# Anything New on the "Voynich" Manuscript? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432 "2010-12-26T15:57:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/101 "2013-07-02T16:23:32Z")
> [@eltro102](#): > > Probably the illustrations Fear of the unknown. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/102 "2013-07-04T23:51:57Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Look at the “words.” They keep repeating the same characters over and over. gollog gollog gollodg gollodg gollog gollog. People never do that. Badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger mushroom mushroom… ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/103 "2023-01-15T02:55:43Z")
There are a few threads about The Voynich Manuscript but this one seems as good as any. A researcher has published a theory on possible early owners of the artifact. > **[Unknown history of 600-year-old, coded Voynich Manuscript revealed by researcher](https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/01/13/unknown-history-of-600-year-old-coded-voynich-manuscript-revealed-by-researcher)** > > Stefan Guzy has scoured archives from the Holy Roman Empire and believes he has traced back the ownership of the mysterious cipher book ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/104 "2023-01-15T03:29:18Z")
He could be right, but it seems a pretty tenuous argument to me (after I’ve studied it for almost a full 5 minutes). The argument is: we know the Voynich manuscript was bought by Rupert for 600 gold coins, and the researcher found a record of a sale of a barrel of books to Rupert for 500 silver thalers, but 500 silver thalers is equivalent to 600 gold florins, so voila, the Voynich manuscript must have been in that barrel. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/105 "2023-01-15T03:47:26Z")
I can’t find it right now, but there was an article in a respectable journal a few years ago that offered a convincing explanation of the manuscript. From what I recall, the botanical illustrations are specimens from the New World, and the text is a kind of shorthand. New letters were created by the author(s) to reproduce pronunciations of their native names more accurately than with Latin spellings. When the two were compared side-by-side, they were fairly easy to read. The manuscript is apparently a gynecological guide to natural medicines, with references to astrology and alchemy. If I can find the article on line again, I’ll post a link. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/106 "2023-01-15T04:04:38Z")
Are you sure about that? The manuscript is carbon-dated to 1404-1438, so how could it have anything to do with the New World? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/107 "2023-01-15T04:08:46Z")
I am sure that’s what the article claimed. The age of the materials (even if accurate) doesn’t necessarily indicate when they were used. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/108 "2023-01-15T04:32:22Z")
Are you referring to [this](https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/09/the-mysterious-voynich-manuscript-has-finally-been-decoded/)? I believe it has been pretty well [debunked since then](https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/09/experts-are-extremely-dubious-about-the-voynich-solution/). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/109 "2023-01-15T04:59:39Z")
No. It’s a different article entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/110 "2023-01-15T10:38:32Z")
I think you might be combining two theories—the one due to [Tucker and Talbert](https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24987-mexican-plants-could-break-code-on-gibberish-manuscript/), according to which it is about plants from the New World, and is written in Nahuatl (the language of the Aztec), and the one due to [Nicholas Gibbs](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/09/has-the-voynich-manuscript-really-been-solved/539310/), according to whom it is written in abbreviated Latin and is essentially a (mostly plagiarized) women’s health guide. Neither seems to be widely accepted. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/111 "2023-01-16T02:13:40Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > can’t find it right now, but there was an article in a respectable journal a few years ago that offered a convincing explanation of the manuscript. Probably covered in this thread. > [@Voynich manuscript finally deciphered?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voynich-manuscript-finally-deciphered/821113): > > I think Cecil hit this one once. Twould appear a lot of folks spent a lot of time looking the wrong way and the wrong place and the wrong century. See: At least at first read, it seems rather conclusive. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/112 "2023-01-16T02:30:03Z")
Yes, it would seem I was thinking of Tucker and Talbot (or Tucker and Janick), but I still haven’t been able to find the specific long article I read. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/113 "2024-08-09T23:17:42Z")
Here’s a gift link (good until 8/23/24) to a new article in _The Atlantic_ about a bona fide Yale researcher who has not deciphered the manuscript, but who has gathered a number of other serious scientists to examine what can be reliably discovered about it. Finally someone treating it seriously as an historic artifact, and not just coming up with a theory and cherry picking data points to try to “prove” a preconceived idea. > **[An Intoxicating 500-Year-Old Mystery](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/09/decoding-voynich-manuscript/679157/?gift=hzomlMR2dBLPzkPdeme4aMTs4cE1Vh0iJmCFq-xOLK4&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share)** > > The Voynich Manuscript has long baffled scholars—and attracted cranks and conspiracy theorists. Now a prominent medievalist is taking a new approach to unlocking its secrets. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2024, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/114 "2024-08-10T02:10:34Z")
Thank you. That was a credible read. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/115 "2024-08-12T19:42:54Z")
Agreed. Well worth reading. j ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/116 "2024-08-12T19:48:36Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Here’s a gift link (good until 8/23/24) to a new article What I get is a bit of the article in a tiny band, then the rest of the page had “subscribe now” even tho it does say “this is a gift article”. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/117 "2024-08-12T20:45:03Z")
Sorry about that. On my devices (Android tablet and Win 10 laptop) using an incognito browser window (because I have an account with _The Atlantic_) there’s a popup window in the bottom half that I can drop by clicking on a down arrow on the right side. But the whole article is visible by scrolling, whether the popup is up or down. Perhaps try another device or browser? Anyone else having this problem? ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2024, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/118 "2024-08-12T21:05:31Z")
No, but I got a message telling me that it as my last free article. j ETA: and of course I should have said, Thank You. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2024, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/119 "2024-08-12T23:22:56Z")
Thanks for the article. I found this particularly compelling: > To reduce the possibility of selection bias, Davis examined other letters and found that their styles shifted in lockstep with the first letter. After months of analysis, she concluded that even if the Voynich had a single guiding vision, it was the handiwork of five different scribes. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432/120 "2024-08-14T02:05:30Z")
I also found it interesting that they were able to determine that the pages were worn and the book had been used quite a bit; that this wasn’t just a book that was put on display. My pet theory is that the book was part of a scam, that someone travelled around showing the book and other fake curios as proof they had found Prester John’s kingdom, or some such, and they needed money for a further expeditions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-new-on-the-voynich-manuscript/565432.md?page=7)