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The Mysterious Code That Has Defied Interpretation For Centuries
Inner Traditions 2004, 2006 ISBN #1-59477-129-4 "The Voynich Manuscript" was discovered in a Jesuit monastery in Italy in 1912 by antiquarian book dealer Wilfrid Voynich. Voynich brought the manuscript to the United States to be deciphered shortly after obtaining it (he moved his business from England to the United States prior to WW II). It is a book whose illustrations and text to date have defied interpretation. The text is encrypted, and no one has been able to break the code. The illustrations themselves, especially the herbs and plants, resemble known species, but are not exact. This book came about because a distant relative of Wilfrid Voynich heard about him, and his discovery ... at a family funeral! This is the story of Wilfrid Voynich, and of the history of the Voynich since it was discovered. Interesting theories, and interesting names - such as Roger Bacon, John Dee, Edawrd Kelly, and the esoteric order of the Cathars - abound. The manuscript itself is broken down into the following parts: Part I: The botanical section, with 113 illustrations, including flowers, leaves, and root systems. Part II: The Astronomical/Astrological section, including 25 diagrams. Part III: This is the biological section, including drawings of small scale female nudes, usually immersed in or emerging from some type of (greenish) fluid. It has been suggested that these drawings represent the process of human reproduction and the procedure by which the soul unites with the body. Part IV: This section shows an elaborate array of nine medallions, filled with stars and cell-like shapes. Part V: This is the pharmaceutical section, containing drawings of 100 different species of medicinal herbs and roots, all with identifying inscriptions. Part VI: This is a continuous text, with stars in the margins and a three lined presumed "key" opening with a reference to Roger Bacon in anagram and cipher. Attached to the manuscript was a letter in Latin (dated 1666) from Johannes Marcus Marci to the Jesuit Athanasius Kircher in Rome, offering the manuscript for decryption. Marci also mentioned that it was believed that the author of the manuscript was Franciscan Friar Roger Bacon (1214 - 1294). Voynich identified another former owner of the manuscript when, under special illumination, he identified the erased signature of Jacobus de Tepenec. Tepenec was a private physician to the Court of Rudolf (Holy Roman Emperor), and director of his botanical gardens. The manuscript can be reasonably well traced from Rudolf until it came into the hands of Wilfrid Voynich. Today the manuscript resides in the Beinecke Rare Book library of Yale University. (The description one of the authors gives about entering the rare book room and viewing the manuscript is awesome, and sets the tone for the rest of this book.) The manuscript itself is written in a very elegant script, replete with illustrations. In this book the authors have included both black and white versions of the manuscript and several vibrant, full color photographs. It is a joy to follow the path that this work has taken. Some characters in the manuscript resemble those from the Roman alphabet, some are similar to symbols used in Latin abbreviations, and some resemble numbers. The authors report that some experts believe that more than one person wrote the manuscript - i.e. that more than one "hand" was involved. Others dispute this, saying that it could be the same hand at different ages. Some of the writing is also thought not to be in what is being called "Voynich script". There is also a question about the text being placed on the pages after the illustrations were (the text runs right up to the edge of the illustrations). In the 1920's, Voynich was searching for someone to decipher the code. His world collided with that of William Romaine Newbold. Newbold felt that he had deciphered part of the code, and could show proof that it was indeed written by Roger Bacon. Attached to this version of life was the fact that Newbold was saying that Bacon had not only microscopes and telescopes at his disposal (i.e. he had built them). John M. Manly made a swift and serious move to disprove Newbold's thesis in 1931. Manly's voice was so loud that no one with any credibility in the world of mediaeval studies would touch it. This part of the book certainly saddened me - not that Manly was wrong, because he wasn't, but because Voynich thought that he was about to find glory and financial gain, and Newbold and his wife were looking for financial gain and professional recognition for Newbold. An eminent cryptoanalyst (who had headed United States cryptanalysis projects), William F. Friedman, attempted to decipher the manuscript, working with groups of experts, but no solution was found. The solutions that have been proposed (but not accepted) include: (1) the author being Roger Bacon, (2) the manuscript being involved with a Cathar cult of Isis followers, (3) an early form of a synthetic language. Another theory that has some credence is that the manuscript originated around 1460 in Italy. I found this book to be smoothly paced, easy to follow, and incredibly interesting. The scene in the rare book library is worth reading the book for all on its own! Voynich spent his life trying to find someone that could decipher the code for his manuscript, and his wife continued this effort after his death. (However, they were only willing to share limited amounts of photo-copied material.) It still remains a mystery - one that it would prove interesting to present to cryptologist experts in the antiquarian field.
Bonnie Cehovet
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