Voynich Manuscript - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

01/03/2016
VoynichmanuscriptWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia
Voynichmanuscript
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia
TheVoynichmanuscriptisan
illustratedcodexhandwritteninan
unknownwritingsystem.Thevellumon
whichitiswrittenhasbeencarbondated
totheearly15thcentury(14041438),
anditmayhavebeencomposedin
NorthernItalyduringtheItalian
Renaissance.[1][2]Themanuscriptis
namedafterWilfridVoynich,aPolish
bookdealerwhopurchaseditin1912.[3]
Voynichmanuscript
BeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary,YaleUniversity
Someofthepagesaremissing,with
around240stillremaining.Thetextis
writtenfromlefttoright,andmostofthe
pageshaveillustrationsordiagrams.
OneofthefoldoutpagesintheVoynichmanuscript
Type
Codex
TheVoynichmanuscripthasbeen
Date
studiedbymanyprofessionaland
Early15thcentury[1][2]
amateurcryptographers,including
Placeoforigin PossiblyNorthernItaly[1][2]
AmericanandBritishcodebreakersfrom
Material
Vellum
bothWorldWarIandWorldWarII.[4]
Noonehasyetsucceededindeciphering
Size
23.5by16.2by5cm(9.3by6.4by2.0in)
thetext,andithasbecomeafamouscase
inthehistoryofcryptography.The
mysteryofthemeaningandoriginofthemanuscripthasexcitedthepopularimagination,makingthe
manuscriptthesubjectofnovelsandspeculation.Noneofthemanyhypothesesproposedoverthelast
hundredyearshasyetbeenindependentlyverified.[5]
TheVoynichmanuscriptwasdonatedbyHansP.Kraus[6]toYaleUniversity'sBeineckeRareBookand
ManuscriptLibraryin1969,whereitiscataloguedundercallnumberMS408.[7][8]
Contents
1 Description
1.1 Codicology
1.2 Text
1.2.1 Extraneouswriting
1.3 Illustrations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript
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1.3 Illustrations
1.4 Purpose
2 History
3 Authorshiphypotheses
3.1 FabricationbyVoynich
3.2 Othertheories
4 Languagehypotheses
4.1 Ciphers
4.2 Codes
4.3 Steganography
4.4 Naturallanguage
4.5 Constructedlanguage
4.6 Hoax
4.7 Glossolalia
5 Historicaldeciphermentclaims
5.1 WilliamRomaineNewbold
5.2 JosephMartinFeely
5.3 LeonellCStrong
5.4 RobertSBrumbaugh
5.5 JohnStojko
5.6 LeoLevitov
6 Culturalimpact
7 Seealso
8 References
9 Furtherreading
10 Externallinks
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10 Externallinks
Description
Codicology
Themanuscriptmeasures23.5by16.2by5centimetres(9.3by6.4by2.0in),withhundredsofvellum
pagescollectedintoeighteenquires.Thetotalnumberofpagesisaround240,buttheexactnumber
dependsonhowthemanuscript'sunusualfoldoutsarecounted.[8]Thequireshavebeennumberedfrom1to
20invariouslocations,withnumeralsconsistentwiththe1400s,andthetoprighthandcornerofeachrecto
(righthand)pagehasbeennumberedfrom1to116,withnumeralsofalaterdate.Fromthevarious
numberinggapsinthequiresandpages,itseemslikelythatinthepastthemanuscripthadatleast272
pagesin20quires,someofwhichwerealreadymissingwhenWilfridVoynichacquiredthemanuscriptin
1912.Thereisstrongevidencethatmanyofthebook'sbifolioswerereorderedatvariouspointsinits
history,andthattheoriginalpageordermaywellhavebeenquitedifferentfromwhatitistoday.[9][10]
Thebindingandcoversarenotoriginaltothebook,butdatetoduringitspossessionbytheCollegio
Romano.[8]
Everypageinthemanuscriptcontainstext,mostlyinanunknownscript,butsomehaveextraneouswriting
inLatinscript.Manypagescontainsubstantialdrawingsorchartswhicharecoloredwithpaint.Basedon
modernanalysis,ithasbeendeterminedthataquillpenandirongallinkwereusedforthetextandfigure
outlinesthecoloredpaintwasapplied(somewhatcrudely)tothefigures,possiblyatalaterdate.[10]
Text
Thebulkofthetextinthemanuscriptof240pagesiswritteninan
unknownscript,runninglefttoright.Mostofthecharactersare
composedofoneortwosimplepenstrokes.Whilethereissome
disputeastowhethercertaincharactersaredistinctornot,ascriptof
2025characterswouldaccountforvirtuallyallofthetextthe
exceptionsareafewdozenrarercharactersthatoccuronlyonceor
twiceeach.Thereisnoobviouspunctuation.[11]
Muchofthetextiswritteninasinglecolumninthebodyofapage,
withaslightlyraggedrightmarginandparagraphdivisions,and
sometimeswithstarsintheleftmargin.[8]Othertextoccursincharts
oraslabelsassociatedwithillustrations.Therearenoindicationsof
anyerrorsorcorrectionsmadeatanyplaceinthedocument.The
ductusflowssmoothly,givingtheimpressionthatthesymbolswere
notenciphered,asthereisnodelaybetweencharactersaswould
normallybeexpectedinwrittenencodedtext.
Apageshowingcharacteristicsofthe
text
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Thetextconsistsofover170,000characters,[12]withspacesdividingthetextintoabout35,000groupsof
varyinglength,usuallyreferredtoas"words".Thestructureofthesewordsseemstofollowphonologicalor
orthographiclawsofsomesort,e.g.,certaincharactersmustappearineachword(likeEnglishvowels),
somecharactersneverfollowothers,somemaybedoubledortripledbutothersmaynot,etc.The
distributionofletterswithinwordsisalsoratherpeculiar:somecharactersoccuronlyatthebeginningofa
word,someonlyattheend,andsomealwaysinthemiddlesection.Manyresearchershavecommented
uponthehighlyregularstructureofthewords.[13]
Somewordsoccuronlyincertainsections,orinonlyafewpagesothersoccurthroughoutthemanuscript.
Thereareveryfewrepetitionsamongthethousandorsolabelsattachedtotheillustrations.Thereare
practicallynowordswithfewerthantwolettersormorethanten.[12]Thereareinstanceswherethesame
commonwordappearsuptothreetimesinarow.[12]Wordsthatdifferbyonlyoneletteralsorepeatwith
unusualfrequency,causingsinglesubstitutionalphabetdecipheringstoyieldbabbleliketext.In1962,
ElizebethFriedmandescribedsuchattemptsas"doomedtoutterfrustration".[14]
VarioustranscriptionalphabetshavebeencreatedtoequatetheVoynichcharacterswithLatincharactersin
ordertohelpwithcryptanalysis,suchastheEuropeanVoynichAlphabet.Thefirstmajoronewascreated
bycryptographerWilliamF.Friedmaninthe1940s,whereeachlineofthemanuscriptwastranscribedto
anIBMpunchcardtomakeitmachinereadable.[15]
Extraneouswriting
Onlyafewwordsinthemanuscriptareconsiderednottobewrittenintheunknownscript:[16]
f1r:AsequenceofLatinlettersintherightmarginparallelwithcharactersfromtheunknownscript.
Thereisalsothenowunreadablesignatureof"JacobjTepenece"inthebottommargin.
f17r:AlineofwritingintheLatinscriptinthetopmargin.
f70vf73v:Theastrologicalseriesofdiagramsintheastronomicalsectionhasthenamesoftenofthe
months(fromMarchtoDecember)writteninLatinscript,withspellingsuggestiveofthemedieval
languagesofFrance,northwestItalyortheIberianPeninsula.[17]
f66r:Asmallnumberofwordsinthebottomleftcornernearadrawingofanakedman.Theyhave
beenreadas"dermuszdel",aHighGermanwordforawidow'sshare.
f116v:FourlinesofwritingwritteninratherdistortedLatinscript,exceptfortwowordsinthe
unknownscript.ThewordsinLatinscriptappeartobedistortedwithcharacteristicsoftheunknown
language.TheletteringresemblesEuropeanalphabetsofthelate14thand15thcenturies,butthe
wordsdonotseemtomakesenseinanylanguage.[18]
ItisnotknownwhetherthesebitsofLatinscriptwerepartoftheoriginaltextorwereaddedlater.
Illustrations
Becausethetextcannotbereadtheillustrationsareconventionallyusedtodividemostofthemanuscript
intosixdifferentsections.Eachsectionistypifiedbyillustrationswithdifferentstylesandsupposedsubject
matter,[12]exceptforthelastsection,inwhichtheonlydrawingsaresmallstarsinthemargin.Following
arethesectionsandtheirconventionalnames:
Herbal:Eachpagedisplaysoneortwoplantsandafewparagraphsoftextaformattypicalof
Europeanherbalsofthetime.Somepartsofthesedrawings
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Europeanherbalsofthetime.Somepartsofthesedrawings
arelargerandcleanercopiesofsketchesseeninthe
"pharmaceutical"section.Noneoftheplantsdepictedare
unambiguouslyidentifiable.[8]
Astronomical:Containscirculardiagrams,someofthem
withsuns,moons,andstars,suggestiveofastronomyor
astrology.Oneseriesof12diagramsdepictsconventional
symbolsforthezodiacalconstellations(twofishforPisces,a
bullforTaurus,ahunterwithcrossbowforSagittarius,etc.).
Eachofthesehas30femalefiguresarrangedintwoormore
concentricbands.Mostofthefemalesareatleastpartly
naked,andeachholdswhatappearstobealabeledstaroris
shownwiththestarattachedbywhatcouldbeatetherorcord
ofsomekindtoeitherarm.Thelasttwopagesofthissection
(AquariusandCapricornus,roughlyJanuaryandFebruary)
Adetailfromthe"biological"section
werelost,whileAriesandTaurusaresplitintofourpaired
ofthemanuscript
diagramswith15womenand15starseach.Someofthese
diagramsareonfoldoutpages.[8]
Biological:Adensecontinuoustextinterspersedwithfigures,mostlyshowingsmallnakedwomen,
somewearingcrowns,bathinginpoolsortubsconnectedbyanelaboratenetworkofpipes.
Cosmological:Morecirculardiagrams,butofanobscurenature.Thissectionalsohasfoldoutsone
ofthemspanssixpagesandcontainsamapordiagram,withnine"islands"or"rosettes"connected
by"causeways"andcontainingcastles,aswellaswhatmightbeavolcano.[8]
Pharmaceutical:Manylabeleddrawingsofisolatedplantparts(roots,leaves,etc.)objects
resemblingapothecaryjars,ranginginstylefromthemundanetothefantasticalandafewtext
paragraphs.[8]
Recipes:Fullpagesoftextbrokenintomanyshortparagraphseachmarkedwithastarintheleft
margin.[8]
Purpose
Theoverallimpressiongivenbythe
survivingleavesofthemanuscriptis
thatitwasmeanttoserveasa
pharmacopoeiaortoaddresstopicsin
medievalorearlymodernmedicine.
However,thepuzzlingdetailsof
illustrationshavefueledmanytheories
aboutthebook'sorigins,thecontentsof
itstext,andthepurposeforwhichitwas
intended.[12]
Athreepagefoldoutfromthemanuscriptincludingachartthat
Thefirstsectionofthebookisalmost
appearstobeastronomicalinnature
certainlyherbal,butattemptstoidentify
theplants,eitherwithactualspecimens
orwiththestylizeddrawingsofcontemporaryherbals,havelargelyfailed.[19]Onlyafewoftheplant
drawings(suchasawildpansyandthemaidenhairfern)canbeidentifiedwithreasonablecertainty.Those
herbalpicturesthatmatchpharmacologicalsketchesappeartobecleancopiesofthese,exceptthatmissing
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partswerecompletedwithimprobablelookingdetails.Infact,manyoftheplantdrawingsintheherbal
sectionseemtobecomposite:therootsofonespecieshavebeenfastenedtotheleavesofanother,with
flowersfromathird.[19]
HughO'NeillbelievedthatoneillustrationdepictedaNewWorldsunflower,whichwouldhelpdatethe
manuscriptandopenupintriguingpossibilitiesforitsoriginunfortunatelytheidentificationisonly
speculative.[12]
Thebasinsandtubesinthe"biological"sectionaresometimesinterpretedasimplyingaconnectionto
alchemy,yetbearlittleobviousresemblancetothealchemicalequipmentoftheperiod.
Astrologicalconsiderationsfrequentlyplayedaprominentroleinherbgathering,bloodlettingandother
medicalprocedurescommonduringthelikeliestdatesofthemanuscript.However,apartfromtheobvious
Zodiacsymbols,andonediagrampossiblyshowingtheclassicalplanets,interpretationremains
speculative.[12]
History
Muchoftheearlyhistoryofthebookisunknown,[20]thoughthetextandillustrationsareall
characteristicallyEuropean.In2009,UniversityofArizonaresearchersperformedradiocarbondatingon
themanuscript'svellum.Theresultofthattestputthedatethemanuscriptwasmadebetween1404and
1438.[2][21][22]Inaddition,theMcCroneResearchInstituteinChicagofoundthatthepaintsinthe
manuscriptwereofmaterialstobeexpectedfromthatperiodofEuropeanhistory.Ithasalsobeen
suggestedthattheMcCroneResearchInstitutefoundthatmuchoftheinkwasaddednotlongafterthe
creationoftheparchment,buttheofficialreportcontainsnostatementtothiseffect.[10]
Theearliesthistoricalinformationaboutthemanuscriptcomesfromaletterfound
insidethecoverwrittenin1666toaccompanythemanuscriptwhenitwassentby
JohannesMarcustoAthanasiusKircherwhichclaimsthatthebookoncebelongedto
EmperorRudolfII(15521612),whopaid600goldducats(~2.07kggold)forit.The
bookwasthengivenorlenttoJacobusHorcickydeTepenecz(died1622),theheadof
Rudolf'sbotanicalgardensinPrague.
JoannesMarcus
Marci(1595
1667)sentthe
manuscriptto
Athanasius
Kircherin1666.
ThenextconfirmedownerisGeorgBaresch,anobscurealchemistalsoinPrague.
Bareschwasapparentlyjustaspuzzledasmodernscientistsaboutthis"Sphynx"that
hadbeen"takingupspaceuselesslyinhislibrary"formanyyears.[23]Onlearningthat
AthanasiusKircher,aJesuitscholarfromtheCollegioRomano,hadpublisheda
Coptic(Egyptian)dictionaryand"deciphered"theEgyptianhieroglyphs,Bareschsent
asamplecopyofthescripttoKircherinRome(twice),askingforclues.His1639
lettertoKircheristheearliestconfirmedmentionofthemanuscriptthathasbeen
foundsofar.[24]
ItisnotknownwhetherKircheransweredtherequest,butapparently,hewasinterestedenoughtotryto
acquirethebook,whichBareschrefusedtoyield.UponBaresch'sdeath,themanuscriptpassedtohisfriend
JanMarekMarci(15951667)(JohannesMarcusMarci),thenrectorofCharlesUniversityinPrague,who
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afewyearslatersentthebooktoKircher,hislongtimefriendandcorrespondent.[24]Marci's1666cover
letter(writteninLatin)wasstillwiththemanuscriptwhenVoynichpurchasedit:[11]
ReverendandDistinguishedSir,FatherinChrist:
Thisbook,bequeathedtomebyanintimatefriend,Idestinedforyou,myverydear
Athanasius,assoonasitcameintomypossession,forIwasconvincedthatitcouldbereadby
nooneexceptyourself.
Theformerownerofthisbookaskedyouropinionbyletter,copyingandsendingyouaportion
ofthebookfromwhichhebelievedyouwouldbeabletoreadtheremainder,butheatthat
timerefusedtosendthebookitself.Toitsdecipheringhedevotedunflaggingtoil,asis
apparentfromattemptsofhiswhichIsendyouherewith,andherelinquishedhopeonlywith
hislife.Buthistoilwasinvain,forsuchSphinxesastheseobeynoonebuttheirmaster,
Kircher.Acceptnowthistoken,suchasitisandlongoverduethoughitbe,ofmyaffectionfor
you,andburstthroughitsbars,ifthereareany,withyourwontedsuccess.
Dr.Raphael,atutorintheBohemianlanguagetoFerdinandIII,thenKingofBohemia,toldme
thesaidbookbelongedtotheEmperorRudolphandthathepresentedtothebearerwho
broughthimthebook600ducats.HebelievedtheauthorwasRogerBacon,theEnglishman.
OnthispointIsuspendjudgementitisyourplacetodefineforuswhatviewweshouldtake
thereon,towhosefavorandkindnessIunreservedlycommitmyselfandremain
AtthecommandofyourReverence,
JoannesMarcusMarciofCronland
Prague,19thAugust,1666[11]
Therearenorecordsofthebookforthenext200years,butinalllikelihood
itwasstoredwiththerestofKircher'scorrespondenceinthelibraryofthe
CollegioRomano(nowthePontificalGregorianUniversity).[24]Itprobably
remainedthereuntilthetroopsofVictorEmmanuelIIofItalycapturedthe
cityin1870andannexedthePapalStates.ThenewItaliangovernment
decidedtoconfiscatemanypropertiesoftheChurch,includingthelibraryof
theCollegio.[24]AccordingtoinvestigationsbyXavierCeccaldiandothers,
justbeforethishappened,manybooksoftheUniversity'slibrarywere
hastilytransferredtothepersonallibrariesofitsfaculty,whichwereexempt
fromconfiscation.[24]Kircher'scorrespondencewasamongthosebooks
andsoapparentlywastheVoynichmanuscript,asitstillbearstheexlibris
ofPetrusBeckx,headoftheJesuitorderandtheUniversity'sRectoratthe
time.[8][24]
Beckx's"private"librarywasmovedtotheVillaMondragone,Frascati,a
largecountrypalacenearRomethathadbeenboughtbytheSocietyof
Jesusin1866andhousedtheheadquartersoftheJesuits'Ghislieri
College.[24]
WilfridVoynich(1865
1930)acquiredthe
manuscriptin1912
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Around1912,theCollegioRomanowasshortofmoneyanddecidedtosellsomeofitsholdingsdiscreetly.
WilfridVoynichacquired30manuscripts,amongthemthemanuscriptthatnowbearshisname.[24]He
spentthenextsevenyearsattemptingtointerestscholarsindecipheringthescriptwhileheworkedto
determinetheoriginsofthemanuscript.[11]
In1930,afterWilfrid'sdeath,themanuscriptwasinheritedbyhiswidow,EthelVoynich(knownasthe
authorofthenovelTheGadflyanddaughterofmathematicianGeorgeBoole).Shediedin1960andleftthe
manuscripttoherclosefriend,MissAnneNill.In1961,Nillsoldthebooktoanotherantiquebookdealer,
HansP.Kraus.Unabletofindabuyer,KrausdonatedthemanuscripttoYaleUniversityin1969,whereit
wascataloguedas"MS408".[16]Indiscussions,itissometimesalsoreferredtoas"BeineckeMS408".[8]
Authorshiphypotheses
ManypeoplehavebeenproposedaspossibleauthorsoftheVoynichmanuscript.
Marci's1666coverlettertoKirchersaysthat,accordingtohisfriend,the
lateRaphaelMnishovsky,thebookhadoncebeenboughtbyRudolfII,
HolyRomanEmperorandKingofBohemia(15521612),for600ducats
(66.42troyounceactualgoldweight,or2.07kg).(Mnishovskyhaddied22
yearsearlier,in1644,andthedealmusthaveoccurredbeforeRudolf's
abdicationin1611atleast55yearsbeforeMarci'sletter.)Accordingto
theletter,Mnishovsky(butnotnecessarilyRudolf)speculatedthatthe
authorwastheFranciscanfriarandpolymathRogerBacon(121494).[25]
EventhoughMarcisaidthathewas"suspendinghisjudgment"aboutthis
claim,itwastakenquiteseriouslybyWilfridVoynich,whodidhisbestto
confirmit.[24]
TheassumptionthatRogerBaconwasthe
authorledVoynichtoconcludethatthe
EdwardKelley(155597)
personwhosoldthemanuscripttoRudolf
mighthavecreatedthe
couldonlyhavebeenJohnDee(1527
manuscriptasafraud.
1608),amathematicianandastrologeratthe
courtofQueenElizabethIofEngland,
knowntohaveownedalargecollectionofBacon'smanuscripts.Deeand
hisscrier(mediumicassistant)EdwardKelleylivedinBohemiaforseveral
years,wheretheyhadhopedtoselltheirservicestotheemperor.However,
thisseemsquiteunlikely,becauseDee'smeticulouslykeptdiariesdonot
mentionthatsale.[24]IftheVoynichmanuscriptauthorisnotBacon,a
supposedconnectiontoDeeismuchweakened.Untilthecarbondatingof
themanuscripttothe15thcentury,itwasthoughtpossiblethatDeeor
Kelleymayhavewrittenitandspreadtherumorthatitwasoriginallya
workofBacon'sinthehopesoflatersellingit.
MathematicianJohnDee
(15271608)mayhavesold
themanuscripttoEmperor
Rudolfaround1600.
FabricationbyVoynich
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SomesuspectedVoynichofhavingfabricatedthemanuscripthimself.[26]Asanantiquebookdealer,he
probablyhadthenecessaryknowledgeandmeans,anda"lostbook"byRogerBaconwouldhavebeen
worthafortune.Furthermore,Baresch'sletter(andMarci'saswell)onlyestablishtheexistenceofa
manuscript,notthattheVoynichmanuscriptisthesameonespokenofthere.Inotherwords,theseletters
couldpossiblyhavebeenthemotivationforVoynichtofabricatethemanuscript(assuminghewasawareof
them),ratherthanasproofsauthenticatingit.However,manyconsidertheexpertinternaldatingofthe
manuscriptandtherecentdiscoveryofBaresch'slettertoKircherashavingeliminatedthis
possibility.[24][26]
Othertheories
Voynichwasable,sometimebefore1921,toreadanamefaintlywrittenatthefootofthemanuscript'sfirst
page:"JacobjTepenece".ThisistakentobeareferencetoJakubHoickofTepenec(15751622),also
knownbyhisLatinnameJacobusSinapius.RudolphIIhadennobledhimin1607appointedhimhis
ImperialDistillerandhadmadehimbothcuratorofhisbotanicalgardensaswellasoneofhispersonal
physicians.Voynich,andmanyotherpeopleafterhim,concludedfromthisthatJacobusownedthe
VoynichmanuscriptpriortoBaresch,anddrewalinktoRudolf'scourtfromthat,inconfirmationof
Mnishovsky'sstory.
Jacobus'snameisstillclearlyvisibleunderUVlight:however,itdoesnotmatchthecopyofhissignature
inadocumentlocatedbyJanHurychin2003.[27]Asaresult,ithasbeensuggestedthatthesignaturewas
addedlater,possiblyevenfraudulentlybyVoynichhimself.Yetbecausethewritingonpagef1rmightwell
havebeenanownershipmarkaddedbyalibrarianatthetime,thedifferencebetweenthetwosignatures
doesnotnecessarilydisproveHorczicky'sownership.
IthasbeennotedthatBaresch'sletterbearssomeresemblancetoahoaxthatorientalistAndreasMueller
onceplayedonKircher.MuellersentsomeunintelligibletexttoKircherwithanoteexplainingthatithad
comefromEgypt,andaskingKircherforatranslation:whichKircher,reportedly,producedatonce.Ithas
beenspeculatedthatthesewerebothcryptographictricksplayedonKirchertomakehimlookfoolish:but
theVoynichmanuscriptisonsuchavastlydifferentscaletoafewsignsinaletterthatthisseems
somewhatoutofscaleforsuchanendeavor.
RaphaelMnishovsky,thefriendofMarciwhowasthereputed
sourceofBacon'sstory,washimselfacryptographer(amongmany
otherthings)andapparentlyinventedacipherthatheclaimedwas
uncrackable(ca.1618).Thishasledtothespeculationthat
MnishovskymighthaveproducedtheVoynichmanuscriptasa
practicaldemonstrationofhiscipherandmadeBareschhis
unwittingtestsubject.Indeed,thedisclaimerintheVoynich
manuscriptcoverlettercouldmeanthatMarcisuspectedsomekind
ofdeceptionwasatplay.However,thereisnodefiniteevidencefor
thistheory.
Inhis2006book,NickPellingproposedthattheVoynich
manuscriptwaswrittenbythe15thcenturyNorthItalianarchitect
AntonioAverlino(alsoknownas"Filarete"),atheorybroadly
consistentwiththeradiocarbondating.[9]
Somepagesofthemanuscriptfold
outtoshowlargerdiagrams.
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RichardSantaColomahasspeculatedthattheVoynichManuscriptmaybeconnectedtoCornelisDrebbel,
initiallysuggestingitwasDrebbel'sciphernotebookonmicroscopyandalchemy,andthenlater
hypothesisingitisafictional"tiein"toFrancisBacon'sutopiannovelNewAtlantisinwhichsome
Drebbelrelateditems(submarine,perpetualclock)aresaidtoappear.[28]
Languagehypotheses
TherearemanyhypothesesabouttheVoynichmanuscript's"language":
Ciphers
Accordingtothe"letterbasedcipher"theory,theVoynich
manuscriptcontainsameaningfultextinsomeEuropeanlanguage
thatwasintentionallyrenderedobscurebymappingittothe
Voynichmanuscript"alphabet"throughacipherofsomesortan
algorithmthatoperatedonindividualletters.Thishasbeenthe
workinghypothesisformosttwentiethcenturydeciphering
attempts,includinganinformalteamofNSAcryptographersledby
WilliamF.Friedmanintheearly1950s.
Themainargumentforthistheoryisthattheuseofastrange
alphabetbyaEuropeanauthorisawkwardtoexplainexceptasan
attempttohideinformation.Indeed,evenRogerBaconknewabout
ciphers,andtheestimateddateforthemanuscriptroughlycoincides
withthebirthofcryptographyinEuropeasarelativelysystematic
discipline.
TheVoynichmanuscriptiswrittenin
anunknownscript.
Thecounterargumentisthatalmostallciphersystemsconsistentwiththaterafailtomatchwhatweseein
theVoynichmanuscript.Forexample,simplemonoalphabeticcipherscanbeexcludedbecausethe
distributionofletterfrequenciesdoesnotresemblethatofanycommonlanguagewhilethesmallnumber
ofdifferentlettershapesusedimpliesthatwecanruleoutnomenclatorciphersandhomophonicciphers,
becausethesetypicallyemploylargercipheralphabets.Similarly,polyalphabeticciphers,firstinventedby
Albertiinthe1460sandincludingthelaterVigenrecipher,usuallyyieldciphertextswhereallcipher
shapesoccurwithroughlyequalprobability,quiteunlikethelanguagelikeletterdistributiontheVoynich
Manuscriptappearstohave.
However,thepresenceofmanytightlygroupedshapesintheVoynichmanuscript(suchas"or","ar","ol",
"al","an","ain","aiin","air","aiir","am","ee","eee",etc.)doessuggestthatitsciphersystemmaymake
useofa""verbosecipher"",wheresinglelettersinaplaintextgetencipheredintogroupsoffakeletters.For
example,thefirsttwolinesofpagef15v(seenabove)contain"ororor"and"orororor",whichstrongly
resemblehowRomannumberssuchas"CCC"or"XXXX"wouldlookifverboselyenciphered.Yet,even
thoughverboseenciphermentisarguablythebestmatch,itstillfallswellshortofbeingabletoexplainall
oftheVoynichmanuscript'soddtextualproperties.
Itisalsoentirelypossiblethattheencryptionsystemstartedfromafundamentallysimplecipherandthen
augmenteditbyaddingnulls(meaninglesssymbols),homophones(duplicatesymbols),transpositioncipher
(letterrearrangement),falsewordbreaks,andsoon.
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Codes
Accordingtothe"codebookcipher"theory,theVoynichmanuscript"words"wouldactuallybecodestobe
lookedupina"dictionary"orcodebook.Themainevidenceforthistheoryisthattheinternalstructureand
lengthdistributionofmanywordsaresimilartothoseofRomannumeralswhich,atthetime,wouldbea
naturalchoiceforthecodes.However,bookbasedciphersareviableonlyforshortmessages,becausethey
areverycumbersometowriteandtoread.
Steganography
ThistheoryholdsthatthetextoftheVoynichmanuscriptismostlymeaningless,butcontainsmeaningful
informationhiddenininconspicuousdetailse.g.thesecondletterofeveryword,orthenumberofletters
ineachline.Thistechnique,calledsteganography,isveryold,andwasdescribedbyJohannesTrithemius
in1499.ThoughithasbeenspeculatedthattheplaintextwastobeextractedbyaCardangrilleofsome
sort,thisseemssomewhatunlikelybecausethewordsandlettersarenotarrangedonanythinglikearegular
grid.Still,steganographicclaimsarehardtoproveordisprove,sincestegotextscanbearbitrarilyhardto
find.Anargumentagainststeganographyisthathavingacipherlikecovertexthighlightsthevery
existenceofthesecretmessage,whichwouldbeselfdefeating:yetbecausethecovertextnolessresembles
anunknownnaturallanguage,thisargumentisnothugelypersuasive.
Ithasbeensuggestedthatthemeaningfultextcouldbeencodedinthelengthorshapeofcertainpen
strokes.[29]Thereareindeedexamplesofsteganographyfromaboutthattimethatuselettershape(italicvs.
upright)tohideinformation.However,whenexaminedathighmagnification,theVoynichmanuscriptpen
strokesseemquitenatural,andsubstantiallyaffectedbytheunevensurfaceofthevellum.
Naturallanguage
Statisticalanalysisofthetextrevealspatternssimilartothoseofnaturallanguages.Forinstance,theword
entropy(about10bitsperword)issimilartothatofEnglishorLatintexts.[30]In2013,DiegoAmancioet
alarguedthattheVoynichmanuscript"ismostlycompatiblewithnaturallanguagesandincompatiblewith
randomtexts".[31]
ThelinguistJacquesGuyoncesuggestedthattheVoynichmanuscripttextcouldbesomelittleknown
naturallanguage,writtenintheplainwithaninventedalphabet.Thewordstructureissimilartothatof
manylanguagefamiliesofEastandCentralAsia,mainlySinoTibetan(Chinese,Tibetan,andBurmese),
Austroasiatic(Vietnamese,Khmer,etc.)andpossiblyTai(Thai,Lao,etc.).Inmanyoftheselanguages,the
wordshaveonlyonesyllableandsyllableshavearatherrichstructure,includingtonalpatterns.
Thistheoryhassomehistoricalplausibility.Whilethoselanguagesgenerallyhadnativescripts,thesewere
notoriouslydifficultforWesternvisitors.Thisdifficultymotivatedtheinventionofseveralphoneticscripts,
mostlywithLatinlettersbutsometimeswithinventedalphabets.Althoughtheknownexamplesaremuch
laterthantheVoynichmanuscript,historyrecordshundredsofexplorersandmissionarieswhocouldhave
doneitevenbeforeMarcoPolo'sthirteenthcenturyjourney,butespeciallyafterVascodaGamasailed
thesearoutetotheOrientin1499.
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Themainargumentforthistheoryisthatitisconsistentwithall
statisticalpropertiesoftheVoynichmanuscripttextwhichhave
beentestedsofar,includingdoubledandtripledwords(whichhave
beenfoundtooccurinChineseandVietnamesetextsatroughlythe
samefrequencyasintheVoynichmanuscript).Italsoexplainsthe
apparentlackofnumeralsandWesternsyntacticfeatures(suchas
articlesandcopulas),andthegeneralinscrutabilityofthe
illustrations.Anotherpossiblehintistwolargeredsymbolsonthe
firstpage,whichhavebeencomparedtoaChinesestylebooktitle,
invertedandbadlycopied.Also,theapparentdivisionoftheyear
into360days(ratherthan365days),ingroupsof15andstarting
withPisces,arefeaturesoftheChineseagriculturalcalendar(jieqi,
).Themainargumentagainstthetheoryisthefactthatnoone
(includingscholarsattheChineseAcademyofSciencesinBeijing)
hasbeenabletofindanyclearexamplesofAsiansymbolismor
Asianscienceintheillustrations.
Thefirstpageincludestwolargered
In1976,JamesRChildoftheNationalSecurityAgency,alinguist
symbols,whichhavebeencompared
ofIndoEuropeanlanguages,proposedthatthemanuscriptwas
[32]
toaChinesestylebooktitle.
writtenina"hithertounknownNorthGermanicdialect". He
identifiedinthemanuscripta"skeletalsyntaxseveralelementsof
whicharereminiscentofcertainGermaniclanguages",whilethecontentitselfisexpressedusing"agreat
dealofobscurity".[33]
Inlate2003,ZbigniewBanasikofPolandproposedthatthemanuscriptisplaintextwrittenintheManchu
languageandgaveaproposedpiecemealtranslationofthefirstpageofthemanuscript.[34]
InFebruary2014,ProfessorStephenBaxoftheUniversityofBedfordshiremadepublichisresearchinto
using"bottomup"methodologytounderstandthemanuscript.Hismethodinvolveslookingforand
translatingpropernouns,inassociationwithrelevantillustrations,inthecontextofotherlanguagesofthe
sametimeperiod.Apaperhepostedonlineofferstentativetranslationof14charactersand10
words.[35][36][37][38]Hesuggeststhetextisatreatiseonnaturewritteninanaturallanguage,ratherthana
code.
In2014,ArthurO.TuckerandRexfordH.Talbertpublishedapaperclaimingapositiveidentificationof37
plants,6animals,and1mineralreferencedinthemanuscripttoplantdrawingsintheLibellusde
MedicinalibusIndorumHerbisorBadianusmanuscript,afifteenthcenturyAztecherbal.[39]Theyarguethat
thesewerefromColonialNewSpainandrepresentedtheNahuatllanguage,anddatethemanuscriptto
between1521(thedateoftheConquest)toca.1576,incontradictionofradiocarbondatingevidenceofthe
vellumandmanyotherelementsofthemanuscript.TheanalysishasbeencriticizedbyotherVoynich
Manuscriptresearchers,[40]pointingoutthatamongotherthingsaskilledforgercouldconstructplants
thathaveapassingresemblancetoexistingplantsthatwereheretoforeundiscovered.[41]
Constructedlanguage
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ThepeculiarinternalstructureofVoynichmanuscriptwordsledWilliamF.Friedmantoconjecturethatthe
textcouldbeaconstructedlanguage.In1950,FriedmanaskedtheBritisharmyofficerJohnTiltmanto
analyzeafewpagesofthetext,butTiltmandidnotsharethisconclusion.Inapaperin1967,Brigadier
Tiltmansaid,
"Afterreadingmyreport,Mr.Friedmandisclosedtomehisbeliefthatthebasisofthescript
wasaveryprimitiveformofsyntheticuniversallanguagesuchaswasdevelopedintheformof
aphilosophicalclassificationofideasbyBishopWilkinsin1667andDalgarnoalittlelater.It
wasclearthattheproductionsofthesetwomenweremuchtoosystematic,andanythingofthe
kindwouldhavebeenalmostinstantlyrecognisable.Myanalysisseemedtometoreveala
cumbersomemixtureofdifferentkindsofsubstitution."[11]
Theconceptofanartificiallanguageisquiteold,asattestedbyJohnWilkins'sPhilosophicalLanguage
(1668),butstillpostdatesthegenerallyacceptedoriginoftheVoynichmanuscriptbytwocenturies.In
mostknownexamples,categoriesaresubdividedbyaddingsuffixesasaconsequence,atextinaparticular
subjectwouldhavemanywordswithsimilarprefixesforexample,allplantnameswouldbeginwith
similarletters,andlikewiseforalldiseases,etc.Thisfeaturecouldthenexplaintherepetitiousnatureofthe
Voynichtext.However,noonehasbeenableyettoassignaplausiblemeaningtoanyprefixorsuffixinthe
Voynichmanuscript.[42]
Hoax
ThebizarrefeaturesoftheVoynichmanuscripttext(suchasthe
doubledandtripledwords),andthesuspiciouscontentsofits
illustrationssupporttheideathatthemanuscriptisahoax.Inother
words,ifnooneisabletoextractmeaningfromthebook,then
perhapsthisisbecausethedocumentcontainsnomeaningful
contentinthefirstplace.Varioushoaxtheorieshavebeenproposed
overtime.
In2003,computerscientistGordonRuggshowedthattextwith
characteristicssimilartotheVoynichmanuscriptcouldhavebeen
producedusingatableofwordprefixes,stems,andsuffixes,which
wouldhavebeenselectedandcombinedbymeansofaperforated
paperoverlay.[43][44]Thelatterdevice,knownasaCardangrille,
wasinventedaround1550asanencryptiontool,morethan100
yearsaftertheestimatedcreationdateoftheVoynichmanuscript.
Somemaintainthatthesimilaritybetweenthepseudotexts
generatedinGordonRugg'sexperimentsandtheVoynich
manuscriptissuperficial,andthegrillemethodcouldbeusedto
emulateanylanguagetoacertaindegree.[45]
Afloralillustrationonpage32.The
colorsarestillvibrant.
InApril2007,astudybyAustrianresearcherAndreasSchinnerpublishedinCryptologiasupportedthe
hoaxhypothesis.[46]Schinnershowedthatthestatisticalpropertiesofthemanuscript'stextweremore
consistentwithmeaninglessgibberishproducedusingaquasistochasticmethodsuchastheonedescribed
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byRugg,thanwithLatinandmedievalGermantexts.[46]
Theargumentforauthenticityisthatthemanuscriptappearstoosophisticatedtobeahoax.Whilehoaxesof
theperiodtendedtobequitecrude,theVoynichmanuscriptexhibitsmanysubtlecharacteristicswhich
showuponlyaftercarefulstatisticalanalysis.Thequestionthenarisesastowhytheauthorwouldemploy
suchacomplexandlaboriousforgingalgorithminthecreationofasimplehoax,ifnooneintheexpected
audience(thatis,thecreator'scontemporaries)couldtellthedifference.MarceloMontemurro,atheoretical
physicistfromtheUniversityofManchesterwhospentyearsanalysingthelinguisticpatternsinthe
Voynichmanuscript,foundsemanticnetworkssuchascontentbearingwordsoccurringinaclustered
pattern,andnewwordsbeingusedwhentherewasashiftintopic.[47]Withthisevidence,hebelievesit
unlikelythatthesefeaturesweresimply"incorporated"intothetexttomakeahoaxmorerealistic,asmost
oftherequiredacademicknowledgeofthesestructuresdidnotexistatthetimetheVoynichmanuscript
wascreated.Thesefinetouchesrequiremuchmoreworkthanwouldhavebeennecessaryforasimple
forgery,andsomeofthecomplexitiesareonlyvisiblewithmoderntools.[48]
Glossolalia
Intheir2004book,GerryKennedyandRobChurchillhintatthe
possibilitythattheVoynichmanuscriptmaybeacaseofglossolalia,
channeling,oroutsiderart.[49]
Ifthisistrue,thentheauthorfeltcompelledtowritelargeamounts
oftextinamannerwhichsomehowresemblesstreamof
consciousness,eitherbecauseofvoicesheard,orbecauseofanurge.
Whileinglossolaliathisoftentakesplaceinaninventedlanguage
(usuallymadeupoffragmentsoftheauthor'sownlanguage),
inventedscriptsforthispurposearerare.KennedyandChurchilluse
HildegardvonBingen'sworkstopointoutsimilaritiesbetweenthe
illustrationsshedrewwhenshewassufferingfromsevereboutsof
migrainewhichcaninduceatrancelikestatepronetoglossolalia
andtheVoynichmanuscript.Prominentfeaturesfoundinbothare
abundant"streamsofstars",andtherepetitivenatureofthe
"nymphs"inthebiologicalsection.
Apagefromthebiologicalsection
Thetheoryisvirtuallyimpossibletoproveordisprove,shortof
showing"nymphs"
decipheringthetextKennedyandChurchillarethemselvesnot
convincedofthehypothesis,butconsideritplausible.Inthe
culminatingchapteroftheirwork,Kennedystateshisbeliefthatitisahoaxorforgery.Churchill
acknowledgesthepossibilitythatthemanuscriptisasyntheticforgottenlanguage(asadvancedby
Friedman),oraforgery,tobepreeminenttheories.Howeverheconcludesthatifthemanuscriptisgenuine,
mentalillnessordelusionseemstohaveaffectedtheauthor.[49]
Historicaldeciphermentclaims
Sincethemanuscript'smodernrediscoveryin1912therehavebeenanumberofclaimsofsuccessful
decipherment.
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WilliamRomaineNewbold
Oneoftheearliesteffortstounlockthebook'ssecrets(andthefirstofmanyprematureclaimsof
decipherment)wasmadein1921byWilliamRomaineNewboldoftheUniversityofPennsylvania.His
singularhypothesisheldthatthevisibletextismeaninglessitself,butthateachapparent"letter"isinfact
constructedofaseriesoftinymarkingsonlydiscernibleundermagnification.Thesemarkingswere
supposedtobebasedonancientGreekshorthand,formingasecondlevelofscriptthatheldtherealcontent
ofthewriting.Newboldclaimedtohaveusedthisknowledgetoworkoutentireparagraphsprovingthe
authorshipofBaconandrecordinghisuseofacompoundmicroscopefourhundredyearsbeforevan
Leeuwenhoek.Acirculardrawinginthe"astronomical"sectiondepictsanirregularlyshapedobjectwith
fourcurvedarms,whichNewboldinterpretedasapictureofagalaxy,whichcouldonlybeobtainedwitha
telescope.[11]Similarly,heinterpretedotherdrawingsascellsseenthroughamicroscope.
However,Newbold'sanalysishassincebeendismissedasoverlyspeculative[50]afterJohnMatthewsManly
oftheUniversityofChicagopointedoutseriousflawsinhistheory.Eachshorthandcharacterwasassumed
tohavemultipleinterpretations,withnoreliablewaytodeterminewhichwasintendedforanygivencase.
Newbold'smethodalsorequiredrearranginglettersatwilluntilintelligibleLatinwasproduced.These
factorsaloneensurethesystemenoughflexibilitythatnearlyanythingatallcouldbediscernedfromthe
microscopicmarkings.AlthoughevidenceofmicrographyusingtheHebrewlanguagecanbetracedasfar
backastheninthcentury,[51]itisnowherenearascompactorcomplexastheshapesNewboldmadeout.
Closestudyofthemanuscriptrevealedthemarkingstobeartifactscausedbythewayinkcracksasitdries
onroughvellum.Perceivingsignificanceintheseartifactscanbeattributedtopareidolia.Thanksto
Manly'sthoroughrefutation,themicrographytheoryisnowgenerallydisregarded.[52]
JosephMartinFeely
In1943,JosephMartinFeelypublishedRogerBacon'sCipher:TheRightKeyFound,inwhichheclaimed
thatthebookwasascientificdiary.Feely'smethodpositedthatthetextwasahighlyabbreviatedmedieval
Latinwrittenwithasimplesubstitutioncipher.HealsoclaimedthatthewriterofthemanuscriptwasRoger
Bacon.[16]
LeonellCStrong
LeonellC.Strong,acancerresearchscientistandamateurcryptographer,believedthatthesolutiontothe
Voynichmanuscriptwasa"peculiardoublesystemofarithmeticalprogressionsofamultiplealphabet".
StrongclaimedthattheplaintextrevealedtheVoynichmanuscripttobewrittenbythe16thcenturyEnglish
authorAnthonyAscham,whoseworksincludeALittleHerbal,publishedin1550.Themainargument
againstthistheoryisthatitsclaimedoffsettingcryptographyrunscountertoallthecomplexinternal
structurespresentedbythetext.
RobertSBrumbaugh
RobertBrumbaugh,aprofessorofmedievalphilosophyatYaleUniversity,claimedthatthemanuscriptwas
aforgeryintendedtofoolEmperorRudolfIIintopurchasingit.ThetextisLatin,butencipheredwitha
complex,twostepmethod.[16]
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JohnStojko
In1978,JohnStojkopublishedLetterstoGod'sEye[53]inwhichheclaimedthattheVoynichManuscript
wasaseriesofletterswritteninvowellessUkrainian.[54]However,thedateStojkogivesfortheletters,the
lackofrelationbetweenthetextandtheimages,andthegeneralloosenessinthemethodofdecryptionall
speakagainsthistheory.[54]
LeoLevitov
LeoLevitovproposedinhis1987book,SolutionoftheVoynichManuscript:ALiturgicalManualforthe
EnduraRiteoftheCathariHeresy,theCultofIsis,[55]thatthemanuscriptisahandbookfortheCatharrite
ofEndurawritteninaFlemishbasedcreole.HefurtherclaimedthatCatharismwasasurvivalofthecultof
Isis.[56]
However,Levitov'sdeciphermenthasbeenrefutedonseveralgrounds,notleastofbeingunhistorical.
LevitovhadapoorgrasponthehistoryoftheCathar,andhisdepictionofEnduraasanelaboratesuicide
ritualisatoddswithsurvivingdocumentsdescribingitasafast.[56]Likewise,thereisnoknownlink
betweenCatharismandIsis.
Culturalimpact
Manybooksandarticleshavebeenwrittenaboutthemanuscript.Thefirstfacsimileeditionwaspublished
in2005,LeCodeVoynich:thewholemanuscriptpublishedwithashortpresentationinFrench.[57]
Themanuscripthasalsoinspiredseveralworksoffiction,includingTheBookofBloodandShadowby
RobinWasserman,TimeRiders:TheDoomsdayCodebyAlexScarrow,CodexbyLevGrossman,PopCo
byScarlettThomas,PrimebyJeremyRobinsonwithSeanEllis,TheSwordofMoses(2013)byDominic
Selwood,TheReturnoftheLloigorbyColinWilson,Datura,oradelusionweallsee(Finnishversion
2001)byLeenaKrohn,"Assassin'sCode"byJonathanMaberryand"TheSource"byMichaelCordy.
Between1976and1978,[58]ItalianartistLuigiSerafinicreatedtheCodexSeraphinianuscontainingfalse
writingandpicturesofimaginaryplants,inastylereminiscentoftheVoynichmanuscript.[59][60][61]
ContemporaryclassicalcomposerHanspeterKyburz's1995ChamberworkTheVoynichCipher
Manuscript,forchorus&ensembleisinspiredbythemanuscript.[62]
Seealso
Asemicwriting
Automaticwriting
Bealeciphers
BookofSoyga
CodexSeraphinianus
Copialecipher
Falsedocument
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Falsewritingsystem
Fictionallanguage
OeraLindaBook
RohoncCodex
Rongorongo
Undecipheredwritingsystems
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Furtherreading
Manly,JohnMatthews(July1921)."TheMostMysteriousManuscriptintheWorld:DidRoger
BaconWriteItandHastheKeyBeenFound?".Harper'sMonthlyMagazine(143):186197.
Voynich,WilfridMichael(1921)."APreliminarySketchoftheHistoryoftheRogerBaconCipher
Manuscript".TransactionsoftheCollegeofPhysiciansofPhiladelphia3(43):415430.
Newbold,WilliamRomaine(1928).TheCipherofRogerBacon.Philadelphia:Universityof
PennsylvaniaPress.
Manly,JohnMatthews(1931)."RogerBaconandtheVoynichMS".Speculum6(3):345391.
doi:10.2307/2848508.JSTOR2848508.
Brumbaugh,RobertS.(1978).TheMostMysteriousManuscript:TheVoynich'RogerBacon'Cipher
Manuscript.Carbondale,IL:SouthernIllinoisUniversityPress.ISBN0809308088.
D'Imperio,M.E.(1978).TheVoynichManuscript:AnElegantEnigma.LagunaHills,CA:Aegean
ParkPress.ISBN0894120387.
D'Imperio,M.E.(1978).TheVoynichManuscript:AnElegantEnigma(PDF).FortGeorgeG.
Meade,MD:NationalSecurityAgency/CentralSecurityService.OCLC50929259.Retrieved
20140610.
Stojko,John(1978).LetterstoGod'sEye.NewYork:VantagePress.ISBN0533041813.
Levitov,Leo(1987).SolutionoftheVoynichManuscript:ALiturgicalManualfortheEnduraRiteof
theCathariHeresy,theCultofIsis.AegeanParkPress.ISBN0894121480.
PrezRuiz,MarioM.(2003).ElManuscritoVoynich(inSpanish).Barcelona:OcanoAmbar.
ISBN8475562167.
Kennedy,GerryChurchill,Rob(2004).TheVoynichManuscriptTheUnsolvedRiddleofan
ExtraordinaryBookWhichHasDefiedInterpretationforCenturies.London:Orion.ISBN07528
5996X.
Goldstone,LawrenceGoldstone,Nancy(2005).TheFriarandtheCipher:RogerBaconandthe
UnsolvedMysteryoftheMostUnusualManuscriptintheWorld.NewYork:Doubleday.ISBN0
767914732.
Pelling,Nicholas(2006).TheCurseoftheVoynich:TheSecretHistoryoftheWorld'sMost
MysteriousManuscript.Surbiton,Surrey:CompellingPress.ISBN0955316006.
ViolatBordonau,Francisco(2006).ElABCdelManuscritoVoynich(inSpanish).Cceres,Spain:
Ed.AsesoresAstronmicosCacereos.
Foti,Claudio(2010).IlCodiceVoynich(inItalian).Roma:EremonEdizioni.ISBN9788889713
174.
Amancio,DiegoR.(2013)."ProbingtheStatisticalPropertiesofUnknownTexts:Applicationtothe
VoynichManuscript".PLOSONE8(7):e67310.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0067310.
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Montemurro,MarceloA.Zanette,DaminH.(2013)."KeywordsandCoOccurrencePatternsinthe
VoynichManuscript:AnInformationTheoreticAnalysis".PLOSONE8(6):e66344.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0066344.
Stollznow,Karen(2014)."TheMysteriousVoynichManuscript".SkepticMagazine19(2).Retrieved
20August2015.
Externallinks
TheVoynichManuscript
(https://www.dmoz.org//Science/Anomalies_and_Alternative_Science/Voynich_Manuscript/)at
DMOZ
TheVoynichManuscript(http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/digitallibrary/voynich.html)fromthe
digitalcollectionoftheBeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary,YaleUniversity
TheVoynichManuscript(http://www.archive.org/details/TheVoynichManuscript)onlineatInternet
Archive
completepdf(53MB)(http://awesta.sibirjak.ru/files/Voynich.pdf)
RenZandbergen'sVoynichManuscriptPage(http://www.voynich.nu/index.html)abouttheVoynich
Manuscript,includingaVoynichMSPages/Folios(http://www.voynich.nu/folios.html)gallery,
andabibliography(http://www.voynich.nu/refs.html)
CipherMysteries(http://www.ciphermysteries.com/),NickPelling'shistoricalcipherresearchsite
VoynichManuscriptMailingListHQ(http://www.voynich.net/)
VoynichManuscriptBibliography(http://www.voynich.net/reeds/bib.html)byJimReeds
Naturenewsarticle:World'smostmysteriousbookmaybeahoax
(http://www.nature.com/nsu/031215/0312155.html)AsummaryofGordonRugg'spaperdirected
towardsamoregeneralaudience
GordonRugg,"TheMysteryoftheVoynichManuscript"
(http://web.archive.org/web/20050910212025/http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?
chanID=sa006&colID=1&articleID=0000E3AA70E110CFAD1983414B7F0000),Scientific
American,June21,2004
AntoineCasanova,"mthodesdanalysedulangagecrypt:Unecontributionltudedumanuscrit
deVoynich"(http://voynich.free.fr/a_casanova_these_19mars1999.pdf),'UniversitPARISVIII',19
mars1999
TheVoynichCode:TheWorld'sMysteriousManuscript
(https://web.archive.org/web/20120309095747/http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/winners/tvf2011wi
nners/pieces.php?iid=413203&pid=1),anAustriandocumentaryfilmonthemanuscript
TheUnread:TheMysteryoftheVoynichManuscript
(http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/07/theunreadthemysteryofthevoynich
manuscript.html)fromTheNewYorker
Voynich(http://openfontlibrary.org/en/font/voynich),apublicdomainfontbasedonVoynich101,
whichwasusedtodigitallytranscribethetext
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Voynich_manuscript&oldid=707760943"
Categories: Historyofcryptography Scientificilluminatedmanuscripts Uncrackedcodesandciphers
Manuscriptswritteninundecipheredwritingsystems Undecipheredwritingsystems
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon1March2016,at17:09.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionaltermsmay
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registeredtrademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.
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