MemorandumDATE: February 5, 2015

TO: Claudia Grinnell

FROM: Kayla Hill KH

SUBJECT: The Voynich Manuscript: Ingenious hoax or unbreakable cipher?

Introduction

The Voynich Manuscript is one of the most mysterious books in the world. Still, to this day, the Voynich Manuscript resists all efforts to be completely deciphered. The contents, as well as the origin, are still in an extraordinary debate. This memo provides information on the research that has been conducted in attempting to prove if the Voynich Manuscript is a devious hoax or a genuine message.

Background

About

The Voynich Manuscript is a medieval illustrated manuscript that has approximately 235 pages made out of vellum material. Along with approximately 38,000 words written in an unknown script, the manuscript also contains color drawings of plants, stars, and nymphs (Information Sciences Institute, 2009).

Dates and Origin

The one known fact that stays consistent throughout research is that the Voynich Manuscript was brought to American in 1912 by Wilfred M. Voynich. In 2009, radiocarbon dating pinned down the age of the book's vellum to the mid-15th century (New Scientist, 2011). Ideas of where Wilfred Voynich discovered it are still questionable.

Content

Written in Central Europe at the end of the 15th or during the 16th century, the language is still being debated as vigorously as its puzzling drawings and undeciphered text. Described as a magical or scientific text, nearly every page contains botanical, figurative, and scientific drawings of provincial but lively characters, drawn in ink with vibrant washes in various shades of green, brown, yellow, blue, and red (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, 2013).

Figure 1: Voynich Manuscript Plant Courtesy of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University

2Memo to Claudia Grinnel February 6, 2015

Key Points

Information regarding what the Voynich Manuscript is about is clear. Information regarding the origin and dates of the Voynich Manuscript is less clear. Information regarding the meaning of the Voynich Manuscript is unclear.

Research on the Contents

The contents of the Manuscript are divided up into 5 categories:

The first and largest section contains 130 pages of plant drawings with accompanying text, and is called the Botanical division.

The second contains 26 pages of drawings and astronomical in nature.

The third section contains 4 pages of text and 28 drawings, which would appear to be biological in nature.

The fourth division contains 34 pages of drawings, which are pharmaceutical in nature. 

The last section of the Manuscript contains 23 pages of text arranged in short paragraphs, each beginning with a star. The last page (the 24th of this division) contains the Key only (Gordon, 2012).

Research on the Origin

There is still uncertainty of where the Voynich Manuscript was discovered. One theory states that Wilfred M. Voynich brought to America a mysterious manuscript which he had found hidden in the treasure chest of a south European castle (Manly, 1931). Another theory states that Wilfred M. Voynich found the manuscript in an Italian monastery, though it is believed to have belonged to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II of Bohemia (Campbell, 2011). Considering the dates to be far apart, many researchers have speculated between these two ideas.

Research on the Undeciphered Script

There is much controversy if the Voynich Manuscript is valid. Some researchers believe that the manuscript follows a

Figure 2: The Voynich Manuscript Courtesy of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript

Library, Yale University

Figure 3: Wilfred M. Voynich

Courtesy of

http://www.ciphermysteries.com/

3Memo to Claudia Grinnel February 6, 2015

syntactical structure and has its own set of grammar rules. Others believe it’s just a hoax. One article states, “Here we analyze the long-range structure of the manuscript using methods from information theory. We show that the Voynich manuscript presents a complex organization in the distribution of words that is compatible with those found in real language sequences. We are also able to extract some of the most significant semantic word-networks in the text. These results together with some previously known statistical features of the Voynich manuscript, give support to the presence of a genuine message inside the book” (Montemurro, 2013). Another article contradicting the previous statement says, “Why is The Voynich Manuscript likely a hoax regardless of any new analysis?  If it is not, it is the only hand-written document in history that had 200 pages and no errors” (Campbell, 2013). Research has shown to be prevalent on believing that the Voynich Manuscript contains a true meaning, but there are still some researchers that keep their doubts.

Conspiracy Theories

The strangest conspiracy theory that I came across on is that the Voynich Manuscript is an alien language. This theory also references to the idea of the aliens knowing something that humans didn’t know, for example, the invention of the telescope. But a second, closer look reveals that nothing here is what it seems. Alien characters, some resembling Latin letters, others unlike anything used in any known language, are arranged into what appear to be words and sentences, except they don't resemble anything written – or read – by human beings (Stolte, 2011). Other theories state that the Voynich Manuscript is a hoax or a challenge for wealthy people to waste their money or meant for only the chosen people with a Godly power to understand.

Conclusion

Overall, I have given the most common viewpoints of research. Some researchers believe the manuscript was found in a European castle. Others believe the manuscript was found in an Italian monastery. Some researchers believe the manuscript is complete gibberish. Others believe there is a genuine message. Either way this manuscript is very mysterious and has still not been deciphered. I hope that this paper will inform and motivate research to understanding the manuscript and discover the true meaning. Now it’s up to you to decide. Is the Voynich Manuscript an ingenious hoax or unbreakable cipher?

Figure 4: Strange Illustrations Courtesy of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University

4Memo to Claudia Grinnel February 6, 2015

Works Cited

The Voynich Manuscript (2009). Information Sciences Institute. Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://www.isi.edu/natural-language/people/voynich.pdfhttp://www.isi.edu/natural-language/people/voynich.pdf

Campbell, M. Uncrackable Codes: The Voynich manuscript. New Scientist, 44-44.

Voynich Manuscript. Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/collections/highlights/voynich-manuscript

Matthews, J. (1931). Roger Bacon and the Voynich MS. 6(3), 345-391.

Gordon, C. (2012, January 1). World Mysteries - Voynich Manuscript. Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_13.htm

Montemurro, M., Zanette, D., & Szolnoki, A. (2013). Keywords and Co-Occurrence Patterns in the Voynich Manuscript: An Information-Theoretic Analysis. PLoS ONE.

Gannon, M. (2013, June 25). Mysterious Voynich Manuscript Wasn't a Hoax, Study Suggests. Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://www.livescience.com/37737-voynich-manuscript-language-hoax.html

Campbell, H. (2013, June 25). Is The Voynich Manuscript Not Gibberish? Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://www.science20.com/cool-links/voynich_manuscript_not_gibberish-115473

Experts determine age of book 'nobody can read' (2011, February 10). Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://phys.org/news/2011-02-experts-age.html

Gannon, M. (2014, February 20). 10 Words in Mysterious Voynich Manuscript Decoded. Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://www.livescience.com/43542-voynich-manuscript-10-words-cracked.html