The Voynich manuscript

The Voynich manuscript

Book - 2016

Many call the fifteenth-century codex, commonly known as the "Voynich Manuscript," the world's most mysterious book. Written in an unknown script by an unknown author, the manuscript has no clearer purpose now than when it was rediscovered in 1912 by rare books dealer Wilfrid Voynich. The manuscript appears and disappears throughout history, from the library of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II to a secret sale of books in 1903 by the Society of Jesus in Rome. The book's language has eluded decipherment, and its elaborate illustrations remain as baffling as they are beautiful. For the first time, this facsimile, complete with elaborate folding sections, allows readers to explore this enigma in all its stunning detail, fro...m its one-of-a-kind "Voynichese" text to its illustrations of otherworldly plants, unfamiliar constellations, and naked women swimming though fantastical tubes and green baths. The essays that accompany the manuscript explain what we have learned about this work--from alchemical, cryptographic, forensic, and historical perspectives--but they provide few definitive answers. Instead, as New York Times best-selling author Deborah Harkness says in her introduction, the book "invites the reader to join us at the heart of the mystery."

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Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor 091/Voynich Due May 8, 2024
Subjects
Voynich manuscript.
Ciphers.
Published
New Haven : Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library in association with Yale University Press [2016]
Language
English
Physical Description
xvii, 240 unnumbered pages, 66 pages : color illustrations, portraits, facsimiles ; 31 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780300217230
  • Introduction / Deborah Harkness
  • Preface / Raymond Clemens
  • The Voynich Manuscript
  • Earliest owners / René Zandbergen
  • Voynich the Buyer / Arnold Hunt
  • Physical findings / Paula Zyats [and five others]
  • Cryptographic attempts / William Sherman
  • Alchemical traditions /Jennifer M. Rampling
  • The world's most mysterious manuscript / Raymond Clemens
  • Chronology
  • Contributors
  • Acknowledgements
  • Index.
Review by Choice Review

Among thousands of manuscripts held by Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Beinecke MS 408 seems to elicit the most interest among both scholars and the general public. This manuscript, which is usually referred to as the Voynich Manuscript after the rare book dealer Wilfred Voynich, who acquired the manuscript in the early 20th century, is an enigma due to its inscrutable text, which has eluded modern cryptologists, and its evocative illustrations, which also defy modern understanding. At one time the manuscript was attributed to Roger Bacon, but its true origin and purpose remain a mystery. The present publication offers a full-color facsimile of the original manuscript, complete with foldouts, along with essays from scholars analyzing the physical manuscript itself and its history and various attempts to understand its contents. The beauty of and mystery surrounding the manuscript would make the reproduction alone worthwhile, but the six essays and the prefatory commentaries by Clemens and historian of science Deborah Harkness, who supplies the introduction, enhance the value of this book to specialists and nonspecialists alike. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. --Todd Timmons, University of Arkansas--Fort Smith

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

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