Parrot Time Magazine

The Thinking of Speaking
Issue #3 May / June 2013
Artifacts
The Voynich Script

The Voynich Script

Cryptic Codex

Cryptic Codex

by Lucille Martin
May / June 2013 |  asd

The exact starting place and time of this story are not completely known, so we will begin in Frascati, near Rome, in 1912. There was the Villa Mondragone. It was built in 1573, and served as a temporary residence for nobles and popes for a few centuries before being sold to Jesuit priests in 1865. The Jesuits turned it into a college, the Nobile Collegio Mondragone, for young aristocrats. In 1912, the college found itself in need of money and decided to sell, very discreetly, some of the objects it had collected over the centuries.

An American antique book dealer and collector, Wilfrid M. Voynich, took an interest and purchased a collection of thirty ancient manuscripts from the priests. Among them was a very odd manuscript, containing text in a language that Voynich had never seen before, as well as numerous coloured drawings. This curious document came to be known as the Voynich Manuscript.

Contents


Wilfrid Voynich

Voynich could make little sense of the manuscript, so he made copies and had them sent to various experts of the time, including many well known cryptologists and scholars. They also could understand very little of it, but they did learn a few things about it.

First of all, from a piece of paper which was once attached to it, they were able to determine that the manuscript was once part of the private library of Reverend Petrus Beckx S.J., a Belgian Jesuit, elected 22nd Superior-General of the Society of Jesus. There is no evidence, however, that he was the author. The experts believe it is European and perhaps written between the 15th and 17th centuries.

As to the writing, it has been determined to be an alphabetic script, with somewhere between nineteen to twenty-eight letters, but they don't show any relationship to any English or European letter system. The text is written smoothly, indicating the author understood what he was writing, and there doesn't appear to be any corrections. There is, however, some evidence that possibly two different languages, if that is indeed what they are, were used and that it was written by more than one person. The text of the manuscript is clearly written from left to right, as can be seen because there is a slightly ragged right margin and some of the longer sections are broken into paragraphs with "bullets" on the left margin.


Pages of the Voynich Manuscript, with foldout, showing plants and the strange text

But the text isn't the only odd part of the manuscript. It is full of hand-drawn images, many coloured, of a variety things. Some are unidentified plants, which might relate to what seem to be herbal recipes or botanical classifications. There are mysterious charts which seem to show astronomical objects as seen through a telescope as well as some of live cells as seen through a microscope. The stranger drawings involve naked women, sometimes in bathtubs that are connected by elaborate plumbing, sometimes in charts which contain strange zodiacal signs.

The physical dimensions of the manuscript are smaller than normal modern book sizes, being just around seven by ten inches (18 x 25cms), but it is rather thick. It contains just over 240 pages, but is estimated to have originally contained 272 pages, as shown by gaps in the page numbering. Just 33 of those pages contain only text, the rest contain drawings or a combination of both text and drawings.

Possible Origins


Emperor Rudolph II, the Holy Roman Emperor

The origins of the Voynich Manuscript are confusing and unverified. The earliest date anyone can place on it is 1586. It is believed that Emperor Rudolph II, the Holy Roman Emperor, purchased the strange book from a man who visited Rudolph's court. The Emperor was a lover of art and the occult, and so this book of strange writing and images would have immediately interested him. The man bearing the manuscript presented it with a letter which stated that it was the work of the Englishman Roger Bacon, a thirteenth century English philosopher and Franciscan friar. Rudolph paid six hundred gold ducats for it, which was an amazing amount of money at that time to pay for anything as simple as an unknown manuscript.


Castle of Prague, where the manuscript was kept after the Emperor bought it

The Emperor collected many things and among them were a menagerie of exotic animals and botanical gardens, which were housed at Prague Castle. He even had to have a northern wing added to contain his growing collections. Jakub Hořčický became administrator of the properties of the St. George's Convent in the Prague Castle in 1606. He was also the personal doctor of Emperor Rudolf II who granted him the title 'de Tepenecz'. At some point, Jakub handled the manuscript, even signing his name at the bottom of the first page. This was faintly seen, as it had been erased, but was revealed with the help of chemicals. Unfortunately, Voynich tried to find more such hidden writings on that page by chemical treatment which only succeeded in erasing Jakub's name. It can only now be seen on photocopies of the document. It is not known why Jakub would have signed it.

Sometime after this, the manuscript became property of Georg Baresch, a European alchemist and antique collector from Prague. He was also curious and puzzled about the manuscript and wanted to find someone who might be able to help him understand it. He heard of a Jesuit scholar from the Collegio Romano, Athanasius Kircher, who had published a Coptic dictionary and worked on deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs, so Baresch sent a copy of some script to him in 1637. After receiving no reply, he sent another letter in 1639, presenting his view that the manuscript represented 'Egyptian science'.


Page of the manuscript showing nude women bathing in bathtubs connected by strange plumbing

Kircher did not have any answers, but was interested in acquiring the book. However, Baresch refused to give it up, and it was only after Baresch's death in 1662 that more action was taken. The manuscript was inherited by Baresch's friend, Jan Marek Marci (Johannes Marcus Marci), who was then the rector of Charles University in Prague. He knew of Baresch's letters to Kircher and sent the manuscript, along with a cover letter explaining its origins, to Kircher in 1666. It is from this letter that we know the previous history of the manuscript.

After that, nothing is known of what happened to it during a span over over two hundred years. Most likely, it was kept with the rest of Kircher's correspondences in the library of the Collegio Romano , now the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1870, the troops of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy captured the city and annexed the Papal States. The new Italian government began confiscating many properties of the the Church, and those included the Collegio library. Many books were quickly transferred to personal libraries before this happened, so as to avoid being confiscated. This is probably how it finally came to Petrus Beckx. His "private" library was later moved to the Villa Mondragone.

The Letter

Here is the contents of the cover letter that Johannes Marcus Marci sent along with the Voynich Manuscript to Athanasius Kircher in 1666.

REVEREND AND DISTINGUISHED SIR, FATHER IN CHRIST:

This book, bequeathed to me by an intimate friend, I destined for you, my very dear Athanasius, as soon as it came into my possession, for I was convinced it could be read by no one except yourself. The former owner of this book asked your opinion by letter, copying and sending you a portion of the book from which he believed you would be able to read the remainder, but he at that time refused to send the book itself. To its deciphering he devoted unflagging toil, as is apparent from attempts of his which I send you herewith, and he relinquished hope only with his life. But his toil was in vain, for such Sphinxes as these obey no one but their master, Kircher. Accept now this token, such as it is and long overdue though it be, of my affection for you, and burst through its bars, if there are any, with your wonted success. Dr. Raphael, tutor in the Bohemian language to Ferdinand Ill, then King of Bohemia, told me the said book had belonged to the Emperor Rudolph and that he presented to the bearer who brought him the book 600 ducats. He believed the author was Roger Bacon, the Englishman. On this point I suspend judgment; it is your place to define for us what view we should take thereon, to whose favor and kindness I unreservedly commit myself and remain,


At the command of your Reverence,
JOANNES MARCUS MARCI,
of Cronland.
PRAGUE, 19th August, 1666


Theories About Authorship

While the origins of the manuscript aren't completely clear, even less is known about the person or persons that wrote it. A number of suggestions have been given and argued about.


Roger Bacon

According to the letter from Marci to Kircher, the manuscript was originally presented to Emperor Rudolph with a cover letter explaining that the document was written by Roger Bacon. Voynich believed that was the truth, and tried for many years to confirm it. However, other scholars that studied both the manuscript and Bacon's work have said it is not possible.

If the document had been written by Bacon, then it is assumed that the mysterious man who presented Rudolph with it would have been John Dee, who was known to have a large collection of Bacon's works. Dee was a mathematician and astrologer at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, and, with his assistant Edward Kelley, lived in Bohemia for several years, hoping to sell their services to Rudolph. This connection has been discounted because Dee kept highly accurate diaries of all his sales and the manuscript is never mentioned in them. Some speculate that Dee himself may have written it and attributed it to Bacon, in the hopes of selling it for a high price.

Rudolph paid six hundred gold ducats for it, which was an amazing amount of money at that time to pay for anything as simple as an unknown manuscript.

Still going with the Bacon-Dee connection, some suspect Kelley might have written it. Kelley was a bit eccentric, claiming that he could turn copper into gold, which is an alchemist's dream. He also claimed to have conversations with angels using a crystal ball, which Dee recorded. He even had a language the angel's used which became called Enochian. It is believed that Kelley fabricated these claims in order to fool others, including Dee, and so he may have created the Voynich Manuscript to swindle the Emperor as well. The problem with this theory is that it rests on Dee being the one who delivered the manuscript, claiming that Bacon wrote it, and that theory is dependent on Bacon being the author. Note too that the entire story of the man selling Rudolph the manuscript is from the letter Marci sent Kircher, and it is unknown how Marci obtained this knowledge.


Page showing many colourful plants

Another suggestion is that Jakub Hořčický (Jakub de Tepenecz) could be the author. Not only was his signature found on the first page, but he was also a specialist in herbal medicine, which the manuscript seemed to make many references to. However, the writing in the manuscript does not match that of Jakub's signature. It is possible that he was the author and that the signature itself was added by a later owner who had also speculated that Jakub was the author. It has also been suggested that the signature was added by Voynich in order to give more credence to the Roger Bacon theory.

Even Voynich himself has been suspected numerous times of creating the the manuscript. He was an antique book dealer, and it is hypothesized that he had the knowledge to fabricate a fake, for an unknown book by Roger Bacon would have been very valuable. Experts have dated the manuscript, and found it to be much older, however, and it can't explain the letters by both Baresch and Marci to Kircher.


Page showing women and astrological symbols

At this point, the ideas becomes more conspiratorial. Marci and Kircher had been friends for 27 years after meeting at the Charles University to Rome in 1638 and had exchanged letters many times. Marci had been part of a struggle by the secular side of the University to keep it from joining their rival, the Clementinum college in Prague. The two universities did merge, however, in 1654, and fell under Jesuit control. It has been thought that perhaps Marci held some further animosity toward the Jesuits and created both the manuscript and Baresch's letters, sending them to Kircher, in the hopes of discrediting him because he was a major figure among the Jesuits.

This idea is not completely unprecedented. A similar trick had already been played on Kircher by orientalist Andreas Mueller who has once sent him an unintelligible manuscript, claiming it came from Egypt. Mueller wanted Kircher to translate it, and supposedly, Kircher provided him with a translation.

It is also interesting to note that the only proof that Georg Baresch even existed is the letters from he and Marci. There isn't even a proof of ownership of a house in Prague to Baresch, although it is claimed he lived there. Also, there is no more known correspondences between Kircher and Marci after the cover letter and manuscript were sent to Kircher. But there is no proof that Marci had any such resentment or hostility toward the Jesuits. He was a devout Catholic himself and had studied to become a Jesuit, even being granted an honorary membership in their Order shortly before his death.

Enochian


Edward Kelley

Enochian is the name of the angel's language as recorded in the journals of John Dee and his assistant Edward Kelley, two alchemist of 16th century England. The name comes from "Enoch", the Biblical father of Methuselah, who, according to legend, had been taken on a tour of Heaven by angels, which he then wrote about in a book.

Kelley claimed to talk to the angels using a crystal ball and he dictated to Dee what they told him. Some scholars of magic believe it to be a constructed language that can be used in the working of magic. However, scholars of constructed languages believe it to be just a poor imitation of an ancient language using basic English grammar.



The journals of these two men contain a great deal written in the language, with only a little of it having English translations. Those who have studied Enochian do not consider it to have an extraordinary features. The journals also never describe the language as "Enochian". Instead, they contain references like "Angelical", the "Celestial Speech", the "Language of Angels", and a few others. The term "Enochian" was assigned to it because of Dee's own assertion that Enoch had been the last previous human to know the language.


Translating


Sample of the text

When Voynich submitted the manuscript to experts for translations, many expert cryptologists thought it would be simple decode. Indeed, it appeared to be written in some kind of valid language. The text has almost two-thousand glyphs, written with one or two strokes, but they are not all distinct, and an estimated thirty distinct glyphs could account for most of the text. Groups of these glyphs, separated by larger gaps than those between each glyphs, give the text flow. Put simply, the document clearly has letters and words. Some of the words occur more frequently than others, such as articles and conjunctions would. These words, approximately 35000, are of varying lengths and seem to follow some phonetic or orthographic laws, such as some letters must appear in each word, like vowels. Also, some letters never follow others and some may be doubled while others never are. These traits are all similar to most modern known languages and appear to follow Zipf's law of statistical frequencies in languages. There are even words that appear on most pages as well as some words that only appear in certain sections, suggesting some kind of vocabulary specialization. In the herbal section, some words only appear only as the first word on the page, suggesting that is the name of the plant being described.

However, there are a number of orthographic oddities as well. Almost no words are more than ten letters. Similar to Arabic, some letters only ever occur at the beginning of a word, some always in the middle, and some only at the end. This is not found in most European languages however. Some of the words are more repetitious as well, with a few appearing up to three times in a row. Even odder, some words that are only different by one letter repeat more often than normal. Despite these apparent clues, the manuscript has not been successfully translated or even linked to any other known language.

Zipf's Law

Zipf's law, named after the American linguist George Kingsley Zipf who first proposed it, is an empirical statistical concept used to describe some aspects of natural language. Basically, it states that the frequency of any word is inversely proportional to its rank in the frequency table. In simple terms, the most frequent word will occur approximately twice as often as the second most frequent word, three times as often as the third most frequent word, etc. The law seems to hold true for most languages.


That doesn't mean that no progress has been made. In the late 20th century, Prescott Currier made some very interesting statistical discoveries which he presented in New Research on the Voynich Manuscript: Proceedings of a Seminar in 1978. Among these, he showed that the manuscript is actually composed of two "languages". He called these simply A and B (sometimes referred to now as Voynich A and Voynich B). Each page was written in one of these languages, and the pages of one were grouped together with other pages containing the same language. This differed only in the herbal section. He also stated that the writing seems to have been made by more than one person, perhaps even anywhere between five and eight with distinct handwritings being used. He concluded that at least two people had written it.


Pages with odd drawings and text written correctly, sideways, and upside-down

Another possibility is that the manuscript is written in an artificial, or constructed, language. Two prominent cryptologists who were studying it, W. Friedman and J. Tiltman, both came to this idea independently. Although these became popular in the later part of the 20th century, there is only one known constructed language before the time of the Voynich manuscript, and that was was the "Lingua Ignota", created by Hildegarde of Bingen in the 12th century.

Still, many people believe that the manuscript is a hoax, created by one of the possible authors mentioned before for their own reasons. If Currier is correct about the idea of several people writing it, then the likelihood of it being a hoax is reduced, for it would require more people to be used in the deception. Another problem with the hoax theory relates to Zipf's law. It is doubtful that anyone could have accidentally created a text that conformed to Zipf's law, which were not themselves postulated until 1935. A constructed language however would follow that law.

Today

People around the globe continue to attempt to decipher the mysterious Voynich Manuscript. Many theories and ideas are being exchanged, and a few have even claimed to have cracked the code. Edith Sherwood claims that the names of the plants are Italian anagrams written in an elaborate script, and has presented her translations for those. Dana Scott has also come up with his own analysis of the botanical images and listed what he believes the plants to be. However, the names these two people have proposed for each plant do not match.


Villa Mondragone in Frascati, near Rome, where the manuscript was kept until Voynich purchased it in 1912

A Finnish businessman, Viekko Latvala, claims that he has decoded the manuscript, saying it can only be translated by someone with a "direct line to God". He also claims to be one such person. Latvala says the strange writing is actually "sonic waves and vocal syllables", and while the manuscript contains descriptions of plants, astronomy and astrology, it also contains prophecies. The text, he says, is a mix of Spanish, Italian, and other languages, used by the author because he had no language to write the direct word of God. This sounds a bit like Kelley's "language of the angels". Latvala even provides a translation of some parts, but there is no evidence that these are valid.

There are many other theories surrounding the manuscript regarding its origins, authorship, contents and translations. It doesn't appear as though we will ever know the truth behind it, however, and it is more than likely that it will remain another of history's mysterious oddities.

Voynich Manuscipt - Cryptic Codex
Writer: Lucille Martin
Images:
Stefan Bauer: Prague Castle today
Estec sarl.: Panoramatic view to Charles Bridge and the Prague Castle
Obankston: Enochian alphabet
Petey: Wilfrid Voynich, Rudolph II, Johannes Marcus Marci, Roger Bacon, Edward Kelley, Villa Mondragone, all images of the Voynich Manuscript
Sources:
• "Voynich Manuscript" World Mysteries <http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_13.htm>
• "The Voynich Manuscript" Crystallinks <http://www.crystalinks.com/voynich.html>
• "Voynich Manuscript" Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library <http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/collections/highlights/voynich-manuscript>
• "The Voynich Manuscript" John Baez, University of California, Riverside <http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/voynich.html>
• "Voynich manuscript" Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_Manuscript>
• "Enochian" Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enochian>
• "Zipf's Law" Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipf%27s_law>
• "Georg Baresch" Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Baresch>
• "Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor" Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor>

All images are Copyright - CC BY-SA (Creative Commons Share Alike) by their respective owners, except for Petey, which is Public Domain (PD) or unless otherwise noted.

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