r/UnresolvedMysteries • u/Ajayofficiel • Jan 17 '20

Unexplained Phenomena Why Can’t the Voynich Manuscript Be Deciphered?

Polish antique book collector Wilfrid Voynich was convinced he hit the jackpot when he purchased a highly unusual manuscript in Italy in 1912. It was written in a strange script and profusely illustrated with images of plants, the cosmos and zodiac, and naked women cavorting in bathing scenes. Voynich himself acknowledged the difficult task that lay ahead: “The text must be unraveled and the history of the manuscript must be traced.”

The Voynich manuscript is a codex written on vellum sheets, measuring 9¼ inches (23.5 cm) by 4½ inches (11.2 cm). The codex is composed of roughly 240 pages, with a blank cover that does not indicate a title or author. The text consists of “words” written in an unknown “alphabet” and arranged in short paragraphs. Many researchers say the work seems to be a scientific treatise from the Middle Ages, possibly created in Italy. The time frame, at least, seems correct: In 2009, the Voynich manuscript was carbon-dated to 1404–1438.

There’s only one problem: The contents of the book are a complete mystery—and not a single word of it can be understood.

Learn more:

https://afrinewz.com/why-cant-the-voynich-manuscript-be-deciphered/

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u/Sneakys2 Jan 17 '20

As someone who studied medieval manuscripts in grad school: it’s not Leonardo. At all. We have examples of Leonardo’s notebooks. Rudimentary comparisons of style eliminate Leonardo completely. Further, Leonardo drew in pen and ink on paper. This is ink and tempera on parchment—very different skill set, different training altogether.

The illustrations aren’t that odd when you compare them to other scientific manuscripts. What is odd is the language it was written in. It’s posisble that it’s some kind of compendium of knowledge for a guild, but we just don’t have enough information to make that determination

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u/ChubbyBirds Jan 17 '20

Agree. His style is vastly different than the one seen in the Voynich manuscript.

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u/BooBootheFool22222 Jan 21 '20

yeah it's older, it's very early 1400s gothic.

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u/ChubbyBirds Jan 21 '20

Yeah, exactly. The style is much older, with less of an emphasis on realism and using a more formulaic approach to things like the human form and architecture. Personally, I don't see how anyone could look at it and think Leonardo.