather than being actual translations. |source=15 May 2019, ''[[Ars Technica]]''.<ref name=":0" />}}

The University of Bristol subsequently removed a reference to Cheshire's claims from its website,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statement re: Voynich research paper |website=www.bristol.ac.uk |publisher=[[University of Bristol]] |language=en-GB |url=http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2019/may/voynich-manuscript.html |access-date=22 May 2019 |archive-date=21 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521132852/http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2019/may/voynich-manuscript.html |url-status=live}}</ref> referring, in a statement, to concerns about the validity of the research and stating: "This research was entirely the author's own work and is not affiliated with the University of Bristol, the School of Arts nor the Centre for Medieval Studies".<ref>{{cite web |title=Voynich manuscript translation claims raise 'concerns' |date=17 May 2019 |website=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-48309665 |access-date=17 May 2019|archive-date=16 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616070720/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-48309665 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Tristan |last=Cork |date=17 May 2019 |title=University withdraws announcement researcher had cracked the Voynich Manuscript |website=Bristol Live |url=https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/voynich-manuscript-cracked-university-claim-2878183 |access-date=17 May 2019|archive-date=17 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517142929/https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/voynich-manuscript-cracked-university-claim-2878183 |url-status=live}}</ref>