Secrets of the Voynich Manuscript

The Voynich manuscript is an undeciphered illustrated codex.

Yale University keeps the Voynich manuscript in a rare book library.

The manuscript’s vellum dates from 1404 to 1438 by carbon dating.

The manuscript has about 240 pages, though some may be missing.

Illustrations show people, strange plants, and astrological symbols colorfully.

The text is written in an unknown script called Voynichese.

The manuscript contains about 38,000 words, including 9,000 unique ones.

The text runs left to right with paragraph divisions and margin stars.

The vellum consists of about fifteen entire calfskins prepared carefully.

Ink contains iron gall and paints include azurite and red ochre.

The binding dates from Collegio Romano, not the original manuscript time.

Text patterns resemble natural languages more than codes or ciphers.

Wilfrid Voynich bought the manuscript in 1912, giving it its name.

The Voynich manuscript remains undeciphered after centuries of study.