
The Voynich Manuscript revealed: five things you probably didn't know about the Medieval masterpiece
Scholars have speculated for centuries about the meaning behind the 15th-century codex and its peculiar illustrations.
The Art Newspaper
May 5, 2025
© Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Yale University
Often described as the “world’s most mysterious manuscript”, the Voynich Manuscript is written in an unknown script and filled with puzzling illustrations—unusual plants, constellations, bathing women and a tiny dragon—arranged in apparently themed sections.
Although the book was recently radiocarbon dated to the early 15th century, its place of origin and meaning are still debated.
Some scholars argue that the 240 vellum pages bear an enciphered text, others that it was an attempt to create an artificial script and language. Another theory is that it is merely a late-Medieval hoax. While the debates rage on, here are five things you probably did not know about this most mysterious of manuscripts.
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