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Breakthrough over 600-year-old mystery manuscript [Voynich]
BBC ^ | February 18, 2014 | Nic Rigby

Posted on 02/23/2014 6:43:08 AM PST by SunkenCiv

The Voynich Manuscript, carbon-dated to the 1400s, was rediscovered in 1912, but has defied codebreakers since.

Now, Bedfordshire University's Stephen Bax says he has deciphered 10 words, which could lead to more discoveries.

The manuscript, which some think is a hoax, is full of illustrations of plants and stars, as well as text...

It largely disappeared from public record until 1912 when Wilfrid Voynich, an antique book dealer, bought it amongst a number of second-hand publications in Italy.

Since then, scholars and cryptographers have studied the document but have failed to find meaning in the text.

It was investigated by a team of code breakers during WWII, but they also failed to find meaning in the words.

Academics across the world have been trying to decode the manuscript.

In June last year, Marcelo Montemurro, a theoretical physicist from the University of Manchester, UK, published a study which he believes shows that the manuscript was unlikely to be a hoax.

Dr Montemurro and a colleague, using a computerised statistical method to analyse the text, found that it followed the structure of "real languages".

In February this year, a paper published in the journal of the American Botanical Council said one of the plant drawings suggested a possible Mexican origin for the manuscript.

Prof Bax, an expert in applied linguistics, said he had been working on the Voynich Manuscript for about two years.

He said he had managed to find the word for Taurus, alongside a picture of seven stars (seen as part of the zodiac constellation of Taurus) and the word Kantairon alongside a picture of the herb Centaury.

Prof Bax said he had been trying to crack the manuscript using his knowledge of medieval texts and his familiarity with Semitic languages like Arabic.

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: bedfordshire; epigraphyandlanguage; godsgravesglyphs; marcelomontemurro; stephenbax; voynichmanuscript
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The 15th Century Voynich Manuscript has been described as the world's most mysterious book written in a complex code, an unknown language or simply a hoax

The 15th Century Voynich Manuscript has been described as the world's most mysterious book written in a complex code, an unknown language or simply a hoax

1 posted on 02/23/2014 6:43:08 AM PST by SunkenCiv
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To: Greysard; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; decimon; 1010RD; 21twelve; 24Karet; ...
Thanks Greysard! An update. And here's an interesting caption from one of the photogs:
Inside the book there was a letter thought to be dated to 1666. It claimed the book once belonged to the Emperor Rudolf II, a member of the house of Habsburg, known to be a patron of artists and scientists

KEYWORDS: epigraphyandlanguage; godsgravesglyphs; voynichmanuscript

2 posted on 02/23/2014 6:46:11 AM PST by SunkenCiv (http://www.freerepublic.com/~mestamachine/)
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To: SunkenCiv

Not so much a hoax as a whimsical prank.


3 posted on 02/23/2014 6:50:40 AM PST by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both.)
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To: BenLurkin

Worthia remusng dorplat igmungium. Dowtop soldera ya de manga

4 posted on 02/23/2014 7:00:57 AM PST by bert ((K.E. N.P. N.C. +12 ..... History is a process, not an event)
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To: bert

What you said.


5 posted on 02/23/2014 7:02:54 AM PST by SunkenCiv (http://www.freerepublic.com/~mestamachine/)
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To: bert

Ah yes.... the Doo-Wop soldiers of Manga.


6 posted on 02/23/2014 7:04:53 AM PST by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Apparently Ovaltine was originally made from many exotic herbs.


7 posted on 02/23/2014 7:05:03 AM PST by ClearCase_guy
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To: bert

Klingon?


8 posted on 02/23/2014 7:05:28 AM PST by Flick Lives ("I can't believe it's not Fascism!")
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To: bert

             

9 posted on 02/23/2014 7:09:20 AM PST by tomkat ( a million tiny cuts per day .. make one)
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To: BenLurkin

What I had read in a different article recently was that many of the plants depicted in the book were recognized as Mexican, and the language was found to be an obscure Aztec dialect. The speculation was that the manuscript was likely written by a native convert soon after the Conquest.


10 posted on 02/23/2014 7:14:55 AM PST by PUGACHEV
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To: BenLurkin

Not so much. During the time period that this was written in, seeking secret knowledge was often frowned upon and even persecuted. Those who still sought to seek the unknown would create secret codes that weren’t easily broken.

So while this particular book may not have been that important in the realm of the sciences, it may have been done to protect what the author discovered that was previously unknown.


11 posted on 02/23/2014 7:24:17 AM PST by Jonty30 (What Islam and secularism have in common is that they are both death cults)
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To: SunkenCiv

“scholars and cryptographers have studied the document but have failed to find meaning in the text.”

Then why bother


12 posted on 02/23/2014 7:24:45 AM PST by amnestynone (Lindsey Graham is feckless, duplicitous, treacherous, double dealing backstabbing Corksucker.)
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To: SunkenCiv
The 15th Century Voynich Manuscript has been described as the world's most mysterious book written in a complex code, an unknown language or simply a hoax

it's... it's a cookbook!

to serve man

Joking aside, an interesting mystery that I read about several years ago. Thanks for posting.

13 posted on 02/23/2014 7:25:42 AM PST by Jed Eckert (Wolverines!!)
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To: FReepers
Insure FR's Future!
Become A Monthly Donor


Click The Pic To Donate


14 posted on 02/23/2014 7:30:19 AM PST by DJ MacWoW (The Fed Gov is not one ring to rule them all)
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To: amnestynone

I had that reaction reading your post.


15 posted on 02/23/2014 7:33:40 AM PST by SunkenCiv (http://www.freerepublic.com/~mestamachine/)
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To: PUGACHEV

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3115696/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2672785/posts


16 posted on 02/23/2014 7:35:15 AM PST by SunkenCiv (http://www.freerepublic.com/~mestamachine/)
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To: Jed Eckert

:’)


17 posted on 02/23/2014 7:36:33 AM PST by SunkenCiv (http://www.freerepublic.com/~mestamachine/)
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To: Jed Eckert

http://vimeo.com/37778819


18 posted on 02/23/2014 7:37:19 AM PST by SunkenCiv (http://www.freerepublic.com/~mestamachine/)
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To: SunkenCiv

Sorry, I wrote this while drunk in a small bar in France. I didn’t realize anyone would take it seriously.


19 posted on 02/23/2014 7:41:01 AM PST by Doc Savage ("I've shot people I like a lot more,...for a lot less!" Raylan Givins)
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To: Flick Lives
Klingon?

I don't know...looks like High Valyrian to me.

20 posted on 02/23/2014 7:48:22 AM PST by sima_yi ( Reporting live from the far North)
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