Middle AgesCulture & Arts
Voynich manuscript
c. 1420NotableContested
An illustrated book in an unknown script is written on vellum later carbon-dated to the early 1400s. No one has convincingly read it.
Contested history
Consensus: The Voynich manuscript is an illustrated 15th-century codex in an unknown script that no one has convincingly deciphered.
A genuine early 15th-century manuscriptEstablished
Radiocarbon dating at the University of Arizona placed the vellum in 1404 to 1438, and the ink and pigments fit that era.
Encodes a real natural language or cipherDebated
Statistical studies find word patterns similar to natural languages, but no proposed decipherment has won scholarly acceptance.
Meaningless text produced as a hoax or for profitMinority view
Some researchers argue the text could be generated by simple rules, though the old vellum rules out a modern forgery by Voynich himself.
Written by Roger BaconDebunked
Bacon died in 1292, more than a century before the vellum was made.
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