Voynich manuscript
The Voynich manuscript is a mysterious manuscript discovered by the U. S. book dealer Wilfrid Voynich in an old Italian library in 1912. It is now in Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
The Voynich manuscript is an illustrated vellum manuscript which is written in an otherwise unknown, undeciphered script, and has so far resisted all decipherment attempts. The many illustrations (almost every page of the about 240 pages of the manuscript has at least one) are not very helpful as they are just as mysterious as the text.
The origin of the manuscript is unknown. A radiocarbon dating has revealed that it is from the early 15th century (between 1404 and 1438). One illustration shows a castle built in a style characteristic of northern Italy, so it is assumed that the manuscript originates from that area.
Hypotheses about the language
There are basically four kinds of hypotheses about the language of the manuscript:
- The manuscript is written in a natlang, perhaps an exotic one, but using a conscript. This is not widely considered likely.
- The manuscript is written in a conlang. This is perhaps more plausible, but not proven either.
- The manuscript is written in a cipher, i.e. an encrypted natlang such as Latin.
- The manuscript is just random gibberish. Most scholars consider it unlikely because of the cost and effort that evidently went into creating the manuscript, which would seem wasted if the manuscript was meaningless.
Analysis
External link
- Voynich manuscript @ Wikipedia
