A Cryptic Codex: The Voynich Manuscript

An image of one of the pages in the Voynich Manuscript - Credit: Sci-News.com

An image of one of the pages in the Voynich Manuscript – Credit: Sci-News.com

By: Julia Clavecillas, Reporter

Over time, many archaeologists and scientists have found numerous ancient artifacts, journals, and other specimens that provided them a link to the past. A fragment to learn from to have a small glimpse of what life was like before.

One of the most mysterious artifacts that scientists have discovered is the Voynich Manuscript. The two-hundred-and-forty page document has a looping script, whimsical illustrations of various plants, and dream-like drawings of suns with faces. The manuscript’s name comes from Wilfrid Voynich, who bought the strange book in 1912. He later took the codex to the United States. The Voynich Manuscript is at Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

The puzzling thing about this document is that no one can translate or read what the script says. According to cryptologists, the writing has all of the attributes of a real language, like consistently appearing patterns of characters and letters.

Some theorize that the Voynich Manuscript is an ancient women’s health manual. That would explain the illustrations and images included in the book. Nonetheless, some people think that the manuscript is just a joke, filled with gibberish and nonsense. However, until we can translate the writing in the Voynich Manuscript, we may never know.

Related Articles:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/6-things-know-about-mysterious-voynich-manuscript-180964847/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Voynich-manuscript

https://beinecke.library.yale.edu/collections/highlights/voynich-manuscript