Voynich manuscript A parchment book filled with an unknown script and drawings of plants, stars and bathing figures. It carries roughly 170,000 characters and no accepted decipherment.
1 Sources 7 Connections The Voynich script A writing system that appears nowhere else. Its word lengths and repetitions look regular, which is why a cipher, a lost language and meaningless invention have all been proposed.
1 Sources 1 Connections Radiocarbon dating The University of Arizona dated the vellum to between 1404 and 1438. It dates the skin, not the ink, so it does not by itself date the writing.
1 Sources 1 Connections Wilfrid Voynich A Polish born dealer in rare books. He bought the manuscript in Italy in 1912, and it has carried his name ever since.
1 Sources 2 Connections Johannes Marcus Marci A physician and scholar in Prague. In 1665 he sent the book to Kircher with a letter, and that letter is very nearly the only document reporting its earlier history.
1 Sources 2 Connections Athanasius Kircher A Jesuit scholar who claimed to have read Egyptian hieroglyphs. He was asked to decipher this book and produced nothing.
1 Sources 2 Connections Rudolf II The Holy Roman Emperor whose Prague court collected curiosities. The story that he paid 600 ducats for this book is reported in Marci's letter.
1 Sources 2 Connections Jacobus Horcicky de Tepenec Apothecary to Rudolf II. His signature, erased from the first page, showed up under ultraviolet light and placed the book in Prague.
1 Sources 2 Connections Beinecke Library Yale's rare book library. It received the manuscript in 1969, holds it as MS 408 and has published the whole book online.
2 Sources 1 Connections written in dated erased signature on employed reported to have bought sent it to was asked to decipher bought holds acquired the letter of Control map, One finger scrolls the page. Two fingers move or zoom the map.
Select a card or connection to inspect it. − 100% + Fit board
Connected clues12 Source index6 Open questions3
Follow recorded connections through a shared clue. This does not establish a direct relationship between the endpoints.
Work Voynich manuscript A parchment book filled with an unknown script and drawings of plants, stars and bathing figures. It carries roughly 170,000 characters and no accepted decipherment. User contribution ↓ written in The entire book is written in this system. Sources 1 Concept The Voynich script A writing system that appears nowhere else. Its word lengths and repetitions look regular, which is why a cipher, a lost language and meaningless invention have all been proposed. User contribution ↑ dated It placed the vellum between 1404 and 1438. Sources 1 Concept Radiocarbon dating The University of Arizona dated the vellum to between 1404 and 1438. It dates the skin, not the ink, so it does not by itself date the writing. User contribution Person Wilfrid Voynich A Polish born dealer in rare books. He bought the manuscript in Italy in 1912, and it has carried his name ever since. User contribution ↓ bought He bought it in Italy in 1912, and the book takes its name from him. Sources 1 Work Voynich manuscript A parchment book filled with an unknown script and drawings of plants, stars and bathing figures. It carries roughly 170,000 characters and no accepted decipherment. User contribution ↓ acquired the letter of Marci's 1665 letter came with the bundle Voynich bought, and it is where every account of the earlier history begins. Sources 1 Person Johannes Marcus Marci A physician and scholar in Prague. In 1665 he sent the book to Kircher with a letter, and that letter is very nearly the only document reporting its earlier history. User contribution Person Johannes Marcus Marci A physician and scholar in Prague. In 1665 he sent the book to Kircher with a letter, and that letter is very nearly the only document reporting its earlier history. User contribution ↓ sent it to In 1665 he posted the book together with his letter. Sources 2 Person Athanasius Kircher A Jesuit scholar who claimed to have read Egyptian hieroglyphs. He was asked to decipher this book and produced nothing. User contribution ↑ acquired the letter of Marci's 1665 letter came with the bundle Voynich bought, and it is where every account of the earlier history begins. Sources 1 Person Wilfrid Voynich A Polish born dealer in rare books. He bought the manuscript in Italy in 1912, and it has carried his name ever since. User contribution Person Athanasius Kircher A Jesuit scholar who claimed to have read Egyptian hieroglyphs. He was asked to decipher this book and produced nothing. User contribution ↑ sent it to In 1665 he posted the book together with his letter. Sources 2 Person Johannes Marcus Marci A physician and scholar in Prague. In 1665 he sent the book to Kircher with a letter, and that letter is very nearly the only document reporting its earlier history. User contribution ↓ was asked to decipher He left no record of having read it. Sources 2 Work Voynich manuscript A parchment book filled with an unknown script and drawings of plants, stars and bathing figures. It carries roughly 170,000 characters and no accepted decipherment. User contribution More shared clues (8) AI research is a draft. Read the sources and check the context.