Voynich MS

Tom Servo · June 24th, 2010, 08:33 AM

The year is 1912. The successful dealer in old books Wilfrid M. Voynich acquires a number of priceless mediaeval manuscripts from an undisclosed location in Europe. Among these is a parchment codex of 234 pages, written in an unknown script.

The manuscript is profusely illustrated, with drawings, among others, of plants and astronomical patterns. It appears to be a scientific work from the middle ages, but due to its unknown script, the contents are a complete mystery.

Voynich took the MS to the United States and started a campaign to have its text deciphered. Now, almost 100 years later, the Voynich manuscript still stands as the most elusive enigma in the world of cryptography. Not a single word of this 'Most Mysterious Manuscript', written probably in the first half of the 15th Century, can be understood.

voynich.nu

You can view the manuscript here.

While I don't think the Voynich manuscript is forged it might have been made as a deliberately mystifying text. I'm interested in MS from the Greek magical papyri to renaissance stuff but I've never seen anything like it before.

I had a look over each page and a couple stand out for me.

While it's a stretch 6 of the 12 words inside the annulus on the left have the same two-letter ending which looks like aƧ. I think these might be the names of 12 Hebrew angels as most of the names of angels in Hebrew end with the same two characters אל which are usually rendered as either el or al in English.

The diagram on the far right seems to me to show the four seasons and the stars that rule them.

One quarter shows the pleiades (the small grouping of stars) which would mark winter.

In the opposite quarter are three stars. These are bound to be Vega, Deneb and Altair which are the three brightest stars in the sky during summer. These are called the summer triangle in modern astronomy but I don't know if they had another name in the middle ages.

I'm not sure about the stars in the other quarters.

The text next to each star is likely the name of the star or the spirit/angel who has presidency over it.

While I can't believe nobody has tried this approach before if I had to decode the manuscript these two folios are where I would start.

The Million Dollar Prons · June 24th, 2010, 08:57 AM

It was probably written by Neil Gaiman

Tom Servo · June 24th, 2010, 08:59 AM

Why did I have the feeling that teh Prons would be the first to reply?

The Million Dollar Prons · June 24th, 2010, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

Why did I have the feeling that teh Prons would be the first to reply?

I think because I mentioned the voynich manuscript in a post once. Which is weird because usually I only post about sodomy

Tom Servo · June 24th, 2010, 09:27 AM

Oh yeah I remember you writing about how you bedded this librarian on the Voynich manuscript and how her butt sweat confused the forensics team when they came to date it soon afterwards.

The Million Dollar Prons · June 24th, 2010, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

Oh yeah I remember you writing about how you bedded this librarian on the Voynich manuscript and how her butt sweat confused the forensics team when they came to date it soon afterwards.

At first I thought you said I behaded a librarian. Either way I'm down.

June 24th, 2010, 08:33 AM	#1
Tom Servo (Leave this field blank to omit it Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: UK Posts: 2,777	Voynich MS The year is 1912. The successful dealer in old books Wilfrid M. Voynich acquires a number of priceless mediaeval manuscripts from an undisclosed location in Europe. Among these is a parchment codex of 234 pages, written in an unknown script. The manuscript is profusely illustrated, with drawings, among others, of plants and astronomical patterns. It appears to be a scientific work from the middle ages, but due to its unknown script, the contents are a complete mystery. Voynich took the MS to the United States and started a campaign to have its text deciphered. Now, almost 100 years later, the Voynich manuscript still stands as the most elusive enigma in the world of cryptography. Not a single word of this 'Most Mysterious Manuscript', written probably in the first half of the 15th Century, can be understood. voynich.nu You can view the manuscript here. While I don't think the Voynich manuscript is forged it might have been made as a deliberately mystifying text. I'm interested in MS from the Greek magical papyri to renaissance stuff but I've never seen anything like it before. I had a look over each page and a couple stand out for me. While it's a stretch 6 of the 12 words inside the annulus on the left have the same two-letter ending which looks like aƧ. I think these might be the names of 12 Hebrew angels as most of the names of angels in Hebrew end with the same two characters אל which are usually rendered as either el or al in English. The diagram on the far right seems to me to show the four seasons and the stars that rule them. One quarter shows the pleiades (the small grouping of stars) which would mark winter. In the opposite quarter are three stars. These are bound to be Vega, Deneb and Altair which are the three brightest stars in the sky during summer. These are called the summer triangle in modern astronomy but I don't know if they had another name in the middle ages. I'm not sure about the stars in the other quarters. The text next to each star is likely the name of the star or the spirit/angel who has presidency over it. While I can't believe nobody has tried this approach before if I had to decode the manuscript these two folios are where I would start. Last edited by Tom Servo; June 24th, 2010 at 08:36 AM.

June 24th, 2010, 08:57 AM	#2
The Million Dollar Prons Wild Like a Snorlax Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: The Mellon Colony of Haruhi Suzumiya. Posts: 13,051 Blog Entries: 17	It was probably written by Neil Gaiman

June 24th, 2010, 08:59 AM	#3
Tom Servo (Leave this field blank to omit it Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: UK Posts: 2,777	Why did I have the feeling that teh Prons would be the first to reply?

June 24th, 2010, 09:27 AM	#5
Tom Servo (Leave this field blank to omit it Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: UK Posts: 2,777	Oh yeah I remember you writing about how you bedded this librarian on the Voynich manuscript and how her butt sweat confused the forensics team when they came to date it soon afterwards.