The Voynich Manuscript
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The Voynich Manuscript
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About this listen
This episode explores the enduring mystery of the Voynich Manuscript, a 15th-century book filled with strange illustrations and written in an unknown script that no one has ever deciphered. Discovered in 1912 by book dealer Wilfrid Voynich, the manuscript features bizarre plants, astronomical charts, and drawings of women in odd biological or alchemical settings.
Despite analysis by cryptographers, linguists, and even World War II codebreakers, the text remains untranslatable. Theories range from a lost herbal or medical guide, to secret alchemical knowledge, to a hoax—or even an alien text. Radiocarbon dating confirms its authenticity as a medieval artifact, but its meaning is still hidden.
The Voynich Manuscript stands as one of history’s greatest unsolved puzzles, reminding us how fragile language is—and how entire worlds of knowledge can be lost.