Text Characterization-Cracking the Voynich Code 2022
Contents
Overview
The following is a characterization of the Voynich Manuscript. The purpose of this characterization is to give the reader a broad overview of the text, including its history, layout and interesting details. Comparing the characteristics of the manuscript to those of other texts is invaluable in selecting appropriate texts to test various cryptographic methodologies against.
Background
The Voynich Manuscript (VM) is an ancient text written in a script which nobody alive today is known to be able to recognise, let alone read. The VM contains images of plants, astrological charts, and bathing women among others. It has been the subject of cryptographic attention for decades, and there have been many claims and assertions into its origins or meanings, none conclusive enough to be accepted.
History
A brief history of the VM serves well to give the text contained within some context. The exact origin of the VM is unknown, but it has been carbon dated to the 15th century with a 95% certainty(1). This alone gives the text a strong context, and it is reinforced by the very aesthetic of the VM itself. The pictures contained within have striking similarities to others from the Late-Medieval European period. For further context, below is a brief timeline of historical references to the VM:
- 1576~1612 - Rudolph II is Holy Roman Emperor, and he is known to have in his large collection of alchemical manuscripts, the VM. All the manuscripts are no older than 100 years, and Rudolph II is the first confirmed owner of the VM.(2)
- 1639 - Athanasius Kircher, a clergyman in Rome sends a letter to Theodorus Moretus, a clergyman in Prague. The letter is a reply to a request by Moretus to translate the VM, on behalf of Georgius Barschius. Kircher mentions that the script looks similar to Illyrian.(2)
- 1639 - Barschius writes a letter to Kircher, explaining that he owns a mysterious book written in an unknown script which includes pictures of plants, stars and chemical secrets. He hopes that Kircher may be able to decipher it. He guesses that the author may have travelled to "the orient" and Egypt, recording his medical findings.(2)
- ???? - Johannes Marcus Marci inherits the alchemical library of Barschius. (1)
- 1665 - Marci writes a letter to Kircher, offering him the VM and mentioning that it was once owned by Rudolph II, who bought it from a messenger. Marci mentions that he was told it was authored by Roger Bacon, an Englishman, but he doesn't appear to completely believe this.(2)
- 1912 - Wilfrid Voynich acquires the VM from a castle in Southern Europe. He mentions that many old books and manuscripts were kept safe here since times of political tension in Europe.(2)
- 1921 - Voynich refers to the VM as the "Roger Bacon Cipher Manuscript".(2)
- 1930 - Ethel Voynich reveals in a letter opened after her death, that the VM was indeed bought from a castle at Frascati, and was owned by the Vatican. She mentions that Wilfrid Voynich made the purchase through a Father Joseph, who vouched for his trustworthiness to the church.(2)
This is an incomplete timeline of events, and there are further details available at the linked sources. The key points that the reader should take away from this timeline are that the 15th century carbon dating is reinforced by the period of activity summarized here and that most of this information is extracted from letters between friends, not the most reliable source. There are also various conjectures made about the VM's origin and content within these letters, and the reader would do well to keep these conjectures in mind while also taking none of them as self evident. Of particular note to the Honours Project is the conjecture that the VM is likely a manuscript concerned with medicinal pursuits. Analysing the properties of texts that focus on a similar topic may prove more fruitful than analysing a fictional narrative, for example.
